Did I miss the memo???

**kganihanova** · June 14th, 2015, 02:17 PM

I went on a job interview last week and I had the longest hair in the building it seemed like. Every other woman had shoulder to apl length long bobs (same style). I felt so weird. Does anyone else have this at their workplace?

**embee** · June 14th, 2015, 02:36 PM

I always wear my hair in a bun, but indeed I always have the longest hair - they just can't see it and don't know.

I'd recommend a bun next time, in case somebody higher up is weirded out by long hair or thinks it's "unprofessional" or something..

**TwilightShadow** · June 14th, 2015, 02:38 PM

Yeah, I do. At both workplaces, one being a research lab (and I count everyone from the institute, not just my lab, which means at least 50 women) and the other is at a med school department (we're only about 30 there, but still, nobody else has hair longer than BSL).

ETA: I wouldn't worry about looking different from the other women. I think long hair makes you stand out in a good way. I don't remember getting compliments when I had shorter hair (or maybe they were, but few). Now I do, especially when dyeing it a more vibrant color.

**LauraLongLocks** · June 14th, 2015, 02:52 PM

Originally Posted by kganihanova

I went on a job interview last week and I had the longest hair in the building it seemed like. Every other woman had shoulder to apl length long bobs (same style). I felt so weird. Does anyone else have this at their workplace?

I don't have a job yet, but in general, I have longer hair than most people I associate with. Most women don't have hair past about APL to BSL, and the few that have longer hair keep it about waist length. I'm between hip and BCL now and by the time I apply for nursing school, it should be at classic length. I won't know how long anyone's hair is in nursing school, unless their hair is short, because hair is required to be worn up in nursing school if it is long. I still think I'll have some of the longest hair. I'll be glad to wear it up, because it seems more professional to me to wear it up, and it won't be in my way if it is up.

By the way, I see in your signature that we have the same goal length... knee. Isn't it the prettiest length?! I love knee length hair. Such a deliberate statement. Good luck in your hair journey.

**Larki** · June 14th, 2015, 02:55 PM

Career advice is generally to keep hair longer than shoulder length up until you have a feel for the culture and expectations of the company. If other, established employees sometimes wear long hair down, it's fine for you to do so as well. It's always safer and more professional particularly for interviews to keep hair up and out of your face (mostly so you aren't tempted to play with your hair out of nerves and so the interviewer can see your face clearly).

**meteor** · June 14th, 2015, 03:06 PM

I don't know anybody in real life with hair as long as mine, unfortunately. But yeah, loose hair longer than APL-BSL on myself always made me feel uncomfortable in professional environments, because it felt "big", got in my face, so I always keep my hair contained in an updo. I love having hair completely out of the way. Thank goodness for YouTube hair tutorials and the LHC, because there is no way I'd be able to learn updos without all this help!

**swearnsue** · June 14th, 2015, 03:09 PM

I've noticed that a lot of places end up having a "look". Either the person that does the hiring has a preference, he or she may not even be aware of or the ladies that work together get along and through a friendship end up having similar hair. Maybe even going to the same hair salon in some instances.

**Elly May** · June 14th, 2015, 03:12 PM

I just started a new job at a different financial institution. During the interview process, I not only wore my hair up as I do every day, but I also wore discreet hairtoys or spin pins to keep the focus on me and not my hair. Now that I have been there two weeks and had an opportunity to observe the attire of my co-workers, I have been wearing my favorite toys (usually Jeter or dymondwood.) A couple of the other ladies have BSL hair.

**browneyedsusan** · June 14th, 2015, 03:19 PM

It sounds like you're in a conservative area (the geographic location, the job, the building atmosphere, whatever) --just judging from the hairstyles you saw there. If the job is important to you, pop your hair up in a bun, so you "fit in" better--as Embee suggested. The "sexy secretary" looks nice on most women, regardless of age or size. It looked good in the 40's, 70's, and still looks good, IMHO.

I hear you about the memo, though. Here, women are conservative. (There are a couple of loose cannons: my yoga instructor is middle-aged with a light-blue ponytail. A co-worker in her 20's has one side shaved, bleached platinum, and the rest of her SL hair is purple.) I rarely see a woman with hair as long as mine. Sometimes I see kids/teenagers with long hair, but mine is longer than some of them! Older ladies are channeling Marilyn Monroe and Jean Harlow--probably because short, curled styles were popular when they were young. Ladies my age have SL or APL hair at the longest--thank you '80's. Kids just grow it until their parents pester them to cut it.

Variations on the bob are multiplying like rabbits, though! Lots of long-in-front, stacked in back; assymetrical bobs, "lobs" (I think they're sloppy bobs?)

**meteor** · June 14th, 2015, 03:40 PM

Originally Posted by swearnsue

I've noticed that a lot of places end up having a "look". Either the person that does the hiring has a preference, he or she may not even be aware of or the ladies that work together get along and through a friendship end up having similar hair. Maybe even going to the same hair salon in some instances.

I've definitely seen the same on both men and women!

It's not like anybody makes anybody else do that, it's just that many people end up knowingly or unknowingly complying to a collective unwritten self-forming "rule" of sorts. Some fashion trends probably form in a similar way.