Dealbreaker admits what we all know to be true.

There comes a time in every Amherst student’s life when she must put aside the feelings of hate that stir in her body for the vile weed that is Williams College and say, in the face of Williams alum Erin Burnett: this chick is hot.

Indeed.

Dealbook links to this article.

For the coming war between CNBC and Rupert Murdoch’s planned Fox Business Channel, the scrappy incumbent is grooming a secret weapon.

That weapon is a petite, blue-eyed brunette who makes her home at a cluttered desk in a cramped studio overlooking the New York Stock Exchange, where she is typically typing furiously on a laptop or asking questions by phone. Erin Burnett, 31, is a co-host on CNBC’s Squawk on the Street (weekdays at 9 a.m. ET), solo anchor of Street Signs (2 p.m. ET) and a frequent guest on network shows, including NBC’s Today. Since making her debut on Squawk during its relaunch in December 2005, the program is up 142% over first quarter 2006 in adults 25-54; Street Signs is up 57% in the demo.

Burnett rises every morning at 5 a.m. and hops in a car bound for the NYSE. Once there, she makes calls, checks e-mail, sets up potential guests and reads the papers–all while getting her hair blown-out and her makeup applied. “She’s a natural,” says Jonathan Wald, senior VP of business news for CNBC. “She’s both energetic and solicitous, but she never appears fawning.”

Just like EphBlog!? On the hotness issue:

Does it matter that some critics see her as just another pretty anchor? “Let’s be honest,” Burnett says. “It is a factor. Initially. But if you want to be good and if you want to be at the top of your game, you have to know the material, and you have to love it. Otherwise, regardless of your looks or your age or whatever, you won’t have any staying power.”

Correct. Burnett would not have gotten hired (or been successfu) if she were not both attractive and smart. Previous discussion here.

Do you think it is a coincidence that so many attractive women work at CNBC? I don’t. If Erin were ugly, she would not have the job that she has. This doesn’t mean (obviously!) that she also isn’t smart and hard-working, but only the PC police would pretend that sex doesn’t sell.

And not just at CNBC! Do you think that the Goldman Sachs recruiters are blind? Do you think that it is a coincidence that so many junior GS analysts are also attractive? Wrong! Note that this is not just true of female GS hires from Williams (i.e., Erin Burnett and Bethany McLean ‘92) but also of male hires (Richard Georgi ‘87).

Words of wisdom for fall interviews.