by
Editorial
by Quia of My Jet Set Style
There used to be a time when I changed my hair every time I got paid. I’ve rocked a short curly natural, weaves, wigs, a precision razor cut, and have dabbled in every variation of brown in the hair dye spectrum. My hair has been short, long, real, and fake and I wore it all with pride. I even wore blond box braids in the 90s when that sort of thing was in… you know… with the black lip liner and gold lipstick, HA! I kept my friends and coworkers guessing for years and then something happened: I went corporate.
I would occasionally sport a weave in the winter (because it’s warm) but soon I even stopped doing that. I had a standing six-week relaxer and cut appointment with my stylist and my Malinda Williams-esque haircut became my uniform. When I was laid off in 2010 I dyed my hair light brown, but as soon as that color grew out (and was snipped off) I was back to my dark brown hue with zero variation. I never really paid attention to it until recently when I decided I wanted to get braids to make life easier while taking swim lessons. I quickly found an affordable braiding salon near home, read the reviews, looked at the photos and made an appointment—and suddenly started having anxiety.
It’s Q1, recruiting season, and whereas I don’t have any job interviews lined up right now, I was suddenly apprehensive about having an “ethnic hairstyle” in front of people who would be scrutinizing everything about me, not only my professional qualifications. I felt silly. I mean, my first and last name start with the letter “Q.” The proper pronunciation of my name is “Kia Charisma.” I’m not fooling anyone about the fact that I’m non-white. Besides, a quick Google search will remove any mystery of what I look like. Still, I always felt like my dark brown, short hair was safer than braids, locs, or a natural that didn’t have loose curls.
My rational side chided me for my thinking. I know plenty of black women who have straight-laced corporate jobs and “ethnic” hair. What the heck is wrong with me? And then I spoke to a few friends about my feelings, one of whom made her career in human resources. To paraphrase what she said: Heck yeah braids are too black when you’re interviewing! It’s jacked up but that’s just how it is.
But it’s 2014, I thought. Why should that matter if I’m qualified? I could hear the smile in her voice as we joked around about the matter, and whether or not you agree with her opinion, what she said is exactly the thinking that molded me into hair complacency. I am adventurous in my wardrobe, even while interviewing. Don’t expect me to show up dressed in all black, with a white shirt. But I guess the difference in that is, I can change that in an instant. Hair is a more semi-permanent situation (see what I did there?) and I don’t want the interviewers to only identify me by my hair. And now that I think of it, this whole internal struggle of mine makes the token black woman in the “workplace diversity” photos even more absurd to me. She always has a twist-out, or some other natural hairstyle. I’m shading you, corporate diversity stock photo lady. I know you wouldn’t make it past the recruiter with your hair like that unless you were interviewing someplace progressive.
My dilemma followed me into my dreams, and I woke up the following day to chicken out on my mid-back, Senegalese twists. I settled on tree braids. Best of both worlds, I suppose.
Ladies, have you been in this situation? How do you handle job interviews?
Quia is a writer and consultant who blogs at myjetsetstyle.com.
56 Responses
Every Television commercial with a black person … they’re sporting Natural Hair. Typing this in 2014.
I was in the military for 20 years and always had either relaxed hair or braid extensions. One year after retirement, I did the big chop and wore my hair in an afro puff the majority of the time. Since then, I have gone on many job interviews wearing the puff, and I have to say I always got a job offer. Why? My hair was neat and clean, my appearance professional, my resume tight, and I knew my business.
I am not naive to think it doesn’t matter in other professions, but I think part of the problem is when you make your hair the issue, either through behavior or self-conscious acts. I haven’t worked in environments hostile to me as a Black woman with natural hair, but I know, from my experience, it has not hurt my bottom line.
I’ve been wearing my hair natural since the early 1980’s. I used to run every day and I took college classes at night, so my hair was the last thing on my mind. I worn it in cornrows for years until I tried two strand twists and “wash & goes.” I’m in the legal field (a paralegal) and I’ve only had one recruiter to make a snide comment. During a preliminary interview she asked me if I would remove my cornrows for interviews with law firms. I told her no that I would not remove my cornrows and if she refused to work with me on obtaining employment that I would sue her agency. Then I gave her a very shitty look and she backed down. As for working in the legal field, I’ve never had any problems whatsoever. Lawyers understand the law and know that creating undue bad publicity for their firm isn’t good business practice. I think if I can rock natural hair for 30 years in the legal field in stodgy Washington, D.C. I think you can get a job as well. Most employees are looking for people who can do the work, they’re not worried about your hair.
