I assume there's plenty of long-haired men on this forum, so I decided to start up this dicussion.
I'm a junior college student, male, with hair down to my shoulders. In the small South Jersey town I grew up in, no one really cares if guys have long hair, and I would highly doubt getting employed would be a big issue outside the corporate office. However, since coming up to State College, PA for school, I've been knocked left and right by employers and regular people (which around these parts is 99% fratboys) for having long hair, despite keeping it neat and tied back during interviews and such. So much for liberal college campuses. As I'm planning to become a professor by continuing research with a PhD, I doubt I'll have many problems in the future if I keep it, since the majority of hired longhairs I've seen are in education and research.
Has anyone else in the long-hair community dealth with problems in finding employment? Maybe Joe and Arejay have had similar problems outside the band? =p Share your stories!
Simply put: A professionally attired & groomed applicant will always see better results than an unshaven, unkempt one. Long Hair is generally seen as a symbol of counter-culture and therefore a potential threat to a professional work environment. If you're looking for a job at a Label or Recording Studio, grow it out! ... if you're looking to get into the Corporate World; you'll have to play that game to get ahead - or don't even try unless you desire to set yourself up to fail.
I found that during my short time with shoulder-length hair; it was a magnet for police. ... not to mention so damn high-maintenance