CeeScraps
Pearl Clutcher
~~occupied entertaining my brain~~
Posts: 3,829
Jun 26, 2014 12:56:40 GMT
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Post by CeeScraps on Jan 5, 2017 20:39:53 GMT
We're having a discussion about hair color and job interviews.
Our daughter is under the impression that if someone is qualified and their hair is a unique color that they'd get hired.
Hired for any type of job in the corporate world.
We've tried to explain it to her that first impression says a lot. She says hair color makes no difference as times have changed.
Please clarify! Thanks
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Post by myboysnme on Jan 5, 2017 20:52:27 GMT
Depends on the job and the expectations or policies of the job. If a company policy says hair must be a natural hair shade then green or pink is out. If it says hair must be clean and neat and that's it then I would surmise no dreads. If it says nothing about hair then I would assume there is no hair preference for employees.
Times have changed but today's colored hair is my generation's long hair, another generation's gelled hair... all of those are signs of nonconformity and entering many workplaces requires conformity.
Maybe jobs like customer service phone jobs where you are never seen by the public it doesn't matter, but most places desire conformity and after you get the lay of the place you know how far you can go with individualization.
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Post by Sam on Jan 5, 2017 20:57:35 GMT
Times have not changed that much - it depends on the role and the company.
I work in the financial sector and it is still not acceptable to turn up to a meeting with bright green hair (for example). Certainly not as a new hire.
To me, if you want to have a little of the 'individual' about you, that needs to be on your resume and then in your accessories. That's only because you say "any type of job in the corporate world", many would be different and seek out individuality.
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Post by jeremysgirl on Jan 5, 2017 20:58:59 GMT
I am not an HR person but I am currently looking for a new job. I have a nose ring. I remove it for interviews. And each boss I have worked for has had different ideas about some. Some have been really conservative and have not wanted me to wear it when working. One boss was fine with me in the office but any time I met with the public he wanted it out. And some have been completely fine with it.
I also have a tattoo on my ankle and I had one boss tell me that when meeting with the public he wanted me to wear a pantsuit so it was not visible.
In my opinion it would be foolish to have your hair a wild color unless you know for sure that the corporate culture is OK with it. Just as we wear a black suit for interviews even in places where we would not be expected to wear a black suit on a daily basis, I find that it's better to be more conservative. Once you've gotten the job and proven yourself you can see better what the limits are within that corporate culture.
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keithurbanlovinpea
Pearl Clutcher
Flowing with the go...
Posts: 4,273
Jun 29, 2014 3:29:30 GMT
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Post by keithurbanlovinpea on Jan 5, 2017 20:59:40 GMT
My company had a pretty open dress code and tattoos, piercings and off the wall colored hair is not an issue. But that is not true for every company. A candidate needs to research the company's culture to see what is accepted, and in turn, see if that culture is acceptable to them.
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smartypants71
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,710
Location: Houston, TX
Jun 25, 2014 22:47:49 GMT
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Post by smartypants71 on Jan 5, 2017 21:00:14 GMT
I work for a company of about 6000+ people. As far as we know we don't have any sort of dress code, and I have seen a few people of streaks of non-naturally color hair in the office. I can tell you that it would definitely be a career-limiting choice.
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Post by hop2 on Jan 5, 2017 21:00:46 GMT
I can list 6 companies off the top of my head that have policies that hair can only be colors that occur naturally on people - not necessarily *your* natural color but a color that 'could' be natural.
Off the top of my head- without trying too hard, let alone googling
It IS changed from my twenties, but it depends on who/what/where it's not common business practice quite yet. Many people loose opportunities due to appearance
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SweetieBsMom
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,612
Jun 25, 2014 19:55:12 GMT
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Post by SweetieBsMom on Jan 5, 2017 21:02:23 GMT
I work for a company of 40k. A large corporate company. You could be the most qualified candidate in the world but if you came in with purple hair, you're not getting hired. Things may be changing but they change slow, especially in the corporate space. I was interviewing for a position and the candidate had a small nose stud. I didn't even notice it, it was that small. I liked the candidate and wanted to move forward with her but my boss and her boss were "absolutely not". All because of the small nose stud. The girl I ended up hiring has a ton of tattoos. She covered them all up in the interview. I said to her the first time I saw them: Oh, thank God you covered those in the interview! She wouldn't have been hired if they were all on display.
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Post by JustCallMeMommy on Jan 5, 2017 21:04:53 GMT
It would completely depend on who is doing the hiring, the company culture, and the visibility of the job. A better tact would be to interview with a traditional hair color, get the job, prove herself invaluable, and then approach the idea of different colored hair.
