According to a survey of 1,021 business owners from Reabur 68% of the would be less likely to hire an individual if they had ‘bad personal hygiene’, whilst 56% would let the potential employee’s dress sense affect their decision to hire them.
Excluding qualifications and experience, Reabur conducted the survey to discover what traits employers believe make an individual ‘unemployable’.
One in five (19%) of employers agreed they would be less likely to hire an individual that arrived late for a interview and a further 12% wouldn’t reschedule an interview if the individual couldn’t attend the initial time and date arranged.
When asked the multi-answer question ‘which of the below traits would make you less likely to hire an individual?’ below are the top ten most common answers from respondents:
1. Poor personal hygiene – 68%
2. Negative body language – 64%
3. Poor speech and grammar – 59%
4. Dress sense – 56%
5. Bad attitude – 52%
6. Excessive body piercing or tattoos – 49%
7. Inappropriate sense of humour – 47%
8. Accent – 44%
9. Unattractive – 41%
10. Poor employment history – 38%
Of the business owners that stating they’d be less likely to hire an individual with poor personal hygiene, 29% agreed that bad body odour would be the strongest reason for this, while 21% said bad breath.
Almost 1 in 10 of the respondents, 7%, agreed that a ‘poor handshake’ would make them less likely to employ someone.
Kirsty Burgess, co-managing director of Reabur, said: "These results demonstrate that despite an increasing amount of legislation protecting applicants from being rejected for reasons other than their skills and experience personal traits still appear to be a distinct factor in making a recruitment decision. Although I appreciate that we are all human this really shouldn’t be the case and therefore it is important that employers use robust recruitment methods. This will ensure a fair process and provide a justification to reject an applicant that will stand up if legally challenged."
"With regard to people looking for employment, being invited for an interview by a potential employer is a great opportunity and we all know that first impressions count, especially when being interviewed. If you have an interview approaching, I would suggest dressing smartly, do your research into the Company and be professional and positive at all times."
