new thread
Hi Everyone!
I write this with a heavy heart. I never would have thought I would consider cutting my hair, but recent events are pointing in that direction. I need to find a new job for certain reasons. I am applying for a bank teller position out here in California but I have not met a long haired male bank teller before and it made me wonder if it's some universal dress code or not. I wanted to know if there are any bank employees on this board (or if you know people who work for a bank) that if they could shed some light on this for me. I am still going through screening right now, so if I have to cut it, it won't be anytime soon but I would appreciate a heads up. I would hate to go in and be turned away because I have long hair. I love my long hair, more than I can put into words, but I do need to make a living. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Oh. To those who will say I shouldn't cut my hair for a job because it's not that important, please, we are in different situations and unfortunately, earning a better living so that I can live with my boyfriend seems more practical than settling for a lower paying job and keeping my long hair and not being able to live together. Long hair isn't going to pay the bills and bring in money.
Thanks again for any help that can be offered.
Danny
Hi Danny,
I don't know if this advice will help, but I'll try.
I worked at a Bank in Switzerland for one month during the summer for an internship. Out of about 600 people who worked in that office, I was the youngest (only 17 as opposed to 25), and saw only 2 people who had long hair. One was a small tail, and the other wore it as a bun. I didn't see everyone so there may have been more, but I think at best we're looking at one in a hundred, or two hundred. For all I know, they had jobs in the IT department, which would help explain things better, but I don't know.
The reason this might be useless advice, is that they quite possibly made an exception for me as I was only 17, and I had a friend who worked at the bank in a relatively high position. Mind you also, that neither of the people I cited worked as tellers, but were part of the Operations department and never saw face to face with customers. It's entirely possible that the client department were shorthairs.
I think a lot will depend on the size of the bank you're working at. If this particular office is a major one, then they probably have stricter regulations. If it's in a fairly remote location with only a small handful of people working there, then they may have more relaxed codes to hire more people. Contrary to popular belief, banks have significant difficulty to fully staff in many countries. I don't know if this is the case where you live.
Please don't cut your hair unless you're 100% certain you can't get a job with the long hair. Apply for the job, preferably at several banks if you can, and if they reject you, make sure to ask if it was something to do with appearance. Also, you might want to lie about your hair being related to something religious (Nazarite vow, sikh, etc.) to make them worried about religious discrimination.
Hope you do well, and good luck,
derf26
The only advice would be to ask about their dress code and each organisation is different. At the end of the day we have to do what we have to do earn money and pay the bills.
Cheers,
John.B
California banks tend to mostly be a few large corporations with lots of branches. This means whatever bank it is, it is likely to have customers who know you and can complain, should you be harassed. Do tell us which bank it is, should it come to that.
Bill
I'll echo some comments below in saying that you should inquire as to the dress code policies during an interview. You never know what might be allowed, and it doesn't hurt to ask. While my retail job is technically "business casual" one of the guys asked for and received permission from human resources to get a blue mohawk. Who knows what might be possible?
Good luck!
Mouse
Hey Danny, I live in northern Ca and there was bank teller at WestAmerica bank for several years and he had past mid-back length hair, he wore it loose or in a tail, so it's not a hard rule for banking positions I would presume. Hope you don't have to get a haircut...
Keep us posted.
Cheers,
Max
I worked in banking for 12 years. I was a teller, loan assistant, loan officer, assistant vice president, and an internal bank auditor/examiner. Could I have my hair long? No. Was there a policy in place forbidding long hair for men? Yes. The dress code policy was basically worded like the "no hair over the ears or touching the collar" wording mentioned some days ago like in the school in Texas. I however did grow almost shoulder length hair while working there. It all eventually came to a head, and it was cut it or else. If you were reading the board in 2006, you might remember that debacle that I posted.
But, where am I located? Georgia, USA. The rural, backwoodsy part. Georgia is practically on a different planet than California however. I would be surprised if you have any real issues related to hair length getting a bank teller job there. Even here in the South, in Atlanta, there are male tellers with long hair here and there, other back-room folks as well I'm sure. I imagine you would most likely have to tie back your hair for work and keep it neat, which you already do probably. As you are going in for the job, you need to interview them just as they need to interview you. Be upfront and ask questions. Take the initiative and find out, during the interview, if your hair is to be a problem. Be subtle about it, but get an answer. You will probably have to "dress up," ties and white shirt and the like however. A few banks switched to permanant or summer-only casual a few years back, but most have switched back to professional attire.
The bank is a strange entity in the US. You know that it's a very conservative business to begin with. Banking is highly-regulated by the government and almost a social concern as much as a business. There are all kinds of rule and regs like Community Reinvestment where the bank has to make certain amounts of loans to certain areas and so on. Also, banking has not overcome the tarnish of the excessive failures from the 30's, thus the FDIC regs for every activity the bank undertakes. This and much more is what I believe is the impetus behind the conservative image, usually represented by short hair, for males. Nothing radical or anything that rocks the boat is desired to be associated with a bank. My old bank even had rules about appropriate colors of clothes to wear, sock types, shoe styles, and number of earrings per ear, for WOMEN, as well. No earrings for men of course. I could go on, but you get the point.
I say all that to get to this. You may be asked if you would cut your hair, and in all reality, you will then have to make the call. You might even say no and still get the job if they want you. I'm not saying this will happen, but it might. A teller is a customer contact position, obviously, and depending on who the HR person is, how the management is comprised, and what the "philosophy" of that certain bank is will dicatate how they want their teller staff to "look." Now, if it's some small bank like "First Bank of Fresno" or "Bakersfield Savings and Trust" (ficticious names, of course) that just has one or a few branches, you might hit a problem. If it's a Bank of America or Wells Fargo or such, then I bet you will be OK.
