Long weekends make for a good opportunity to catch up with friends and this is exactly what I did, before sitting on the coach for the NRL Grand Final.

FYI: I was going for the Roosters! Anyway I digress!

I got chatting with a friend of mine who is job seeking. And what an interesting conversation I had.

Last week he got an email from a recruiter saying he didn’t have what they were looking for. So he rang the recruiter, who was perhaps a little honest after my friend stated, “You didn’t even read my cover letter or resume did you?”

“Look mate, I get 200 applications per day. Do you think I have a chance to read every application?”

I’d be furious if I was my mate!

Funny, I thought recruitment companies were paid by clients to find them the best applicant. How can you find that person or people IF you don’t read every application. If I were the client, I would be allot pissed with this company!

My friend then explained that thanks to the GFC the following has occurred:

• Upper management are dropping back for opportunities and jobs. So these people are getting the roles that he really wants and possibly would have secured pre-GFC.
• People in these middle management roles can’t drop back, as employers are saying that they are over qualified for the role.
• People in this middle area seem to be not getting the ‘rub of the green’ when it comes to job opportunities – too experienced and not experienced enough!

I then quizzed him on what happens when he gets into the interview and he said while rejection smashes your confidence, he presents confidently and walks away feeling positive about his interviews.

I wondered if he was being discriminated against – in an odd and unsubstantiated way.  My friend has a beard and is a tad overweight and first impressions count . . .

From HR.BLR.com website: “Executives say ten minutes is the amount of time it takes for them to form an opinion of job seekers during interviews, according to a survey by Robert Half International. The survey asked 150 senior executives, “How long does it typically take you to form either a positive or negative opinion of a job candidate during an initial interview?” The mean response was 10 minutes.”

But we also know that generally a first impression is made in just 27 seconds. So rightly or wrongly, I think some of the people conducting interviews on my friend are discounting him based on the beard and his body shape and not even considering his skills.

What do you think? Would you give an overweight person a job? Does facial hair effect your judgment?