Bad breath, tattoos could affect promotion, say hiring managers

Piercings, wrinkled clothes, messy hair also disliked

Bad breath, heavy cologne and wrinkled clothes are among the factors that can make an employee less likely to get promoted, according to a CareerBuilder survey of 2,878 hiring managers in the United States.

“While strong job performance and leadership skills will weigh heavily on prospects for upward mobility, employers will also look at whether the employee conveys an overall professional image both internally and externally,” said Rosemary Haefner, vice-president of human resources at CareerBuilder.

The top personal attributes employers said would make them less likely to extend a promotion include:

• piercings (37 per cent)
• bad breath (34 per cent)
• visible tattoo (31 per cent)
• frequently wrinkled clothes (31 per cent)
• messy hair (29 per cent)
• too-casual dress (28 per cent)
• too much perfume or cologne (26 per cent)
• too much makeup (22 per cent)
• messy office or cubicle (19 per cent)
• chewed fingernails (10 per cent)
• too suntanned (four per cent).

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