I hope you get it, because being a teller is relatively fun. I was a teller for three years and enjoyed it. When they take you back to the vault and show you 1 million+ in cash, you are going to freak out though. It's quite a sight. If you get the job, I'll share my sure-fire drawer balancing secrets and other such fun!
Also, if you get the job, they will probably offer additional training and classes to learn the skills needed to move up in the bank. Honestly, teller salary is not great. You can survive, but other positions obviously pay better. The bank is one of the few places where you can work your way up with little formal education. However, I don't know your specific situation.
One other point, if you want to work in banking, there are other non-customer contact positions that are entry level such as bookkeeping and data processing/entry and others.
Good luck, and hope you get the job. If you have other questions, I'll try to answer them as the bank was my life for a while.
Matt B.
Hi Danny
I haven't a clue what the requirements are in the USA. Interestingly however, in the UK Bank employees used to be pretty well universally detectable by their smart suits, short haircuts and even bowler hats. More recently I have noticed (with pleasure) that bank employees are great young ladies, and young men both with more casual dress and, for the young men with greater flexibility of hairstyles. In the bank that I visit there are two young men with very attractive pony tails. If this can happen in the UK, then there is great hope for the USA. I do wish you all of the very best in being able to maintain your special individual style. Jonathan.
One additional tactic may be to see if there are any jobs with credit unions. They are member-owned cooperatives, and in my experience can be a degree less buttoned-down than a commercial bank. There is a male teller at my credit union in Cincinnati who wears his hair in a ponytail. As far as I ever saw, nobody treated him any differently than his mostly female co-workers.
Chris
Danny,
Here in Asheville NC, I see bank tellers with long hair, not just one but often, and people in all walks of life and work.
I am sure that there are some retrogressive troglodytes who fear long hair, but they seem to retreat into the darkness, and haid from public view and policy..
Do not cut your hair for what you fear may be others response.
Rather, take a note pad in your brief case on every interview. Do not mention your hair. But immediately before and after each interview write down your impressions of what has happened.
Go to the various branches of this bank and record what you see. If you have any excuse to talk to any employee at any of the branches, ask him or her what the atmosphere of the bank is. When you go for an interview, go very early which gives you an excuse to hang out in the bank lobby, and casually engage in conversation any employees who are not looking too busy.
If anyone asks why you are asking, lay it out: "I'd like to have a job here." You can even add that you fear you may not be hired because your hair is longer than usual.
You can get a lot of info this way, and if you take good notes, and write up what happens you may have a case to document discrimination.
Do not hesitate to ally yourself with other forms of discrimination. Make note of the relative proportion of men to women, and of Blacks and Hispanics, in relation to the representation of those populations in the community about this branch.
Best case is that you will be hired by the bank and be an asset to the communty served by that bank which has counter culture
predisposition. Worst case is that you will get a job. Best case is that you will have a large body of quotes and observations which yo9u could lend to the editorial staff of your local papers, suggestion that they might wish to extend your reserach to doicument discrimination in your community.
PSYCHOLOGICAL BOTTOM LINE: St. Sigmond 0bserved that most people prefer familiar misery to unknown potential happiness. What this means is that many of those in authorty prefer to enforce the familiar status quo, without understanding a different point of view, out of fear of considering an alternative.
This is social reality. We cannot expect the great unwashed public to take a stand in favor of men with long hair.
Rather, we men need to be consistently outspoken about the value of long hair.
This will vary for everyone:
IOt keeps us warm in winer
It keeps us cool in summeer
It is a sign of our respect for nature.
...
I could go on, but better when you and I have rested. I am falloing aslep now, but would be very pleased to have esponses to these observations.
James
I can't say whether they'll want you to cut it or not, but all I can say is that I've been hired twice by 2 banks as a Teller, and the hair was never an issue. Those 2 banks were "The Bank of New York" and "Chase".
I've learned in life with regards to long hair, that it all depends on the company/employer that's hiring you. Some mind it, some don't.
Hi Danny,
I've never worked in a bank. But, a teller who worked/works at the Milbrea, CA branch of Bank of America has an undercut with his long bangs tied back into a very obvious ponytail. He's a very good-looking East Indian guy in maybe his mid - late 20s, and regularly used to wait on me (when my mom still lived in that town), --- and even one day commented and complimented MY hair while he was outside on a break (kind of like the "longhair nod of approval" - lol)....
That's the only info I have to share about this topic, though, unfortunately...
My best to you!!
- Ken
My advice is the obvious: Make sure that your hair is clean, brushed, and pulled back in a ponytail or braid (have a friend do the braid if needed) when you go to the interviews. If you're dealing with the public, it makes you seem shifty and untrustworthy if the customer can't see your face. Going into the interview with your face visible will help. Would you be willing to have a modified mullet, where the bangs and sides are shorter? If so, bring that up as a compromise if they make an issue of your hair.
Don't just cut your hair until you know there is no other option.
I wouldn't say don't cut your hair for a job as you do need to feed yourself and that takes money. I don't know the answer but I have never seen a male teller with long hair either.
I wouldn't cut it unless you are asked and offered a job. Imagine you cut it and are still not offered the job. We've read those stories here before. You may or may not have considered retail but the Best Buy by my home has four longhairs working there. I was in there the other day and three of them were working.
Good Luck and hoepfully you won't have to cut it.
Kevin