I agree! You make some good points!
I think the key factor that everyone is missing is HISTORY. There is a reason why the author feels this way and many other Black women (and men) experience the same uneasiness. We have to remember that racism stills exists and much of it has been internalized. As one commenter mentioned- we learned this thinking from the White people esp the ones who are in power.
For example- braids. Braids have been under attacked in the workplace since the 80s and were revered to as “extreme” and “unprofessional” by many employers. Black women were constantly sent home or suspended from their place of work because of their “ethnic hair choices.”
Another example- the school system. Although not so much the equivalent of the workplace but it is worth mentioning. Over the past couple of years the schools have been constantly making a habit of expressing their “displeasure” of natural hair through ridiculous school rules, sending teens home because their hair was “distracting”, and cutting a child’s braid off in a classroom. Should I go on?
Although the natural hair movement is gaining popularity, there are still some “kinks” to be sorted out. This woman’s paranoia is a real thing that Black people face on an everyday basis. Racism is alive and real. Once you understand that everything associated with Black is negative (hair, names, dance, music, culture), everything becomes so much clearer.
At the end of the day, we need to wear our Blackness with pride. If the system can’t see that, then they missed out on hiring some amazing Black folk.
Interesting article…. I actually just cut off my dreadlocks that I had going to mid-thigh (yes ladies… it was high time!) and now I am sporting what I call my “Grace Jones” flat top (I am still humming “Slave to the Rhythm” in the morning when I pat my do into the shape… I LOVE IT). And I plan on looking at some opportunities this Spring. With that, I am not concerned at all. It is 2014, and if someone is going to judge me and put me in a box, they can suck it. I am stylish, unique, confident, smart and a hard worker. Any company would be lucky to have me on their team. THAT IS THE ATTITUDE YOU TAKE INTO AN INTERVIEW WITH YOU AND A GOOD COMPANY WILL SEE PAST ALL THE BS. Have faith in yourself and the perfect opportunity for you will manifest itself.
When I moved from the Pacific Northwest to the Deep South three years ago, I was very concerned that my natural hair would be an issue because, generally speaking, the Deep South has a very complicated history in terms of race. I’d just gotten a pixie cut, so the night before, I just smoothed it down with a curly pudding so that it still had lots of texture, but was flat. Well the next morning, my hair decided to poof. It was too short to bun or put into a ponytail so I had two options – I could be late for the interview or I could go to the interview with my hair out. I chose the latter and got the job. Looking back, I realize that I was overly self-conscious about my hair. But at the time the fear was real. Now, I am very comfortable with my natural hair. It looks good out; and I wouldn’t think twice about wearing it in a wash-n-go (my signature style) for any and all subsequent interviews.
My motto for this situation is always tone it down but STAY NATURAL. For me that doesn’t mean a flat iron, weave or wig. It means my hair will be in some neat style using my own natural hair, but subuded in a way that it is out of my face and out of focus for an interview. Usually pinned up twist updo, loose hair stretched up do, one braid going back and tucked with a pinned side “bang” etc. I don’t hide my kinks. It is what it is. I want to be interviewed not my hair. I refuse to do anything dramatic for a POSSIBILITY of a job. An interview is just that an interview not a job offer. Also if you get hired and they ask you to change for anything for safety reasons, I probably wouldn’t be there past that conversation. I don’t like to be singled out because I wear my hair as it was intended. Now I know everyone is not always comfortable with turing down a job for something as frivolous as hair, but I think sometimes you have to have some pride and be able to walk way. Cause today its your hair and tomorrow it may be how you talk or how you look in general. Scope out the company culture before your interview. If you gotta be someone else for 8 hours or more please think carefully before you sign the dotted line. Again I know when your out of work you over think everything. As black people we probably do this more than anyone because our history gives us every right. Like someone above mentioned a lot is in our heads and crap from our friends, family, etc who probably don’t like your hair any way and wait till now to tell you in a different way. Get your interview skills tight and your hair will be the last thing on your mind.
