Most People Aren't Pretty Enough To Access This New Job Board

Advertisement

The attractive-people-only dating website Beautifulpeople.com earlier this week released a recruitment tool for employers.

Advertisement

Is this really something employers should consider?

Playing into the stereotype for a moment, being beautiful has a lot of advantages. Folks with a pretty face are more confident, can get a job more quickly, and are paid more than less attractive coworkers.

Complimentary Tech Event
Transform talent with learning that works
Capability development is critical for businesses who want to push the envelope of innovation.Discover how business leaders are strategizing around building talent capabilities and empowering employee transformation.Know More

Hotties also tend to bring in more money for their company, so it was really only a matter of time until someone developed a place where employers could go to hire beautiful people.

Beautifulpeople.com plays into these beliefs and says, "an attractive face is always a great first impression for any business."

Advertisement

Of course such an obsession with beauty and exclusivity can seriously come around to bite back. Just ask Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Mike Jeffries, who is dealing with major backlash after saying his clothes weren't for fat people.

And watch out for lawsuits. Laura Beck at Jezebel argues that Beautifulpeople.com has a "very narrow" definition of beautiful, which includes "able-bodied and thin" people. Beck says this could potentially "open the site and employers up to lawsuits from people who don't fit those rigid standards."

So far there have been a few job listings posted on the dating site, including an opening for an au pair in London, an investment advisor for Fifth Capital Management in Dallas, various positions at a wealth management company in Dubai, and a creepy ad for a sales rep in Kuala Lumpur.

Big companies have thus far steered clear of the controversial job board, and we don't expect that to change.

Beautifulpeople.com's free service intends to give individuals and companies access to its 750,000 member base of "attractive" people.

Advertisement

To become one of those 750,000 "beautiful people," potential members are required to submit a head shot that will be rated by existing members of the opposite sex, which the company says is a "fair and democratic" process. You have to be deemed beautiful by 50% of the votes. This is to allow attractive people to date, network, and work for other beautiful people.

The bigger story here could be the potential for finding new uses for the data gathered by dating websites.

In 2011, David Teten, a partner at ff Venture Capital, gave a TED talk titled "Online Dating is the Future of Your Business" and says that "successful online dating startups are models for new businesses," because dating sites allows users to target their specific audience and not waste time on people who aren't interested in their goods and services.