Have you ever done or not done something with your appearance specifically for the sake of a job? I don't mean anything as extreme as cosmetic surgery, just things like how you wear your hair or clothing.

How did you feel about this, if you had? Were you happy or unhappy about it? Did you not care either way? What did you do, and why? Do you feel it was justified? Tell me about it.



I ask because, as many of you know, I'm still in the process of trying to find either a second job or a better job than what I have. And since many employers have certain rules they like staff to hold to when it comes to personal appearance, I've definitely made sure to tone down my appearance during the application process, interviews and the like. I'd hate to lose out on an opportunity based on something so stupid and arbitrary as what earrings I'm wearing. I've gone out of my way to wear the most boring, job-friendly clothes I own. Remember that scene in UTCM where Mary comments on Christopher's owning of normal clothes, and he replies that he hates them? Yeah, that's me right now.

I wear office appropriate clothes, regardless of the job I'm applying for. My hair is its natural shade. I leave the bright jewelry off and keep the makeup minimal.

But, I do have some facial piercings and several ear piercings. Should I take these out? Yes, probably. But though I know it sounds stupid to those of you without body modifications, they are important to me. But so is not starving. SHOULD I have to take them out is perhaps the better question. I'm qualified and competent, and something like a bit of jewelry does not affect or impede my ability to do my job. As for the "professionalism' argument, I've yet to see a definition of the term that precludes things like that.

Should I take that extra step and remove what amounts to quite a lot of money's worth of jewelry (for me) from my person? I've already drastically altered my appearance for the sake of a potential job and honestly, I don't feel comfortable anymore with how I look.

Everyday

I'm slightly flamboyant when it comes to my attire,,,,and giving the nature of my workplace, I have to tune it down.

you should defnitly take thhose piercings off. I mean you can wear them all the time butt why wear them at work when you obviusly need a job and need to elevate your finanshial status?
I am absolutely against discriminaion based on appereance butt then again, I do know that the corprate world doesnt think like I_ do and sometimes you just have to abide their rules.

just play nice til you have the job you want. show em that your the one they looking for. proof them wrong when they question your skills. butt dont let your appereance let them judge you ...play nice for the time being.

later, once they know you and your qualities, you can slowly, gradually switch back to normal....except for the piercings because those are alwayys a no no.

RudyIsBackForGood said:

If I'm spending most of my time at work, that's a whole huge window of time those piercings can grow over. I used to have a certain piercings on my left ear that grew over in 5 hours because the jewelry came out when I was sleeping. By the time I awoke, there wasn't anymore hole there.

Harlepolis said:

Do you think you should have to though, if it came down to it? Would your workplace explode if you showed up one day dressed how you'd like to be?

meow85 said:

so fast ? maybe you should go to the restroom somtimes and put them in and take them off again so ther holes stay open,,,,

i like piercings, dont get me wrong but i know bosses HATE them.

confront them with the harsh reality as soon as you know they wont fire you.then keep them in all the time.butt belive me, most employers hate piercings

meow85 said:

In a figure of speach? Yes, it would

Just like any workplace, they need to maintain an image.

Harlepolis said:

What image is that, that could be destroyed so easily?

RudyIsBackForGood said:

I know they do, though I've never encountered any kind of reason for it that makes sense.

Maybe I should start bringing in "before" photos of myself to potential employers to show much I've already changed myself for their overly-fussy asses. "See? You think I look "rebellious" or whatever shit problem you have with me now,,,"

meow85 said:

Easily influenced environment,,,,like tutoring children

Dress for success.


Nobody is forcing anyone to try and pursue a career of any type. If the environment requires a standard of dress and appearance, and you really want to make the money. Then dress for success.

If it's something you want to do, then don't bother trying. But certain, folks who complain about it astound me. It's their money. If you want to earn it, play by their rules.


Now that being said, I do find certain requirements for non-customer facing jobs to be extreme or strange. For example computer techs at JPMorgan & Chase are required to wear business casual every day except Friday (and on Friday's it's up their management). The stupid thing behind all of that is that Computer techs hall equipment and craw up under tables, etc. etc. The appropriate attire for this is work jeans and a colored shirt and no jewelry. Instead, there are techs walking around in kahkis or slacks and button up shirts who can wear jewelry. It makes no sense.

But yeah, my opinion is if you really want the job, you should be willing to play by their game. The time and place for changing the rules and culture is once you've reached the top--not down at the bottom. Just my two cents.

Harlepolis said:

Is it the kids your employers are concerned about, or their parents reactions? Generally with kids, the more fun you are to look at the more they'll like you and want to do what you say/help you out/pay attention.

Dressed the way I am when I'm not looking for a job, I get all kinds of attention from kids, particularly young ones. I love it.

Imago said:

As an artist I can be as weird as I'd like and get away with it for the most part. Before that,I was a makeup artist and yes, I could have "flair" but I still had to deal with the public on a "professional" level. Other than an earring in each ear I pretty much toned down the piercings and took my nose piercing out. When you're doing someone's face who's not into piercings and your face is in theirs they don't much care to be staring at your nostrils cuz you got something shiny stuck through it.

I'm sure your modifications are very important to you. But if the field you enter is not one that generally tolerates an alternative look, I'd go ahead and remove them. You can always put whatever you want back at a later time.

These are choices we sometimes have to make as we grow up. Sucks, I know.

Depending on your chosen field, you might be your own boss someday and be able to put it all back.

Imago said:

I agree 100%!

