Here’s What Happens When You Wear a Low-Cut Top in Your Job Application Photo

We all know the “rules” for the job application and interviewing process by now: proofread your resume 100 times, dress for the job you want, make sure your shoes and fingernails are clean, make eye contact during the handshake, research the company beforehand, send a thank you note, and whatever you do, DON’T WEAR A LOW CUT BLOUSE.

But maybe conventional wisdom has been leading us astray. According to new research from Paris-Sorbonne University, showing a bit of skin during the recruitment process can help a woman clinch a job interview.

Here’s the deal: over a period of three years, researchers responded to hundreds of job ads using two fictional female candidates: both had nearly identical resumes and experience, but one wore a low-cut top in her application photograph (commonly used when applying for jobs in France), while the other wore a conservative high-neck blouse. Can you guess which one attracted more interview offers? Yep. Researchers found that more cleavage = more interest from recruiters.

Out of 200 sales job queries, the woman wearing a low-cut top attracted 62 more interview offers than their more conservatively dressed counterpart. And just in case you’re thinking, Well, maybe that kiiiiiiinda makes sense for sales jobs, since a lower cut top might come across as more youthful and fun and stylish, guess what? The same thing happened with accounting jobs, which you would think would be more conservative: there were 68 more interview offers for the woman in the low-cut top.

So just to recap: it’s 2016 and women are still being judged more on their looks than their resumes. Cool*.