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Post by bc2ca on Jan 5, 2017 21:16:45 GMT
My company had a pretty open dress code and tattoos, piercings and off the wall colored hair is not an issue. But that is not true for every company. A candidate needs to research the company's culture to see what is accepted, and in turn, see if that culture is acceptable to them. If she is applying to a wide number of companies with varying cultures, it would be best to have a natural hair color while going through the interview process. It is about more than first impressions though. If it is important to her to only work for companies that have a wide open dress/appearance code then she should be happy to be screened out quickly by some if she shows up with a hair color not found in nature. SaveSave
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Deleted
Posts: 0
May 19, 2024 14:28:17 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jan 5, 2017 21:18:10 GMT
Agree that it depends on corporate culture, but in most large corporations (especially outside of the tech industry), I would generally say it can have a very big effect. It's an automatic drawback immediately before the interviewer can even start to ask questions. Should it be? Who can say? But a lot of times it is. She doesn't know the personality of the person that will interview her, so she is taking a big chance of not getting past the first question just due to her hair color.
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peaname
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,389
Aug 16, 2014 23:15:53 GMT
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Post by peaname on Jan 5, 2017 21:21:11 GMT
I wouldn't chance it. It's one thing to dye your hair pink when you've had a chance to prove yourself in a job but for an interview, no way.
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blue tulip
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,986
Jun 25, 2014 20:53:57 GMT
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Post by blue tulip on Jan 5, 2017 21:25:05 GMT
not in HR, but I can tell you that sadly, hair color is often a factor. I know this from the tons of "my new job won't allow my alternative color" posts every week on a rainbow hair color forum I belong to. i'm happy I work in a lab where it doesn't matter, but i also started going rainbow after I got the job.
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Post by 950nancy on Jan 5, 2017 21:26:14 GMT
I used to sit in on interviews several times a year. Even if a company policy doesn't say anything about hair color, it depends on who is doing the hiring. When you have two candidates who are equally qualified, the one that pleases the committee will get the job. Some people have issues with tattoos, nose rings, and stand out hair color. We had one candidate who was stronger than the others (by far), but a boss was not fond of the deadlocks at all. All my boss said when she told us she had hired the other lady who had a less than stellar interview was that some things came up. So until people with loud colored hair are doing all of the interviews, I don't know how sure you can be that it won't be a problem.
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Post by cmpeter on Jan 5, 2017 21:39:08 GMT
I work for a large corporation (60K employees). I don't see anyone in our NYC corporate office with colored hair. A subtle streak might not impact hiring, but a full head of colored hair would.
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Post by lisacharlotte on Jan 5, 2017 21:39:15 GMT
When competing for jobs you don't want to single yourself out negatively against other applicants. It doesn't matter if the company is okay with wild hair color for employees...you're not an employee yet.
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smcast
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,321
Location: MN
Mar 18, 2016 14:06:38 GMT
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Post by smcast on Jan 5, 2017 22:24:58 GMT
Tell your dd that "mom knows best."
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Post by bearmom on Jan 5, 2017 22:27:19 GMT
Not hair color but dh has longer hair (chin'ish length) that he keeps very neat. He has heard more than once that initially, people have formed a not favorable opinion of him. The opinion always changes after he works with the other person, but you don't have that luxury in an interview.
Now he didn't grow his hair longer until he had been at his company for 5 years or so and already had several years of positive reviews and if had negatively impacted his career in anyway, it would be short again in a heartbeat.
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RosieKat
Drama Llama
PeaJect #12
Posts: 5,398
Jun 25, 2014 19:28:04 GMT
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Post by RosieKat on Jan 5, 2017 23:31:56 GMT
I would add that location probably has a role, as well. What might fly in Austin may not fly in Chicago, for example. And even in Austin, I wouldn't show up with anything more than a couple of subtle colored streaks for most interviews. Some industries would likely be more accepting, but even so, I'd err on the conservative side. For example, DH works in game development, where standards of dress and appearance are generally pretty lenient. He wouldn't care about hair color if he was hiring, but some of the people he works with would.
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eastcoastpea
Prolific Pea
Posts: 9,252
Jun 27, 2014 13:05:28 GMT
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Post by eastcoastpea on Jan 5, 2017 23:34:59 GMT
The company I work for is big. No pink, green, blue...hair. There are also no big tatoos, piercings, gauges.
