Submitted by Ok_Bluebird_292 t3_11961od in massachusetts
Hello, I’m recently moving to Massachusetts with my partner and I’m curious about whether or not I should change my hair style because currently I have Blue hair and I’ve never had trouble finding a job or keeping a job here in Los Angeles. I’m an Art Education Director at my current position for context.
If anyone has any advice on what I should do about my hair, I just want to make sure I’m taken seriously when interviewing.
Pretty vague, but if you're interviewing to be a Lawyer or psychiatrist or something, they probably would appreciate a more conservative look. If you continue your career in art, I doubt anyone would bat an eye.
Nah! Therapists can look however. Even community mental health is more accepting than McDonald’s when it comes to appearance. Just wear the requisite cardigan and have a mug of tea on hand and you’re good.
Cup of just plain hot water works too 🤣
No offense I’m never talking to a shrink with blue hair
Never say never, there’s quite the shortage in this state! A competent clinician with blue hair far exceeds an incompetent one with brown or blonde. However you have to be #blessed to find either with availability right now.
And why you’re in therapy to begin with is fleshing out…
I’m not in therapy
Might be worth looking into then
I’d say I’m doing alright atm
Your comments suggest otherwise.
Probably should be pal
Massachusetts passed the CROWN act which prohibits discrimination based on your hair texture or style.
I really don't think anyone would care, especially in the arts, welcome to mass
Businesses always follow the law, right?
The CROWN act isn't relevant. It only protects race-associated hairstyles or "protective" hairstyles: https://malegislature.gov/Laws/SessionLaws/Acts/2022/Chapter117
I wouldn’t be too concerned about blue hair tbh. As long as you have a good resume and are charismatic you shouldn’t have trouble finding a job in the art world.
Blue hair is pretty common here. You'll fit right in!
Opinion:
20+ years in management and the color of someone's hair has never been a deciding factor.
That said, coincidently, I do recall someone with darkish blue-black type hair (looked naturally dark, but it shimmered blue) that ended up being one of my better hires.
I’ve never heard of a hair color like that
> I’ve never heard of a hair color like that
I have seen a few people who had that hair color, but it is not often.
When I was a kid, my hair was so black it shined (shone?) blue in the sun. I’m half Irish and very pale with freckles. I used to dye my hair light brown to take the edge off the black bc I used to get teased so much for it. So many Elvira jokes.
I hope you kept your natural color. The few times I have seen such hair, it's a beautiful sight
Natural now with some silver starting and I think I’m gonna just let it happen.
Féria used to have that color (Starry Night.) Was most popular in the late 90’s-early aughts but I’m sure copycat colors of it are around.
Superman's hair is that color in the comics.
It depends upon where you’ll be applying for jobs. In the arts, self-expression is obviously more common and acceptable, if not expected. The more corporate you go, the more conservative. I don’t think there’s a blanket answer.
One thing you can do is check out how a company presents itself and its internal culture to the outside world. I would research a couple of potential employers and then check their websites, LinkedIn posts (and profiles of their employees for their profile photos), Twitter accounts, Glassdoor reviews, etc.
People here generally won’t care. People in the non-profit or art world definitely won’t care. Welcome!
I work with the elderly and they all adore my purple hair.
Honestly depends on the workspace, but ultimately Massachusetts (and especially Boston) is pretty chill about that stuff.
More so, I look at it like this: if someone doesn't hire you just because of your blue hair, you didn't want to work for them anyway.
I dyed my hair bright blue early in the pandemic, so had the blue-black dye at the ready to be workplace appropriate. It was something I dreamed of doing but never was the right time because I had to look professional. I kinda hid from video calls for a bit, but my manager saw my hair she mentioned that our employee dresscode does not include anything on hair color. If I was interviewing, I'd likely go with that blue-black like your candidate did, but I have two decades of conditioning that unnatural hair colors aren't professional.
I've hired in MA for years in various fields and I couldn't care less about hair color. Experience and attitude are the first things I look at.
Every place is going to be different though and like many states MA has parts that are more liberal and more conservative. If you're in Eastern MA or Western MA (think Amherst and North/Easthampton) I'd say people are more likely to lean to towards my perspective.
At this point we are getting candidates wearing jogging pants and reeking of weed for a professional position. We would take blue hair no problem.
Yes. Tone it down while interviewing.
It may be an issue for a stogy old corporation, but I doubt there would be a problem in your line of work.
Our veterinarian has her hair dyed blue. We love it. She’s the best veterinarian I’ve ever had.
It might depend on your field, however. There will always be small minded people who can’t see past their own fears.
My wife has purple hair and got hired at a conservative law firm, so it’s not too big a deal. Boston metro is one of the “bluest” areas in the country.
You’re literally moving to a blue state. We’re civilized here. Welcome to the best state in the union.
