Do "Ugly" People Make It Even Harder for Themselves to Succeed?

We all know the old cliche "dress for the job you want, not the job you have." Presenting a professional and successful image can work wonders in building your reputation. But what about being attractive? If you look more like a troll than an Adonis or Venus, does that necessarily guarantee a bleak future? This topic's nothing new; you've probably ready a bunch of studies about the effects of appearance on career advancement. What's interesting, though, is how men and women internalize the information differently.

According to a recent study of women entrepreneurs, most women believe their appearance affects their success in business. Although women are not alone when it comes to looks-based discrimination, research indicates men are less likely to believe they are being judged on their appearance at work. (Perhaps that's because less-than-gorgeous men succeed all the time, and then become far more attractive.)

Depending on the amount of time and energy people devote to worrying about being judged at work, they could end up creating a self-fulfilling prophecy since apperance obsession can detract from productivity. Thoughts?

(Attractiveness Face Scale image courtesy of manitou2121, cc 2.0)