Alright here we go. I have an interview with a company for a job that could potentially pay me around 70k and is right near my house. I want the job, but I do have a decent current job that pays me 62k. I have a beard and have had one for 8 years now. I have never shaved it before any interviews before but I have trimmed it real nice and short and clean and shaved everything else around it. I now have someone telling this is a major error and no one paying that much money wants to see anyone with a beard. So I ask OOT, To shave or not?

Some added info...

I have 2 "In's" at this job. They both have been pushing me for some time and have the ear of the person who will make the decision. I also know they are "desperate."

Cliff Notes - Shave or Not for a 70k Job Interview?

Neatly trimmed should be fine.

neatly trimmed should be fine ya, but if you can, try to find out of employees of said company have beards. if they do, then ya chances are trimmed beard is koo. if not, shavaments.

i had an interview today and shaved my beard but kept my 12+ inches of luxurious auburn locks. i'm glad i was interviewed by a canadian chick instead of some fogey, but if i would have known that ahead of time i would have kept the beard.

You gotta be you. 8 years of history is worth something.

I voted 'shave' before reading, but even with the story it's close. How long does it take to grow a beard back? Aside from the raise, is the job that much better than the one you have?

Eh, if you're not desperate to get the job, keep the beard.

I don't see how it would possibly matter, as long as you are neatly groomed. If the ****'s outta control and you look like Grizzly Adams, well, that's bad.




<-----------not good at job interviews tho

I recently had an etiquette/business consultant who was telling us tips and they said people with beards get passed over much more then those who shave everything and if you truly want the job you should shave it.

depends what you look like

It depends. The younger you are the more likely you should shave it. If it's a purely tech job with almost 0 customer interaction then it probably doesn't matter. However, if you are going to be dealing with customers and making on site calls then you need to shave it.

True. If you're monitoring network activity or some ****, I think the worse you look the better. Walk in there with a stained linux shirt and cutoff shorts and some Chuck Taylors on, hired on the spot.

By the way, I never really understood the big fear of interviewing, or the need for all these books and seminars on how to do it. I've gotten every job I've ever interviewed for, it's really not hard. Dress nice, be on time, sit up straight, don't fidget, speak clearly, and have a good handshake. It's basic human interaction to create a good impression.

Not that I've ever interviewed for a non-****ty job.

I ran into this situation about 3 weeks ago when interviewing for my first job out of college. I really didn't want to shave the beard but again the job paid well and was close to home so I really wanted it. A friend who is a manager for a major corporation nearby told me if I really wanted it that I had to shave it and that he or anyone else in his company hadn't hired anyone that had a beard during an interview. It may just be coincidence but I did shave it and later that week was offered the job out of 9 total candidates.

Keep the beard but shave your balls. Tell them you've done this.

Shave.

Lots of people will say it doesn't matter, but it does. Same things for tattoos and earrings. Just because it _shouldn't_ matter doesn't mean it _doesn't_ matter.

There are lots of people who will immediately discount you for a job for a beard, tattoo, or earing. The people who interview you may or may not care, but I'd play it safe and shave.

Hypothesis: Chasidic Jews have the highest unemployment rates among any group in the country because they have beards. This is why they are always found hanging around at the OTB and outside the corner store smoking cigarettes instead of working.

This. Unless it's a try-out for the Yankees.

WTF? How does having a neatly trimmed beard make you somehow unqualified for a job? Obviously like, shave, look decent, look like you care about your appearance...but having a neatly trimmed beard that obviously took some effort to trim and look nice would never, ever make me think poorly of a candidate I was interviewing.

Do you want to work for a boss who judges your abilities by the presence or lack of facial hair?

How in the name of Christ could having a nice looking beard matter to anyone? I understand that it very well may be the case, but I mean what is the precedent for this, it simply does not conform to logic. Do you really want to work at a company run by uber nits if that's the case?

When I interview people with beards, I instantly think of this guy:


That's usually not good for you if I'm doing the interviewing.

I can't grow facial hair and have lots of money/good job...

I say shave it. If you want the job why give them a reason not to give it to you. I mean they're certainly not going to think, "I liked OP, but I just can't hire someone without a beard."

Far more likely is that they'll think, "OP was a good candidate, but there's just something about him that I'm not sure about."

my thinking is that, even if there is only like a 1% chance that this costs you the job, you should shave it. i mean, unless your 15 years old it shouldn't take that long to grow back.

If this isn't a break or make job, why alter yourself for them? I mean there is a small chance it will go against you, and if you were homeless or on your last penny, then grab every percentage of EV you can. But that's not the situation here. You have no need to change yourself for them and if there's no need, it's pretty dumb to do something like this. You are your own person -- besides, it's almost just as likely to get someone who hates your beard as it is to get someone who LOVES your beard and thinks you are awesome solely based on that fact.

WTF people - do you live in the 60s when the only people with beards and long hair were hippies? It's just not that way anymore.