to think that turning up to a job interview with waist-length hair (as a man)

[EdgarAllenSnow]

is tantamount to walking in and saying plainly 'I do not want the job?'

I ask because my brother, reasonably well qualified, reasonably charming though he is, has not cut his hair to get a job, and despite having several interviews, has had no offers. He attends interviews otherwise tidy, suited and booted and with his manly locks tied back in a pony tail.

"Women aren't told to grow their hair long before a job interview if they have chosen a short style are they? because thats how they are supposed to look."

Actually if a woman had an unusual haircut - a crew cut or a mohican - then it might impact on her ability to get a job too.

Look - no-one is saying it's right or fair - they're just being practical and saying that IF you get a conservative interviewer (and there are a lot of them around, even in publishing) then they MAY make negative assumptions about you as a candidate.

If hair is more important to you than taking that chance then of course no-one is saying you should change your cut. And let's face it, Edgar's brother might cut his hair and find he STILL doesn't get the jobs. Then he'll be buggered . But to pretend that no-one out there makes assumptions based on appearance is just naive.

i think a wise interviewer would never cite appearance as a reason not to hire, for fear of running afoul of equality legislation.

my sisters terms of employment stipulate 'hair can be dyed, but oly natural colours' so, black yes, red yes...purple noooo....

possibly it also didn't help Dbro when asked what the purpose of a publishing business was, he failed to mention money.

He is alot like Eomer in mannerism as well. Maybe people just don't look for horse-lord attributes in an employee.

This thread is brilliant

I have to admit, I don't like ponytails on men, and therefore it would probably influence me in that sub-conscious, first-ten-seconds-of-the-interview sort of way.

I am not sure why I don't like them - normally, I just think about things, and usually know why I like or don't like them. The only thing I can think of about ponytails, is that the first man I knew who wore one, was an utter, utter twat.
His opinions about art and music were all culled from the review pages of the Guardian, and he was a thief and liar, and an accountant. I have proof of all these things.

I don't think it is hair length that is the problem in the OP so much as hair style. I would find it pretty odd if a woman walked into an interview with a pony tail. It's hardly a professional hair style.

does a chignon conform to your idea of professional female hairstyling bonsoir ?

wondering if all those duff interviews, were in fact, not cause by me twatting them up, but by elementary harstyling errors

It might do, but I actually don't think that tied up long hair is a good look for work.

A proper hairstyle that is sleek and not too fiddly is best, IMO.

I've worked in IT with long haired men and seen doctors with long hair. As long as they look neat, no real problem.

This guy has some pretty clear thoughts though. Apparently a low heel and a dark blue skirt suit is the way to go... worked for Thatcher I suppose

ah yes, you see i turned to job seekers manual 'good answers for tough interview questions' which did not specifically prohibit long hair on men, but did stipulate tidy,..and i think it is much easier for short to be tidy.

it also stipulates white, cream or pale blue shirts without any form of stripe. and they say Mumsnet gets judgey....

i used to perv over men with longhair, and LOTR is a total perv fest (though, Vigo Mortenson is greatly more my thing). Dh cut his viking locks to become an acountant.

i think enough people have said they'd consider it a negative point for brother to mark my words - there's a good chance the interviewer falls in the 'nay' camp and he will have to spend time proving he is not, in fact, like their ex-boyfriend from university, an utter wanksplat.

Depends on the job.

And it also depends on how much the man is in love with his long hair. Maybe it's just not worth cutting hair that is loved and took ten years to grow for the sake of a bog standard job which isn't going to bring a huge amount of joy. And which you might not even be offered.

Long hair is fine for men or women, why shouldn't it be? But unkempt, untidy or dirty-looking hair isn't going to make a good impression, whether it is short or long.

I dunno about the interview process but I'm beginning to seriously fancy the sound of Edgar's brother...

There's a bloke in our office (Big bank) with waist-length hair - he's a senior corporate relationship manager and meets with top 100 company finance professionals on a daily basis. He's incredibly good at his job and, as he's in his late 40's, I would imagine he's had that style a long while. He has it loose on the way in and out to work and ties it back in the lift. I think he looks a sight better than half the 'fashionable' young women in the office who appear to be dressing for a nightclub rather than the world of corporate finance or the male grads whose hair appears to have been pulled through a bush backwards...

I don't think it's that odd that he's not yet got a job in publishing after several interviews - it is a very competitive business.

it certainly is, but he did get interviews...and every interview is a reasonable chance at a job, they have notably tailed off though.

at work all the recruitment practices we work for are in tough straits - slight uplift with the start of the year, but nothing major.

Bro is very married

Well the answer to your question in is that it depends on the job.

In my office there is one bloke who is pushing 60 with very long grey pony tail and beard to match. There are a couple of blokes with just very long hair. There is one with very long hair and both arms covered in tats from shoulder to wrist. All of them very well qualified, good workers and very well liked