new thread
It appears that the business world has become much more lax with long hair on men than I've recently been giving it credit for.
Last night, while watching CourtTV, I saw a DA walk in to a courtroom with a couple of his fellow attorney's. By the amount of grey in his hair, I estimated he was in his 50's. He had mid-back length hair that had been fashioned into an exquisite looking braid.
There is a defense attorney here in the Atlanta area that must be this guy's twin...he too has long salt & pepper hair about midway down his back and he often wears it braided. This guy is always on tv because he seems to always take the high profile cases. As much as I am impressed with this & as much as I applaud seeing this on tv because it's difinitely a plus for all of us long hairs...I can bet you any amount of money that he didn't start his career like this. I would be willing to bet money that when he first started out that he was a squeaky clean guy and as he earned his peers' respect and made a name for himself - then & only then - did his hair start to grow half way down his back. Unfortunately, this is how society works...you must prove yourself first and then you can go from there. Sure there are selected fields in which long hairs have no problem at all (computer programmers for example), but the generic Corporate America is still way too conservative yet to just stroll into an interview with hair half way down your back. Trust me on this one because I speak from experience. Our society is still way too conservative, but I do indeed believe that times have gotten better for us long hairs since 1991 (which is when I graduated from college). You just have to pick your spots and do a little investigative work on a company prior to your interview.
the computer geeks have been forced out of the back office over the past 10 years and into the high profile meetings and client courting with the rest of the coporate office. Seems like they expect you to act (and look) like a traditional corportate slave now. besides, even short haired, degreed computer geeks are finding jobs hard to get right now. Im leaving the computer field and going into low level medical technology (you know, working in a hospital) Ive seen alot of long hairs in clinics and hospitals as support staff over the years - earrings too - woot!