Yet another MSN article talking about the top four things that disqualify you for a job, and how people judge you due to how you look. Well, they do, this much is true. And sometimes as is probably the case in me (though here too is a misunderstanding, and I feel like I'm judged "disrespectful" rather than "slovenly" due to my choice in clothes). But... sometimes it's just stupid wrong.
I mentioned how I was doing voice acting a few weeks ago, right? Well, I found this site which seems pretty good: http://www.starnow.com
So anyway, here's a few on the actors based on their profile (they also posted voices which I checked out).
Actor 1
Impression: Looks like a kid. Not sure about professionality.
Actual: Very active, and is now in the process of doing two voice parts for me, both of them large.
Actor 2
Impression: From her eyes, she's looks kinda bored/apathetic. Wouldn't say she's serious. Her profile pics have her looking like a star wars geek.
Actual: Until just recently, she was the first and most often to post. She was also the first to turn in all her lines, and far from apathetic, she's involved in a relief donation project for a deformed child. She is a star wars geek though.
Actor 3
Impression: Looks serious, probably will be prompt and professional.
Actual: Average. Plus for the amount of lines I needed from him, it took forever.
Actor 4
Impression: Looks like an actress. Should be decent.
Actual: Half the time, she wouldn't even respond to my messages. Never turned anything in. She was a flake.
Conclusion? First impressions, from my experience in hiring are wrong about 90% of the time. Yet we still use them and paperwork (which can be lied through the teeth on, and unless people have reason to investigate probably won't know) to determine whether someone is worthy of a job.
Here's a novel idea. Give people a trial week with no pay as the standard procedure.
1) If a person wants to learn a new skill, they can gain actual experience (rather than banging their heads getting rejection after rejection)
2) The employer is more likely to be okay with this, as it's cost free work.
3) The employee less so, for the same reason, but it beats hearing "we'll keep in touch"
4) It lets both parties get past their initial impressions, and get a real impression of both parties (is this guy a decent one to work for, do I like this job enough to stay here, is this employee reliable, do they actually know what they're doing)
5) Ideally, the employer should work them as hard as they normally would, to get the most out of them, and see if they do well under pressure.