The Pongo Blog
Bald Guys Are Beautiful! So Why Not Hire One?
January 27, 2009 (10:00AM) by Rick Saia, CPRW
An Associated Press story had me falling out of my chair in laughter last week. An “expert” — who just happens to be a hair restoration surgeon — says balding people are at a disadvantage in getting hired. What's the follow-up story going to be — a plastic surgeon saying people with large noses are also at a disadvantage in the job market?
As proof, the hair doc points out that our last bald president was Dwight Eisenhower (1953-1961). Of course, the story fails to note that he ran against an equally bald guy, Adlai Stevenson, not once but twice! Since Eisenhower, we’ve elected two presidents with visibly receded hairlines: Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon.
Never underestimate a doctor’s subtle marketing pitch.
I’m bald, and I don’t hide that alleged malady. I’m also gainfully employed and have been for most of the last 20 years, during which I’ve gotten progressively less hirsute. I’ve been hired – and not hired — by people with full heads of hair and people with shinier pates than mine.
So what’s the matter with hiring the follically-challenged? Nothing. In fact, I would argue that they have these distinct advantages in the job market:
- Less chance of a "bad hair" moment in an important meeting with a client. Most bald guys don’t need to look in the mirror to check their hair before entering the meeting room. They might ask a shoe-shine guy for a little buffing, though.
- You can trust a person who doesn’t hide anything. "Real" bald guys accept their, um, shortcoming, without covering it with toupees or plugs. (Take that, doc!) If they’re honest about their condition, assume they’re honest about anything (Nixon notwithstanding).
- Baldness is a sign of age, and age is a sign of wisdom. And wisdom comes from experience! If you’re looking for a seasoned professional to get the job done, keep this in mind.
If we were to believe all the statistics about who has the best chance of getting hired, you'd never see anyone bald in the workplace, nor anyone who wasn't tall, slim, beautiful, and youthful. Tell me … do all of your coworkers match that description?
Are you bald, or getting there? Do you work with bald guys? Or, have you hired or rejected bald guys? Let’s hear from you!
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All of the bald guys I work with are super smart (and cute)! I say YAY to the Baldies!
Posted by: Baldy | January 27, 2009 at 2:21 PM | Quote This Comment
Baldness is NOT necessarily a sign of age. Anyone who would assume that needs to live a little bit. There are several factors that can cause baldness other than age, some voluntary and some not.
Bald women aren't bad to hire, either.
The true discrimination that exists in the hiring market today is based on AGE, certainly not the amount of hair someone has. Boast all you want about being gainfully employed, but the time comes for all of us eventually where we can't say that.
Posted by: Ritchie Blackmore | January 28, 2009 at 12:26 PM | Quote This Comment
@ Ritchie -- You make a good point, especially since my hairline began receding in my late 20s. Yes, age is the more blatant form of discrimination, and employers who engage in that and want the job done right ignore more experienced professionals at their peril.
Being gainfully employed is nothing to boast about; I'm just fortunate. If the time comes when I'm not gainfully employed, I'm pretty good at making lemonade out of lemons. :-)
Thanks for writing!
Best, ~ Rick
Posted by: Rick | January 28, 2009 at 3:21 PM | Quote This Comment
Funny you picked this topic. I was at the hair salon the other day and mentioned my sister was laid off. The woman doing my hair said that they have men in often coloring their gray hair to look younger for interviews and women letting their gray grow out to look like they are older with more experience. Age discrimination is definitely top of mind; however, I will be continuing to color my gray every 4 weeks.
Posted by: Jodi | January 29, 2009 at 2:18 PM | Quote This Comment
Bald men will work harder than others because they don't have to worry about women.
Posted by: Crat | February 16, 2010 at 6:06 PM | Quote This Comment
@ Crat -- Do you mean bald men don't attract ANY women?
Posted by: Rick Saia, CPRW | February 17, 2010 at 10:38 AM | Quote This Comment
I dunno I have been ridiculed since I started thinning I hate that there is nothing I can do. I don't want toupees or surgery its just hard to be accepted with this problem. I started to noticeably thin when I was 15 now at 24 I look like George from Seinfeld. I guess its just a roll of the dice my dad just started thinning and he is 58. I do think that when in an interview your appearance makes a difference most of those H.R. people are into fashion and good looks. I will soon be interviewing and I will go in without a cap but I know I really need to nail it more than a goodlooking person with a full head of hair would. I graduate this August with a bachelors in Mechanical Engineering. That was the easy part the hard part will be facing my fear of not wearing a hat and being ridiculed again sucks ass.
Posted by: Albert | June 16, 2010 at 4:55 PM | Quote This Comment