FT casts doubt on specs appeal

An article in Financial Times Recruitment casts doubt on recent research that wearing glasses improves your chance at a job interview.

Responding to a question of whether to wear spectacles at an interview, Graeme Read, group managing director of recruiter Antal International, said: 'This message is probably being pushed by a bunch of opticians. It's an old stereotype, but it's a competitive market, so candidates are looking for anything that will give them an advantage.

'There is also a celebrity trend to wearing fake glasses, which may be behind it. They think it makes them look studious.'

Maggie Berry, managing director of specialist IT recruiter Women in Technology, said: 'There was a study out earlier this year by the College of Optometrists which said 40 per cent of people with perfect vision would wear glasses if it would help them get a job. The bottom line is that glasses don't make you smart. They don't change what your answers will be.'