new thread
"Okay. I'm in a quandry. After much soul-searching, I have decided to forego pursuing my teaching career. I enjoy my current job just as much, but it just isn't financially feasible to continue my education until all my loans are paid off and I have some financial stability to my life.
"What does that mean? Well, I love my internship job dearly, but $6/hour just doesn't pay the bills! So, it's time to spread my wings and get a real public relations job. This sort of job would require interaction with big corporate clients, so a "professional" appearance is a prerequisite. Living in a rather conservative city (with no means to leave), I'm feeling a lot of pressure to "alter" my appearance in order to land a good job. People tell me that I can always grow my beard back, that three months isn't a long time at all...
"Of course, I'm even more attached to my hair, since it's taken over a year to grow that to a stubby pony-tail. Aarrgghh! I've tried to reason it out in my mind, but I can't! These are some of my thoughts: "if I want a good job, I have to look professional. Ok. I'll wear a suit. I'll use good hygeine."
"But what about my hair/beard? Those are natural extensions of my body and personally, but couldn't underarm odor be, too? Why stop there? Why wear a suit, if it's not natural?" These holes in my logic continue to plague me. I really like my hair and beard, but I'm definitely not financially well-off, and I have the experience, qualifications and connections to land a good job, just not the "prerequisite appearance."
"I'm just very frustrated with this inner battle I'm fighting, and am looking to you for some advice. Please be honest and frank with me. I appreciate it!"
Adam,
Looks like a perfect time to use the two week rule.
I am in the process of growing out my hair and like you, am concerned about my professional appearance. I am already in my job of choice, but as upper management in my company I have to be conscious of my professional appearance. I have recently been getting comments about my growing hair (I don't have a beard like you) and have wondered if I should get a hair cut. So far the two week rule has saved me... true three months of beard growth and a year of hair growth may not seem like a long time, but think about how long it seems as you look back that it took to get you where you are now.
Good Luck.
Mike
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currently, i am an instructor at several colleges in my area. i have shoulder length hair, a goatee, and long sideburns. *however,* i keep it all very neat and trimmed. my hair is long enough to pull back and have a decent ponytail. . .other times i wear it down. regardless, i always look groomed and professional. . .most students even comment that i look more professional than any professor they have. and i really don't mind dressing up for work. . .since i am in front of a lot of students, i think it communicates something positive.
looking at your beard, i think it needs to be trimmed. i am fully convinced that you can have all of the above *if kept neat.* instead of whacking off all of the beard, try trimming it down to a shorter length. . .experiment! try a goatee, try sideburns, try whatever. of course, my facial hair grows pretty quick, so i have that experimental kind of attitude with it. . .i realize not every guy's facial hair does. i typicaly use the shortest setting on my beard trimmer, and then it can grow for a couple of weeks before trimming again.
as far as your hair goes, what i can see of it looks great. . .to me it looks gelled back, sleek and professional. keep it growing!
mjtoo
Please be honest and frank with me. I appreciate it!"
Trim the beard to 1/2 cut. Keep the hair as is.
You'll do fine.
Aragorn
I'm in a professional position and am growing my hair out. I keep it tied back when I'm at work and my beard is extremely short. So far, I've gotten no negative feedback from my company, and I don't foresee any. These days, I think a very short beard,ponytail, and a suit can look professional. Best of luck!
I am currently growing my hair out and have been so for almost two full years now. I also have a moustache and goatee. My facial hair I keep as neat as I can. I trim it regularly and make sure it looks as neat as possible. I keep my hair combed as much as possible and am looking forward to the day when I have the option of putting it in a tail.
In the meantime, I would suggest a couple of things. First is to trim the beard a bit. From your picture it looks very "wooly" and that doesn't wash in the button-down world, as it is unkempt. You could also try combing your beard hair. I know that may sound strange but it is effective - even when the beard is already closely trimmed.
A couple of years back my girlfriend's parents bought me a cordless beard/ moustache trimmer. Among its other attachments came a small, fine toothed comb for use on the facial hair. I have found this comb to be very effective in smoothing down the unruly hairs in my goatee. You should try it.
I have found that so long as you look neat and well groomed, your facial hair and hair length are not as major a concern. It is when you start looking "wooly" or unkempt that people have a problem. That is one of the things so frustrating about growing your hair out as there is a long period where the hair length is simply unmanageable or at least very difficult to manage.
One other thing you can do is to "dress up" as much as possible. If you find yourself in an environment where only a few people wear blouse and tie - then you should ALWAYS wear them. If possible, show up in full suit occasionally. Do that while keeping your hair and beard neatly trimmed and groomed - and "the powers that be" will have little to give you grief over!
Good luck.
Madoc
My site! Warning! Gay/ bi content! Nothing x-rated, just that I like guys too!
I think someone with good intentions put this here, but there are a few glaring problems:
* The picture of me is not normally how my beard looks. It would take a lot of stupidity for me to walk in an interview looking like that! I keep my beard well-groomed on a daily basis, and have even trimmed it.
* I have no intentions of doing anything with my hair. Much of this message is taken out of context, because it is meant for a different audience: I am involved in a beard-growing challenge, on a related page, and I am also growing my hair long. While the two seem to be related, my convictions for growing my hair are much stronger than for my beard. I was simply looking for specific advice regarding my beard at the time I put up this post.
* I am quite embarrassed altogether, especially since someone posted this assuming my identity, and would appreciate no further comments on the subject here.
Thank you.
Adam
Hi Adam,
i just want you to remind some pictures of you... If you go back to see you own pictures on Dan's page, you can see yourself with a neat suit, good clothes... Do you find you look "not-clean"??? You look really professionnal, and don't have to worry about your apperance!
Good luck, friend!!!
Lhari