Perform a quick Google search for a phrase like “success in the workplace” and you’ll be hit with advice galore – much of it related to how best to look the part to land a job or a raise. Some of this advice is hairstyle and hair color specific.
The folks at the “Center for Talent Innovation” will instruct you to sport not merely a “haircut” but a “hairstyle.” They don’t specify what styles are bound to lead to your success, but the fact that their study on the topic looked at “college-educated professionals and senior executives,” you can probably imagine they’re fans of the no-nonsense bob for women and clean-cut “professional man” cut.
The folks at Queensland University of Technology will advise that if you are a woman wishing to maximize your earnings, you should go blonde. Blondes, they concluded, earn in excess of seven percent more than women with any other hair color.
There’s plenty of research that backs up the assertion that your hairstyle and hair color can affect your earning potential. What much of this research fails to address is that not all job seekers or employees want to climb the corporate ladder and smash through the glass ceiling. Not everyone needs to exude an air of number-crunching competence. Life, people, and professions are diverse! In many fields, creativity trumps “executive presence.” The key to capitalizing on your ‘do is understanding what qualities your employer or potential employer values and pursuing a hairstyle in line with those qualities.
“Good Hair” Is in The Eye of The Beholder
If you work or want to work in a corporate, uber-professional environment like a law, consulting, insurance, financial services or accounting firm, for example, you need to look the part. In this environment, “good hair” is neat and tidy, impeccably coiffed, and doesn’t scream, “Look at me!”
If you show up for an interview at a biker bar, tattoo and piercing parlor, hip salon, trendy clothing boutique or cafe or advertising agency creative department you, too, need to look the part. Here, professional yet uninspired “good hair” could actually work against you.
In a professional workplace that embraces creativity or a service industry that caters to the edgy and/or the trendy, you want your hairstyle and even your hair color to exude confidence and show folks you’re willing to push the envelope. A green Mohawk or not-entirely-hidden-rainbow hair can score points with your boss. Yes, you absolutely want to fit into your workplace or desired workplace. That doesn’t necessarily to mean you must embrace middle of the road hair!
If you’re suffering from hair loss it could be affecting your confidence in the workplace. Why wait to do something about it? At Genesis II we offer both surgical and non-surgical hair loss solutions and we will determine which hair loss restoration procedure is right for you. To schedule a free hair loss evaluation call us at (315) 458-1074 or to contact us via email click here.
Photo Credit: Hotlanta Voyeur Via Flickr Creative Commons
Sources:
http://www.marieclaire.com/career-advice/tips/a7342/do-you-have-executive-presence/
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/lifestyle/7552146/Blondes-paid-more-than-other-women.html
