HarpPlayerGene
I'll Lock Up
- Messages
- 4,682
- Location
- North Central Florida
When shampooing my hair. That's about it, I think.
suitedcboy said:There would be a regional aspect to consider. If it is cold and you are wearing an overcoat and a hat then by all means wear it. That would make you seem like a person who will take due caution and may be more likely to show up at work.
If I am the hiring person and you show up with a great lid then you have to be a total idiot to NOT get the job.
Amen. Some people place far too much importance on wearing a hat. I understand the conformity vs. individuality debate, but we're talking about a job, and in turn we are talking about monetary income, health benefits, the direction of your professional life, and for those who are married and/or have children, we are also talking about the support of your family. I would never even conceive of risking my chance at landing a job, particularly in these tough economic times where available jobs are sparse, just because I want to wear a hat (or leaving in a septum piercing, or displaying a tattoo, or wearing my favorite pair of outlandish sneakers, or wearing a kilt, and so on).Paisley said:Losing an opportunity here would be a high price to pay for insisting on wearing a hat.
Dumbjaw said:Amen. Some people place far too much importance on wearing a hat. I understand the conformity vs. individuality debate, but we're talking about a job, and in turn we are talking about monetary income, health benefits, the direction of your professional life, and for those who are married and/or have children, we are also talking about the support of your family. I would never even conceive of risking my chance at landing a job, particularly in these tough economic times where available jobs are sparse, just because I want to wear a hat (or leaving in a septum piercing, or displaying a tattoo, or wearing my favorite pair of outlandish sneakers, or wearing a kilt, and so on).
The way I see it: if you're bothered by the very principle of your personal fashion sense being offensive to a potential employer, then your priorities are drastically different from mine so much so that I don't understand the opposing view. Jobs aren't for expressing yourself, jobs are for collecting a paycheck. An employer can get to know you just fine on a professional level without knowing whether or not you wear hats. In fact, there is no reason why your potential employer needs to know that you wear hats at all. S/he isn't your friend or your relative. Job interviews are not the time or place to make a fashion statement or express individuality. Interviews are supposed to be about what you know and what you can do; they only begin to be about superficial things like what you're wearing when you force it to be so, and then the employer is going to be distracted by whatever they'll find "odd," and likely not in a positive way.
I understand that the above could be read in an abrasive tone, but it's not my intent, I just don't know any other way to express my sentiment that the "Career vs. Hat" battle has the same outcome for me every single time -- career by knockout in the first second of round 1. Any other outcome seems ludicrous unless you're fortunate like jecoe and have enough artistic talent to live off of it. For the rest of us, we have to dress the part, and not every part in 2009 has a place for a hat in it.
The only place for a hat I can think of in an interview is part of your answer when the potential employer asks you what your hobbies are. This may be a good time to put a read on them to see how they react to your penchant for hat collecting and wearing. Otherwise, it's all business for me.
Big Man said:I must be missing something. After all, it's just a hat. What's the big deal?
matei said:... I didn't wear the hat during the interview - as other people posted earlier - you take the hat off when you go in the building. ...
Big Man said:Exactly. This is what I was referring to when I said earlier that I must be missing something. What difference could it possibly make if a had a hat (or not) when I went for the interview? Now, if I had the hat on during the interview (assuming the interview were inside), well then sure.