new thread
with your long hair?
I've been growing my hair out for over a year and a half now, and over the past few months have started looking for employment. Two places that I was more than qualified for the job I was turned down after they saw me.
I went to a home improvement store, and upon asking for an application was told I have to cut my hair and I have to shave. Shaving I can understand.
Now I'm kind of in a crisis, I don't have any money right now, and I have family members and friends telling me to cut it so I can get a job.
The only problem is I've wanted long hair for about the past 5-6 years, and finally let it grow all the way out, and now it's starting to look like I'll have to cut it. I know if I do cut I'm really going to regret it.
Have any of you guys been through the same sort of thing?
Mike, I have not been through this,I have been through worrying about this. You don't say how old you are. Also, there's going in for an interview or to put in an application and there's going in to interview or put in an application! Did you take time to groom, dress neatly and appropriately for the place? Was your hair brushed and neat--was it tied back, as that is the way most often it will appear neat and "acceptable" in the workplace.
I was 41 when, in the midst of the awkward stage, I interviewed for a new teaching job. My hair was not an issue. I was 43 when I interviewed for yet another job. By then, my hair was down past my shoulders. Not an issue.
But, I was dressed professionally for the interview, was clean, goatee neatly trimmed and otherwise my face shaven, hair tied back very neatly. And we focusd on my job and professional skills.
Robert
Hi, I'm 20, and whenever I go looking for a job or to an interview, I wear a nice collared shirt, nice pants, boots, and I pull my hair into a pony tail, and groom my facial hair.
And I live in California, which I thought would be more "liberal" when it comes to things like this.
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Actually, you are partly right. Though shiny dress shoes are best, it depends what job you are interviewing for. For some retail jobs, casual slacks, nice boots and a polo shirt are good. For upscale retail or sales, probably suit or dress slacks and a buttoned down dress shirt. When I applied in the past at Footlocker, Nike factory outlet store and Bestbuy in my younger days, I interviewed wearing levi 501s, sneakers and a t-shirt. I got every one of these jobs.If you want to wear boots, try dress boots, unless its casual, like Starbucks than wear regular boots.
Applying at companies and private enterprise, yeah I would recommend a suit and tie. dress shoes or dress boots.
If you really want casual retail , work for a surf shop or a record store, Ive seen long haired guys working there wearing shorts and flip flops. Even Ambercrombie & Fitch, male employees there wear shorts and sandals too.
But it is true, with our alternate appearances, it is probably safe to dress a little more appropriate to take away attention on our appearance.
Impossible to say if it was directly because of the hair but next time I need to look 'corporate' I'm going to wear my hair in a bee-butt bun, just to get past the first-level HR person. It is much less obvious than a ponytail. Having said that I really don't want to get into a company on pretense. My skills and talent in my area of expertise are proven and well-documented. People who work with me generally enjoy the experience. I have a consistent track-record of bringing projects in on time and on budget. With all of this if a company wants to eliminate me from consideration because of my long hair, beard, small stature, abstenance from alcohol, disinterest in hockey, and refusal to indicate 'race' and 'gender' on forms, then they can't possibly offer me a cutting-edge work environment that would make good use of my talent. Having said that, everyone's situation is different. I am very, very lucky to be able to live comfortably on my savings so I have the luxury of being very selective. When I'm not doing consulting I'm doing my own self-financed research and development. And since I'm the boss, long hair rules --- and 14-hour work days are the norm!
THATS SUCKS..........THE LOSERS THAT MAKE THE RULES What was the name of the place that told you that???
It's a place called Yardbirds. I think it's a California only chain, and has about 6 stores.
Yeah, I got turned down at a christian camp for lifeguard/counselor work because of my hair. I went in very professional looking, slicked back in a ponytail (before the dreadlocks). . .but they have a very specific coporate policy about men with long hair or facial hair. I told them "have a nice summer".
I've never worked a job longer than a week, except working for myself or as a freelancer :-) so I've never had such a problem. It presents a bit of a dilema.
Personally I would never work for a company where I was judged by my hair style over my work ethic and skills. Normally DIY stores have a pretty liberal attitude to appearance. I guess I'd suggest you look for jobs where you won't be "client-facing" then the employer generally has no reason to require a certain appearance.
Generally, if you are presentable with long hair, ie: well dressed and groomed, then you'll face less opposition. But the acceptability of Long Hair in the workplace seems to differ Geographically too, some parts of the world are easier than others. Even different parts of the states.
Sorted
Only because its freaking impossible to find work in Eugene, OR. I think I'd turn down most of the piddly jobs I've been applying for if they asked me to cut my locks. Sorry to hear about your troubles just the same.
you'll have no hair and a job you don't like. Prity soon you'll have no hair and no job. I think your family can support you till you find a decent job. One where you can actually work there for a few months. Not one where they make you cut your hair and fire you 3 weeks later. Personally I hate normal monotinus boring jobs. Look at more interesting places for a job. They tend to be more accepting and pleasent places to work. For instance I just interviewed for some part time work as a paintball referee. Now there's a job. None of that fastfood crap my friends work at. The jobs are there you just gotta find them. Good luck dude.
Nope. Got job first, then grew hair. Maybe my priorities are mixed up :-)
No. I'm working at a Starbucks for the summer. They're huge on having an anti-discrimination policy and I think they knew I was quick enough to use that against them in my interview.
Funny you mention that. Back when I actually was looking for a job and before I realised I couldn't stand having someone else tell me what to do I applied for a lot of jobs in various sectors. I found that Anti-Discrimination Policies actually worked in my favour.