Please speak for yourself when you say “tone it down”. I’ll wear my hair how ever it grows and behaves; I have no desire to load on the products to have toned down hair only to appease other people. I don’t like my hair that big out in public touching the people next to me but that type of request pisses me off because if I wanted to wear my hair tighter I would, I wear my hair how I like it who are you to say anything about it? My hair is not up for debate or discussion.
easier to do in America than in black countries, sadly enough. My friend just texturized her 3a curls (her hair is just straight now) cuz she’s scared she wont be able to get a job in Jamaica, where she’s from. Sigh. I’m kenyan and if I plan to work in Kenya i’m planning on working with natural hair on my head. Natural hair lifestyle is so much easier and cheaper for me. I know how to deal and what to do with my hair. I think we just need to stand up instead of timidly hiding or changing our hair for arbitrary reasons.
1 in the Uk I have worn my hair in mini-twists to an interview and it definitely did not stop me getting the job. Only other black people obsess with your hair I tend to let my qualifications and CV do the talking .
I’ve also been successful at interview with my hair in twists however, after this, it was a constant battle with colleagues both black and white as they were not accepting of my choice to wear my hair natural. Much too their disgust, I never gave into them…….
After being a stay at home mommy for three years, I decided to go back to work. This was last December, but during my stint as a full time mommy, I went natural.
It didn’t make a difference. I interviewed with a company and got my job based on my qualifications, not my hair. I’m not saying discrimination does exist when it comes to this, but if someone doesn’t want to hire me based on my hairstyle, then I don’t want to work there.
I think we’ve all been in this situation. When I was loose I’d just wear twists and a headband. Now that I’m a dread I just throw it in a ponytail. Anything to make it look “tame.”
If I cared more I’d take the time to do curls or a bun, but I don’t so…eh.
I’m in the same boat myself. I’m a little concerned with how potential bosses will handle my natural hair. But i refuse to cover it up with a weave. My natural hair is a part of who i am. And just like they are interviewing me to see if i can handle their office, I’m interviewing them to see if THEY can handle my hair.
I purposely interviewed with Accenture with my natural hair out in twistouts and braidouts. I went through 3 rounds of interviews and got the job! I wanted to prove a point to my dad that you can have natural hair that doesn’t have to be straightened 24/7. So ignore people like this and make sure your twistout/braidout/whatever looks bomb.
robbi
braveturquoise.com
This is completely wrong Natural hair is really evolving trust me. I have gotten many jobs with my natural hair, though I had one friend who legit was not selected for a position due to her hair and this position was in politics.So I don’t know my field is Fashion they love natural hair.
Check Out http://www.curlskinksfashion.com Today A lot of great stuff is over there
Does anyone else notice how society is portraying african american women in the media? Almost every woman casted in commercials has curly or afro textured hair. And i do believe that what most see in the media and on television ( hair, body type etc) is how society forms what is ideal. Some African american women may have apprehension towards wearing their natural hair in the workforce not only because of our past but bc of the struggle in acquiring a regimen or process that fits our specific needs. I think by changes in the media we can hope that once we step out in confidence and pride about our uniqueness the rest of society will follow suit.
I think this is a form of acceptance of natural hair, yes. But I think “ideal” is relative to the medium. The ideal woman in a commercial for dish soap would not necessarily be the ideal woman to play the leading lady in a block buster film, or the ideal lady to be on the cover a men’s magazine. I would argue that these “ideals” are still different women at the moment. Advertisers in commercial have specific objectives when it comes to demographics, sensory responses on the part of viewers and those are necessarily not the same as the objectives as for producers of other media.
Hey Naijastar 🙂
I definitely get where you are coming from in separating commercial media to that of hollywood life and male appeal and would most certainly agree, but I cannot help but see change even in those areas as well. Look at Lupita recently featured on BGLH, Tracee Ellis Ross, Solange, Whoopi Goldberg, Viola Davis, Thandie Newton (and those are just to name a few). I would have to say that even in Blockbuster films we still have many women to look upon when defining the diversity of our natural beauty and regaining hope for a brighter and more accepting tomorrow.
By the way, I forgot to mention that my supervisors were black lol figure that one out. When they left and I finally wore my hair out, the white people loved it more than I did. I should have been more specific with my last post. White people in the workplace are not the ones you should worry about. It’s a damn shame.