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Post by Ryann on Jan 5, 2017 23:58:58 GMT
We're having a discussion about hair color and job interviews. Our daughter is under the impression that if someone is qualified and their hair is a unique color that they'd get hired. Hired for any type of job in the corporate world. We've tried to explain it to her that first impression says a lot. She says hair color makes no difference as times have changed. Please clarify! Thanks The company I work for (corporate culture) requires natural hair color only. Dying your hair to blond, brown, black, etc. is acceptable. Dying hair purple, blue, pink, etc. is not acceptable. We had a part-timer come in with pink streaks for breast cancer awareness and was told to remove it. She came in the next day with all traces of pink gone. IMO it would be much smarter to go to an interview with natural hair color and inquire if fun hair colors are acceptable there. If they say no and they offer her a job, she can decide then if it's a deal breaker.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
May 19, 2024 14:28:17 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jan 6, 2017 0:03:43 GMT
We're having a discussion about hair color and job interviews. Our daughter is under the impression that if someone is qualified and their hair is a unique color that they'd get hired. Hired for any type of job in the corporate world. We've tried to explain it to her that first impression says a lot. She says hair color makes no difference as times have changed. Please clarify! Thanks I work in higher ed where a youthful "fun" personality is normally a plus and a creative bent is acceptable... but oddly when it comes to hiring unique hair colors, edgy hair styles, large visible tats, gauges and piercings will all cause an applicant to be passed over. eta: I'm not in HR but our HR is not involved in the interview process/decision. HR only takes over after office management says "we want to hire this one"
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pridemom
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,843
Jul 12, 2014 21:58:10 GMT
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Post by pridemom on Jan 6, 2017 0:05:27 GMT
My employee handbook states only natural colors.
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CeeScraps
Pearl Clutcher
~~occupied entertaining my brain~~
Posts: 3,829
Jun 26, 2014 12:56:40 GMT
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Post by CeeScraps on Jan 6, 2017 0:17:53 GMT
Sorry it took me so long to come back to the thread. We were in the car on the way to dinner when we had this conversation.
Thanks so much for your experiences and input. I will share these with my daughter!
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Post by smokeynspike on Jan 6, 2017 7:15:48 GMT
I work in banking and it is conservative still, even on the west coast where things are not as rigid in banking as back east. Natural colored hair only, no gauges in the ears, concealed tattoos, business casual clothing.
Someone with non-traditional hair coloring would NEVER get hired and I have yet to see a single person in this very large company try to buck the dress code with colored hair. It just isn't done. You can get away with tattoos by covering them up, but that is about as risqué as people get.
Melissa
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Deleted
Posts: 0
May 19, 2024 14:28:18 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jan 6, 2017 11:24:53 GMT
I work for a global company here in the states. I'm not in HR, but I'm pretty sure there is no policy against hair color. Or piercings other than ears, or tattoos. I've seen plenty of my co-workers sporting one or all of them. Usually the younger people. Before I was hired, I had to go to the main complex and take some computer tests. One of the other pre-hires was sporting a beautiful shade of white/blue in her hair. It was almost ombre(?)with the top part of her head really light blond almost white then blue hues on down. I remember being envious of it because I loved it but would never do it myself. Anyway, she got hired along with me.
So, I agree with many others who say you need to know the company you are interviewing for. There are some out there who won't care about her hair color. And there are some who do. But she probably wouldn't be comfortable working there anyway. Tell her Good Luck! Hope she finds something she loves!
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Post by anxiousmom on Jan 6, 2017 11:25:26 GMT
My boy has his first 'big boy interview' today. Before he left yesterday to go back to school we had a conversation that revolved around only what he is planning on wearing. The job itself is an OPS student job in a town that has a significant student population but it is in a fairly conservative industry. While they are used to students, and used to working around a student's odd schedules, they will not work around a student's whimsical purple streaks, eyebrow rings or neck tattoos. My boy does have a tattoo, but it will be hidden by his interview outfit, and typically dresses like 1985 prepster, so he will be okay.
The last job I had was to help with job seeker skills including interview prep-which includes how to dress and how to present yourself for an interview. A big no-no is doing anything that falls outside the norm of the most conservative person you know. You can wear...say...an interesting pin on your interview jacket, but not interesting dangling earrings. And hair? Neat and tidy, natural colors only. I used to have my clients come in for mock interviews, which included having them dress for the interview to ensure that it was appropriate for the interview.
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Post by Really Red on Jan 6, 2017 12:10:52 GMT
I work for a large insurance company. It wouldn't stop us for one second. Tattoos are fine if they aren't overtly (so that we can see) offensive, otherwise they need to be covered.
I think it depends where you're working and how much contact with the rest of the world you have and WHICH part of the world.
Here, our grocery stores hire people with some strange things on their faces. The only thing that bothers me is when it distorts your face. Like a big bar through your eyebrow or a face tattoo is fine with me, but those giant space things in your ears turn my stomach.
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Post by *KAS* on Jan 6, 2017 12:27:35 GMT
I don't personally care what color somebody's hair is. And I don't know what (if anything) our employee handbook says. But if somebody came to an interview on my team with pink hair, it would be a quick interview, and there's 0% chance I would consider them, no matter how qualified. Our clients are very conservative and would never accept it. And if you came to a first impression interview that way, I would assume that you (a) don't understand our clients or (b) do not want to step in line to corporate culture. I'd be your friend...I wouldn't hire you.
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Post by mikklynn on Jan 6, 2017 13:18:05 GMT
When competing for jobs you don't want to single yourself out negatively against other applicants. It doesn't matter if the company is okay with wild hair color for employees...you're not an employee yet. I completely agree.
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