My CV states my place of birth, Bradford, West Yorkshire. This along with Birmingham and Leicester is one of the 3 main places outside of London where Black and Asian Immigrants settled in Post War Britain. Consequently they have very vibrant ethnic communities. Infact I've heard it said that a white face in Bradford looks foreign. (I've nothing against this at all, just painting a picture for our US readers.)
Anyway, the thing was I kept finding myself been invited to interviews for jobs I was grossly underqualified for. But hey it gave me a shot at the interview. It finally dawned on my why I was been invited when I entered the Interview Room on two concecutive occasions and I was greeted with the following:
Interviewer: "Mister Parkes????"
Me: "Yes, that's me."
Interviewer: "Oh, we were expecting you to be black."
Right.... I wasn't there cos I was qualified for the job I was their to make up the equal opportunities numbers!
*Alli G voice* Its cos me is white init?
That's hillarious, although not really a laughing matter. I am so used to hearing stories of blacks, latinos, and women getting jobs to make quotas, it just seems so far fetched in my corner of the world that somewhere affirmative action could get a job for a white male.
I work in a video shop, which has no rules apart from looking smart. I also work in a media company doing sound work, some editing and camera work. Again, there is no problem with my hair, and if anyone decides to have a problem, I'll take them to court cos it's sexist - girls at work can have long hair, then so can guys :)
Incidently, I worked in Mickey D's when I was 15 and my hair was long - just had to wear a hair net under my cap.
Go to your manager and say to him - "If the girls here can have long hair, why can't the guys? Wouldn't a lawyer have something to say about it being a requirement for male workers?"
Oh - AND, there's a longhair in the Mickey D's down the road from me - and he's the nicest guy in that place! So it can't be true that you're not allowed long hair - maybe they're telling you fibs.
wolfeyes.
Emm... sorry I mixed your post up with another one... but parts are still relevant.
You need to find somewhere that long ahir isn't an issue, though with the whole political correctness thing now most places aren't allowed to have that prejudice.
However, this doesn't really stop it - as you've discovered.
Generally it depends on what kind of job you want. If you have qualifications and want a job as, say, an architect - I don't think there'd be too much of a problem since they'd mainly be looking for someone who can do the job.
In part-time work there's probably most prejudice, but if you try the likes of a video shop, computer/games shop, music shop, guitar shop, anything that sells art-related equipment, you shouldn't have much of a problem at all.
Basically, look for places that people with free minds might work. Hope you get sorted out ok.
wolfeyes
It was surprisingly easy. I was unemployed by choice (caregiving) for a long time. I started looking September 1 '03 and was hired by the end of October. Of course the IT industry seems to not mind looks if you can do the job. I was more worried about the long unemployment; but you know I thought very seriously about cutting to improve the odds.
Mike,
I also live in California, the Los Angeles area, and I have not seen any major discrimiation regarding men with long hair. I have buttlength hair and I have had my hair long at different lengths for the past 22 years. I am turning 40 this year. I have hardly ever had any problem with employers I have worked for, and have been hired for my abilities, not being judged by my hair. My current job as a receiving lead, working in shipping and receiving for a major semiconductor company, and my prior jobs working as data entry and customer service for two large health insurance companies, and a couple of others, as well as retail stores in my young days, in this 24 year period has not been a problem for me. I also have a 4" inch long goatee. I have been on a couple of interviews where I was told that I would have to cut my hair, but I refused and the interview ended.
It depends what kind of job you are looking for. Unless, you apply for stock broker, law enforcement etc, most jobs allow long hair as long as it is well groomed and kept neat.
My advice to you is keep looking and dont cut your hair. There are jobs out there, even office jobs. I know guys who even worked temp jobs and were hardly harrased on their long hair.
If you are willing to temporarily take any job which permits long hair,for example, temp work, minimum wage work until you find the job you want, that will be money coming in and you can keep your hair long.
Finally, if those two jobs you were well qualified for, turned you away for your long hair, were those companies conservative? If they were, that was why they turned you down. If they were not conservative, that was biased discrimination.
Again, dont give up, and there are companies, especially in California that allow long hair on men. I would say probably 80 to 85% of companies allow the long hair in California. Just remember to dress appropriately for the position you are interviewing for.
I look like a headbanger rocker/biker with butt length hair and I dress that way too.People also say I look like Jesus. So if I can look this way in the workplace and get hired(Although I did dress appropriately for the interviews) I think anybody pretty much can.
I hoped this helped you and let any of us know if you need any more advice. We'll help you to keep your hair.
Never give in to a mandatory haircut unless you join the military or law enforcement.
Eddie.
Wow, thanks Eddie. I guess I just gotta keep at it. I'm looking at Starbucks now, since they seem pretty easy going when it comes to appearence.
So hopefully I can get a job there, and then began my focus towards some kind of vocational training.
Thanks guys!
Mike, one more tid bit of info. You mentioned vocational training. I dont know what career you are choosing, but
it is well known that the computer programmers, computer techs or just about most any computer profession are accepted as longhairs in the workplace. I have seen many computer techs with longhair, even some with extreme longhaired hippy appearances that even out do me. It is the profession with the most longhaired males who are allowed by their employers to have long hair. Now its not the only career field but the most common for longhairs of all ages. Something to think about if you happen to like computers, there you go. But whatever you choose dude, be patient and there is work and companies and professions who tolerate long hair on males.
Eddie...akaLongHairedRockerDude