Honestly it depends on where you are looking to work.
I worked for a health insurance company in Central MA and there's no way "hair of an un natural color" would have gotten you a job. And would have gotten you fired had you done it after hiring. But I worked for another company is Worcester county that had no issues with dyed hair, tattoos, piercing's etc. Granted that company also has a VERY high turnover rate and lays off a majority of their cs and sales reps every fall right before Thanksgiving, and then has a Hiring Event every spring. Retail? No problem. Restaurants? No problem. Professional offices. Problem. Heck. I know some horse stables that will not hire people with dyed hair, tattoos, or piercing's.
you will be expected (minimum) blue hair, unique piercing & complex gender identity just to fit in here.
You’ll be fine. I’m a teacher in a public school system near Boston and no one would say boo about it in any of my schools.
I would change to a natural color for the interviews then play it by ear once you're in.
If it is a professional job I would tone the hair color down
Hair color or style is not a concern when we hire. It's about the person sporting the hair and what they bring to the table.
I work for DMH and have full-sleeve tattoos and unnatural hair colors. As others have said, really depends on the climate of the workplace, but you should be fine.
Art director. You'll be fine.
My wife is 40 with pink hair. Has had it since 14. Never been a problem. Tats n piercings were at a few places, but not in years. You be yourself & you'll be fine.
I work at Harvard and my boss had blue hair lol you’ll be fine.
I work in a public middle school, it's not common though not unheard of. In my experience, in this profession, nobody cares: parents, teachers, administration, nor students.
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Ah there’s all kinds of colored hair people out there. Saw like a 65 year old lady with neon pink just cruisin the candle isle rockin it why not. Anything goes.
I’ve got blue hair and I’m a high school teacher.
No one really cares anymore. Colored hair has been popularized since the 90’s so it’s not something that stands out. Plus New England is pretty chill and doesn’t care what you do as long as you’re not an asshole doing it.
Change it to a more conservative color then change it back once you’re hired.
I agree, just tone it down a bit for the interview. You don't want your hair to be a distraction.
Mass is woke so ur good
Nah, plenty of blue hair in Massachusetts.
Massachusetts is pretty liberal about that kinda thing. I work in banking and where I work we allow any kind of hair color as well as piercings
Especially if ur going to western mass like noho area that’s almost the standard, lot of alt/punk culture in that area, tbh 99% of mass even the red areas wouldn’t care
Area
Depends on where in MA, I think. There's plenty of blue hair in the Greater Boston area. Maybe not so much out towards Springfield.
I live in western mass and my friend has bright pink hair is a teacher…..
it depends . are you good at your job?
Having blue hair is probably a job requirement for an art education director.
To be serious, I work at a school and most of the art teachers and drama teachers have alternative hair colors. It’s not a big deal around here in certain jobs. If you were a lawyer, it might be hard, but your field is filled with folks with similar fashion sense and do not care about hair color stuff like that.
Lots of people with dyed hair here. No need to worry
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it would give you an edge over other candidates where I work
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I mean like anywhere, depends on where you apply. Many people won’t care, some will. I’d say that people will care less here other than San Francisco, LA, and New York, so long as you’re qualified. Losing the blue hair may increase your chances of finding a job, but I’d guess that employers who aren’t chill with colorful hair will be less chill overall. Find someone who is chill with your hair, they’ll be chill overall, if you get your work done. Not everyone will be, but plenty will.
I work in pharma and have blue hair! It has never effected me at work or interviewing for jobs
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It’s a blue state you’ll be fine
For an art director, it's probably fine. The culture around hair dye I've noticed here is darker and more subdued dye in winter and brighter dyes in summer. Keep your hair seasonable.
I’m in a professional setting (biotech) and I have bright dyed hair. It’s not a big deal here in MA. Tbh it’s really pretty accepting.
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There’s no answer here that you can trust or bank on. Just not how it works. Only thing I can say is that if I were hiring someone, I would take off points for blue hair. Nothing to do with conformity, but adults who are still trying to be anti-conformity or make a statement are just tiresome.
You don’t have to like my statement. I had blue hair once. And red. I was also a kid and only had something to prove to other kids.
There are tons of people here who’d see blue hair as a perk. Usually goes hand in hand with too many rainbow flags and stickers, or a penchant for working in the arts. But not everyone.
Edit: to follow up because I'm giving you a real answer - these down-votes and upvotes mean nothing. It's people railing against the system. It's proof that this sub is going to tell you something you want to hear but shouldn't accept, because you're asking the question for a reason. Do with that what you will, but the area is not what so many people make it out to be. They think that this blue state means everything's like we're living on one giant campus and college never ended. I'm trying to get you employed. They're trying to cope.
theothermattm t1_j9l7kbt wrote
I work in tech and it wouldn't be looked down upon in this industry. At least most of it anyway.