I suppose it depends on what kind of job your going for. If it’s accepting of the “African American in the workplace” mentality, you may not have that issue. I know over personally been told that my natural hair wasn’t “professional looking” and I was actually persuaded into breaking my former natural streak and get a perm. After that perm atey hair out, however, I vowed never to do thaf again. The defense I got after I told my supervisors my dilemma was “natural hair offends white people”. You may not have my series of issues though, I’m in the navy. I say do what you want to do, just know that there is no clean cookie cutter supervisor, so one professional may have an issue, whereas another will love your tenacity.
i think a key difference i havent seen mentioned yet is looking for a job vs already being employed. Once you are in there for the purpose of hair youre in there. The company is not going to fire you blatantly for wearing your hair how it grows out of your scalp. As long as its presentable you will mostly likely be fine. HOWEVER..
when you are applying for jobs, these people dont know you. There is not track record of how great you are in this position. They are looking at you and thousands of other applicants. Ill narrow that down to 20 or so if youve reached the interviewing stage. If they are looking at your “ethnic” hair, they might think you are a go against the grain type of person and that is not necessarily a positive trait to some. Also, when it comes to hiring managers of other ethnicities it really gets tricky because they dont understand black hair and just may think, unkempt or wild, or too ethnic for their company
to go further thye might not even know why they chose another candidate over you, they just know the other candidate “fit more” with their brand. so with so many people still vying for jobs its a larger pool to choose and an easy choice for them to pick who they believe fits more
i am soooo happy to read others didnt have my experience but im just telling you my perspective and experience. ill be brief since this is already so long, but the past two summers i spent applying to jobs in education (My fields hiring season) and repeatedly was rejected for jobs i know i was more than qualified for. the first summer I did not have a hair style, it was my very ethnic sounding name, well i changed it on my resume and immediately got request for more interview and was hired at one. During that interview i wore a short wig.
Fast forward to this past summer, I continued to use a non ethnic sounding name on my resume, was getting calls up the wazoooo to interview, again the jobs im applying to i know im more than qualified for. I went on so many interviews i lost track. I didnt get hired for ONE NOT one. the difference, i got into water aerobics and was wearing braid extensions. every interview i always pulled them back into an elegant chignon or french roll. I know my interviewing skills had not job that severely that I wouldnt get hired for one job, so the only thing i was left to deduce was my hair.
It is sad and again I am glad no one else seems to have had this problem but for me it is a very real concern. Despite me wanting the braids again for the summer, depending on if I apply to jobs, i will NOT be installing any braids while im trying to interview and will opt for wearing my natural hair pulled into bun or a wig. at least if i dont get hired this time ill know for sure it was not my hair and something has gone very very amiss in my interviewing skills and work on that instead.
its funny b/c i remember posting on here about this scenario for some other article and people thumbs down me and told me it was my fault for wearing braids when I should have known better, go figure. lol seems the times have changed.
Braids are gorgeous! The problem with braids in corporate America, is that they can be perceived as being too casual. Whenever I have traveled to the Islands, I notice white people will sit there and actually get their hair braided by the natives on the Island. Usually it’s in the Bahamas where white people like to get their hair braided,and braided hair means they are on vacation.I realized this after traveling when I saw white women walking around all braided up. They perceive their braided hair as a fun vacation idea.Braids are not something they would wear at work.
Most white women, even cut their hair shorter or in a more conservative way. Appropriate for them, would mean, not wearing bedroom tousled messy hair. That messy tousled look goes well on the streets or at the club after work, but they certainly won’t wear that look to the office.Men also have their pressures. My husband is younger than I am, he is white and he also wears a super LONG beard. He has longer hair than most men.He often gets the same treatment, he gets treated like a weird drug hippie or something. He is highly qualified with a PhDDDDD!! lol in other words he would make most of us feel stupid with what he knows. Either way, I’m not comparing his struggles to black women’s struggles,because clearly we have had it much, much tougher in this jungle called life. I’m just saying, pretty much everyone is expected to look “professional” and employers are pretty against the casual look on a job.There are some jobs where you can be casual, however.
I know of many image consultants, but not one has ever told me to change my natural hair for a position. My thing is to just wear it appropriately and neat. I try not to wear gel or too much crap in my hair. I do a twist out a deep side part and go. I have had interviewers stare at my hair. But I think they are just interested in my look and possibly because my hair is very thick. I refuse to cut it because it took me three years to grow.And I will admit I have worn braids, I would never get the job wearing braids, so I end up doing a twist out to the interview. It looks professional and it goes with my hair wave pattern, so no one sees it as casual. They just see it as my natural hair t hat grows out my head and I don’t believe interviewers have a problem with that.
My daughter is entering a beauty pageant next year, and we are considering giving her a natural look for the competition. She wants to win the pageant with her natural hair. I personally think it’s a great idea. It’s a big contest will be televised,so if she wins that will be good for black teens to see a natural win.
