Madelyn Machado (not pictured) reflects on her experience as a conventionally attractive woman in corporate America.
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Madelyn Machado is a former recruiter who has worked at companies like Meta, Microsoft, and LinkedIn. She says she’s received some special privileges due to her looks.But she also experienced harassment and unsolicited advances from colleagues.
I’ve spent a decade in recruiting, with seven years in the tech industry at big companies like Microsoft, Meta, and LinkedIn, and in other male-dominated industries like legal recruiting and defense. And let me tell you, being a pretty, young Latina recruiter had its perks.
It was like having a secret weapon, a cheat code in the game of professional life. Data shows that physically attractive people even earn 15% more than those who are considered less conventionally attractive.
Was I ever the smartest recruiter, the hardest working, or the most knowledgeable? Absolutely not. But I was charismatic and pretty. So when I reached out to candidates on LinkedIn or wanted to meet with hiring managers, I wasn’t met with too much pushback because… well, I was pretty.
I realized I had pretty privilege, and I was going to make it work for me.
I didn’t grow up thinking I was pretty
I was the chubby, shy girl who played the viola in grade school. It wasn’t until my first job out of college that I realized I might be conventionally attractive.
I was working in sales, and it felt a little weird at first. I was in a room surrounded by really attractive recent grads, and I couldn’t help but question my own place in the mix. In a twisted way, I also felt strangely honored to work there — I was surprised they thought I had the looks to close deals.
As I progressed in my career, I experienced inappropriate comments about my looks. When I went out with coworkers for work drinks and networking events, my colleagues would encourage me to drink and take shots, and once they were drunk themselves, they’d ask me why I was in recruiting. They told me I could be a model, or a housewife, or have a sugar daddy. I was extremely uncomfortable — especially because I was often the only woman there.
I experienced routine sexual harassment — like receiving unsolicited explicit pictures from job candidates — but the worst experience was when I was followed back to my hotel by a fellow hiring manager. We had been staying in the same hotel for a work event, and after a night out where he had one too many drinks, it was just me and him in the Uber. We got into the elevator, and he begged to come into my room because he couldn’t remember his room number.
He tried to follow me off the elevator, but I had to push him back into the elevator physically and ran to my room. He then texted me multiple times past 2 a.m.
These experiences were more than just uncomfortable — they left me feeling vulnerable, disrespected and violated.
But there were some professional benefits of being attractive
In my experience, being perceived as conventionally attractive does have its upsides: I got job offers from bosses telling me I had a pretty face and that I would do well in the job, and I climbed the corporate ladder faster than my peers.
I think one of the benefits of pretty privilege is that the expectations managers place on you are usually lower, so people seemed to be more impressed when I was doing the basics of the job and almost blown away when I went above and beyond.
I’ve seen pretty privilege benefiting others in the workplace, too, and it can definitely take someone pretty far — further than their actual skills might warrant. I’ve witnessed pretty people with average talent stick around, while others who are far more capable get left in the dust. It’s a bitter pill to swallow.
Being aware of my pretty privilege has definitely shifted how I see myself
There have been moments where I doubted my skills and abilities, and questioned whether people truly value what I bring to the table. How can I balance being the bubbly, charismatic hire with the need to be taken seriously?
At first, I thought I would be able to make a meaningful change to how women are sexualized and treated within corporate America. But I realized that was going to be extremely difficult to do.
So many women get to a point in their careers where they just try not to make a fuss — they don’t want to stir the pot. If you do want to be a changemaker, it means that you have to be comfortable shaking things up. But that can, of course, put a target on your back.
I noticed that the higher women got in leadership, the quieter they became. I suspect it might be because they’re exhausted trying to fight back. But I’ve seen some women make sexist comments, too, just to please men or make them laugh. That’s extra gross.
So, I decided to quit working a corporate job
I think the biggest reason I left corporate America at 33 years old was for freedom — financial freedom and also a general freedom to be myself and to work with who I wanted to work with.
I remember when I was trying to recruit someone for a secretary role. The candidate needed to be a woman with at least 10 years of experience, but there was one more criterion: the manager sometimes got upset and wanted someone who was okay with him cursing and throwing things.
I couldn’t recruit for that — how was I supposed to find this person? I wasn’t okay with it. I remember telling HR that that’s not something I was comfortable with, and they just told me that it’s my job — I had to follow through.
That’s not freedom to me.
Was having pretty privilege worth it?
I’ve come to realize that pretty privilege may have opened doors and helped me land jobs, but it didn’t automatically get me the respect I truly deserve.
So, I don’t know if having pretty privilege is worth it. I don’t think that there’s ever any reason to be sexualized at work. No benefit makes up for that.
Despite these challenges, I refuse to let those experiences define me or my professional journey. I’ve learned the importance of standing up, speaking out, and holding people accountable.
Madelyn Machado is a reverse recruiter who helps professionals land dream jobs and develop career plans.