BUT

There's a limit to these so-called "non-written" requirements,,,,like when you show up with dreadlocks and the employer start giving you the side-eye, and some of them pull up the guts to approach you about 'em without being "racially offensive"

Mind you, I don't wear dreadlocks,,,but I have friends of mine who do and have been to that situation

Back when I worked in a kid's department store when I was 17, my boss asked me to take out my nose ring. At the time, I felt like she had no right to tell me how to dress and that she was stripping me of my own identity, yadda, yadda, yadda. Because when I was 17 I thought that clothes made the man. I wore my nose ring a couple of times while I worked and it was a distraction. I had kids asking me all the time what it was. And then I had to deal with parents that weren't happy that they had to explain what piercings were. Some would flat out lie and say it was just the lighting. This was back in 1995 though.

Imago said:

That's why I've already changed as much as I have. And honestly, most of the jobs I've been applying for are retail or involve working with kids -neither of which really have any good reason for making strict demands about appearance.

I've had managers and the like flat out tell me company policy means I won't get hired based on some piercings, and apologize to me for it since I am in many cases overqualified. It's so frustrating when I've already altered my appearance to the point I no longer feel comfortable to apply for a job that is technically beneath my skill level, and be turned down based on such a tiny detail.

meow85 said:

A corporations image can be as important to its heads as your image is to you. You may feel it unfair that they should expect you to sacrifice your image for them, but should they be expected to sacrifice their image for you? At the end of the day, times are hard and there is plenty of competition for jobs. If you really want a particular job, then do everything you can to get it and keep it. Don't give the employer a reason, however trivial, to give the job to someone else. Either you want the job or you don't, they don't care if they don't employ you, when there's a dozen or so people just as qualified waiting for an interview.

johnart said:

Honestly, I've mostly only been applying for retail jobs -environments that aren't, by any stretch of the corporate imagination, professional -whatever that means -enough it should make a difference.

JuliePurplehead said:

I understand that situation given the time and place. But it's 2009, and over 60% of Canadians below the age of 30 have visible tattoos or piercings. That is a HUGE qualified market to be denying jobs too.

meow85 said:

Is that where you would like to be working?
Not to say we always have the luxury of working where we want, just asking.
What is your professional goal?

In retail modifications seem to matter less (at least when I was in retail) in Record Stores (how many of those left? ), art stores, coffee shops.

TheEnglishGent said:

How can a corporation's image be destroyed by a nose ring?

For me this isn't about image. I no longer feel comfortable with how I look.

meow85 said:

Both

My employers are cool though,,,its the people who come in here are the problem.

A woman approached me once and complimented my get-up and it was the SAME woman who complained about me to my boss

And the kids are wonderful, it ain't news. Kids in general are WAY open-minded than adults.

johnart said:

It's not my long-term goal. I refuse to become a retail lifer. This is just something in the meantime to supplement my income enough that I don't have to go to the Food Bank and can actually save some money. I have been applying absolutely everywhere I'm qualified for, but 5 months in I've still had no luck.

My long-term goals are just beginning to coalesce, but I've been leaning towards either becoming an ultrasound technician or becoming involved in social justice, more likely related to social work.

meow85 said:

A corporations image won't be destroyed by a nose ring, because if it's that important to them they won't employ you, so it won't be an issue. It's an employers market, so however crappy it might seem to you, they can be as picky as they want.

TheEnglishGent said:

What I don't understand is why it would be that important in the first place. Like I said, if 60% of young Canadians are visibly modified it seems wholly unwise on the part of employers, even in a market like this, to dismiss or ignore them.

meow85 said:

Some of your goal fields might allow a bit of modification. How extreme, I don't know.
It definitely sounds like with your main concerns at the moment you might want to keep modifications to a minimum.

Harlepolis said:

The problem I have the the anti dread-lock rule is that it denies there are obvious differences between black hair (or people with curly hair) and people with straight hair.

Wearing an afro or dreadlocks should be perfectly acceptable to me especially since the alternative is to douse your head with expensive chemical and heat treatments to maintain a standard for looks dictated by a race that doesn't have to worry about those concerns.
Could you imagine if straight haired folks were told they needed to wear afros and dreadlocks?

I totally feel looks and appearance are up to the company to maintain. But the larger picture is that we all don't naturally look the same.
It's just like in the Air Force where men are required to be cleanly shaven. The Military finally agreed after realizing it was a potential health problem to allow men with curley/kinky hair (mostly black folks) to wear very neat trimmed beards if they applied for a waiver. This is because for some curly haired men, they get a condition called Psuedo folliculitus barbae(sp?).
Sometimes, maintaining somebody else's standard of appearance when they can just expand theirs to a more realistic standard can be frustrating.

But piercings, tats, and things that are done of our own volition--well, as I've said before, dress for success.
My stylist once carved lines into my hair and rocked my shit with the most delicious haircut, comeplete with pinkish red highlights and the dead kennedys symbol on my damned head!!! http://img.photobucket.co...go2008.jpg <--delicious hairdo!

But as a result, I worked from home for two weeks until the lines grew back, and the color toned down

meow85 said:

Are you kidding?

Working with kids not only requires but DEMANDS that you shouldn't only alter your appearance but in some cases, your personality as well

Yeah it sucks, but its reality. No matter how liberal or open-minded parents come across, they're not ready for the questions that kids flood them with and as much as they rely on outsiders to teach their kids, they don't want them to be influenced by them, even if its a contradiction. Mind you, not ALL parents,,,but a chunk of them do.

I worked with my cousin at some point in a summer course for the kids in NY, my cousin caught ALOT of flack for wearing hijab,,,,,some parents even said flatly that they didn't want their kids to be exposed to anything remotely associated with "terrorism"

This is NYC,,,not some rural town in the outskirts of some midwestern state

I think these rules are made to protect us from the headache some of these dumb fucks give us. At least, thats how I look at it.