Interesting. I got a job in corporate America in the late 80s wearing braids. I actually told the white interviewer that I wear my hair natural, in braids, and asked if they would have a problem with that. Totally caught him off guard and all he could say was, “no”. Came back later for a second interview by that head manager who was black. He brought it up this time saying he would not have a problem with it, himself, but that it could affect my climb in the company. Then he said, he’d respect my choices. Found out later from his secretary that he realty did expect me to run out and perm my hair after that. I thought, WOW he really wasn’t paying attention when I said I’d consider a wig and that I’d wear it like a hat.
What the heck is bedroom tousled messy hair on white people? I always just see them wearing their hair straight or wavy in the club, at work, etc. sometimes I think you people just make things up to make a point and Black women are internalizing and perpetuating this nonsense. Older women sometimes cut their hair short but all the younger women I work with have long hair.
But I think you hit the nail on the head about braids looking casual. I would wear them to work but not to an interview. It’s illegal for employers to discriminate against someone’s natural hair but they can discriminate against the style such as braids or dreads but no it isn’t right.
i wouldn’t worry about that. For every person that hates your hair. There are even more that love it and doesn’t see any problem with it.
My law firm is not “progressive” but I easily wear twists and curly fros as an attorney. I was hired on with twists in my hair. I will go to court tomorrow – with my natural, tight curls.
You cannot hide your blackness. The interviewers who care will discriminate will do it anyway once they see your skin.
“You cannot hide your blackness.”
This, this, this and THIS.
You can weave it, relax it, braid it, wear it natural but if people want to discriminate against your blackness it does not matter how you wear your hair.
My one rule for the workplace is “keep it neat”. The only negative comments or looks I’ve gotten about my hair in the workplace have been from other minority women. Nothing but compliments from everyone else.
And someone upstream commented that the root of this texture policing came from white people and I totally agree that it did, but at this point some of us have internalized that message and spout it as our own.
In the words of Adele Dazeem, “let it go.”
LOLOL I love Adele Dazeem! hahahaha
***My one rule for the workplace is “keep it neat”.
What does “keep it neat” supposed to mean when it comes to natural hair? I always fix my hair neat in the morning but people seem to think that my TEXTURE is messy. When people refer to natural hair as wild, they seem to be saying it’s genetically wild and needs to be primped and polished out of it’s natural form, not that it hasn’t been taken care of and groomed. If by “keep it neat” you mean make it smooth and silky then that’s not the natural form of our hair and we shouldn’t be expected to keep it “neat”.
By neat, I just mean neat. If I have a style where I’m pinning back my hair, I make sure it’s all pinned back and the pins don’t look raggedy, if it’s in twists, I make sure my twists don’t look fuzzy or linty. If it’s a twist out, I make sure the hair is going in the direction I want it to go in.
My texture is coily, kinky, beautiful. I don’t find it to be messy but there are times when it looks more polished and less polished. So maybe I would rock a five-day old twist out when I’m kicking it with my friends on the weekend but I wouldn’t in a meeting on Monday because it is not polished enough (for me) to wear to work.
I understand what you are saying but, for me, neat just means neat.
Fair enough; I just feel like nearly all people are too concerned about their own appearance out of vanity to need to be told that, including myself, ha!
I can understand your first paragraph though; I don’t wear twist outs because I don’t like how they work on my hair but certainly after 5 days a twist out would turn into a fro out, no? Nothing wrong with that, imo. I don’t know I honestly don’t have hair that will keep a twist out. I do often braid my hair at night and take it out in the morning, however my “braid-out” frizzes out immediately 100% of the time not frizz as in the fuzzy, flyaway hair but as in full on afro textured hair. And honestly I like it very much it just looks like gorgeous afro textured hair to me. Would you considered that messy, wild etc? Just curious. Because it seems like to me other Black women feel that it IS and needs to be pinned up, tucked away, braided, or with curl definition in order to be appropriate.
