Facial Hair

ITALIAN STALLION:

 

I've never really had a beard -- tried it for about a week in college -- but I had a moustache until my mid-20s and never considered whether I should shave it for a job interview. Usually I'll get a haircut. I've always worn a suit for an interview.

We've had this discussion here before and some people think wearing a suit is silly. I'd much rather err on the slightly overdressed side. My standard interview uniform of traditionally cut navy suit, white shirt, burgundy/navy striped tie, polished black wingtips and either a white pocketsquare or more often no pocketsquare is so generic and inoffensive that I doubt it makes anyone think about it one way or another, which is how I want it. If I'm there for two days, gray suit for the second day. My feeling is that if I keep it basic and professional, I don't have to think about it during or after the interview.

Of course they know I'm not going to wear a suit every day. The editor of the paper probably won't, either. That's not the point. The point is to show respect for the process.

 

Frank nails it again.

No one would comment on his attire because it's impeccable without calling attention to itself.

Oh, and just to emphasise one of his points: make sure your shoes are polished.

You can be wearing a $2,000 suit but dirty or scuffed shoes make you look like you just fell off the turnip truck.

 

"I mean, seriously, how often do you really look at a mans shoes?" — Red

 

i wear a suit, and i trim my beard to make it look not scruffy. i see no problem with facial hair, and would like to think that would have no bearing on whether i got the job. besides, i know i look good.

 

I always shave off the goatee before a job interview. COmpletely clean-shaven.

There's no reason not to, unless you've had it for, like, 20 years or something.

Why risk it?

 

Dress nicely, but whatever you decide on, make it look neat. I think that's the only part people would care about.

 

I'm the same way, my Italian brother. I always wear a three-piece suit with a dark tie, polished shoes and short, gelled hair and a shaved mug. I once cut 6.5 inches of hair off my head before a job interview, and I didn't get the gig. But I think looking your best certainly can't hurt your chances.

 

I had two earrings for a period in college, a move I now pretty much regret. When I went for my first real interview, I took em both out, intending to put them back in. Never did. I did have, and still do have, a goatee. I've left it on at every subsequent interview, and I'm, I think, 4-for-5, with the only miss owed to a hiring freeze. As long as you keep it neat, I see no issue with facial hair. And at the risk of sounding all Pollyanna, if a place decides not to hire you solely because you have facial hair, do you really wanna work there?

 

Just being the Devil's advocate here, but...
One candidate dresses in casual attire with trimmed goatee. Is highly qualified and has great clips.
Other dresses in suit, shaved clean, polished shoes. Is barely qualified and has run of the mill clips.
Who gets the job?

 

the first guy. no one wears a suit on the job anyway. if you look nice and presentable, that should be enough.

 

At the age of fourteen, a Zoroastrian named Vilma ritualistically shaved my testicles. There really is nothing like a shorn scrotum, it's breathtaking, I suggest you try it.