I agree, Mika, that people have this perception that kinky hair is de facto “wild” and “funky” Even with my hair in a bun I attract an unwanted degree of attention at my predominantly white company. My hair is quite long (tailbone length) and dense, so creating this elusive neat, ballerina-esque bun sported by straighter haired women is pretty much impossible (unless I’d like to rip my edges from my scalp…). So no matter how “tame,” “neat” or sophisticated I consider my hair to be, there is always this insinuation that my hair is “funky” or “unusual” (this exact word was used by a white woman in my office). I resent this because I’m not interested in being cool or alternative at work, I’d like to look professional and be taken seriously. So perhaps I’m in the minority, but I find excessive praise for and interest in my natural hair at work distracting and annoying. I’m not an alien. I don’t have two heads. I’m a black woman wearing her hair as it grows from her scalp… Our understanding of what is professional, neat, and feminine is racialized unfortunately and I struggle to conform to these standards as a natural-haired black professional woman
Yes Jaz, I totally agree! I always think this. It’s unlikely that hair will put someone over the edge for getting uncomfortable with my blackness. If they don’t like your backness they wouldn’t like it hair straight or curly. When people say they “had to” wear their hair a certain way to get the job they often don’t have anything to compare to. When you get the job, how do you know you wouldn’t have gotten it anyway if you’d done your hair differently? Same for if you don’t get the job… you can’t actually live through both scenarios. If I’ve ever gotten negative hair comments they have been from other black family members or friends. My white/Asian coworkers are too amazed by my ever changing hair to criticize, and I get lots of compliments from them. That’s just my experience of course, but I don’t think we should let ourselves get caught up in blaming the nebulous “them”. And good luck to people looking for work. The best thing you can do is be yourself at a job interview!
Yes, but can we acknowledge that even to those looking to discriminate there are degrees of “blackness” and that certain looks (particularly those that differ most markedly from our current racialized standards of acceptability, professionalism, beauty, etc.) are going to be more obvious to the would-be “racist” than an iteration of blackness that does not depart quite as much from the standard? I disagree that it’s an all or nothing proposition. There is a “mainstream” black appearance to which whites have become accustomed; This is why natural hair so often piques their curiosity.
Been natural since ’99. Taught high school, been through grad school interviews, internship interviews, dissertation defense, postdoctoral fellowship interviews– all with natural hair. Except for my dissertation defense when I wore a bun, I wore my hair out in its lovely natural state for all of the above. I hate hair typing, but my hair is a coarse 4aish. People love my hair and so do I. I will never hide or apologize for the hair that grows out of my head.
(Sorry for choppiness. I’m on my phone. )
“I will never hide or apologize for the hair that grows out of my head.”
THIS
wow im not even worried about that. i’m just trying to LAND a job. i don’t know what to do to find one, but i’ve been shooting out applications to some of every place, with no luck. i don’t have anything bad in my work history or my resume, and i just graduated college this past december. can anyone help me out? (besides mentioning the following: the job boards on the internet (careerbuilder, jobs, indeed, monster, snagajob etc. because i already have profiles with them) and the department of labor (those guys do absolutely nothing). I don’t have much of a network, longer/recluse that i am (and my friends are in a similar boat to myself, anyway, being recent grads) i guess what i’m saying is, my natural hair holding me back is the last thought on my mind lol
Cacey, I’m totally in a similar boat : Have you heard of Idealist? It’s another job board, but it’s geared towards nonprofit work. Best of luck, the struggle is real!
no i hadn’t heard of it. thank you for suggesting it. sometimes i get a little jealous reading of all of these women who are fabulously employed while i’m sitting here going “wow, how’d she get THAT job?!” lol
one day it shall be mine! in the meantime i’ll look Idealist up!
Temp agencies register with as many as possible. I have a great job but I still get calls from all the temp agencies I registered with in the past frequently. I live in Atlanta though. Where are you located?
I’m in valdosta. There’s not a lot of temp agencies down this way, not as compared with Atlanta. Down here the agencies tend to specialize in manual labor type jobs, like construction, as i was told when i went to several. If i could find a job in Atlanta i’d go back in half a heartbeat!
good luck in your search!
thank you! 😀
Please look at your local craigslist.org page. They often have some decent leads. Also look into some temp agencies just to get some cash flowing and some experience underway in your profession of choice. I too am a recluse and introverted somewhat but I volunteer in things that interest me to gather a network. Plus volunteering can lead to work if they like you and you keep on the up and up in the company. I got my job that way.
I’ve thought about volunteering, but the only issue there is daycare. I have a toddler, and right now i stay home with him 🙁 if i volunteered regularly i’d have to be able to bring my son with me, or luck up on a consistent babysitter since my husband works and is a full time student as well. i certainly wouldn’t mind volunteering though otherwise, and i did volunteer teaching classes at the library in my last semester of college but stopped due to the childcare situation. I appreciate your suggestions!
Sometimes they have volunteer work that you can do from home. The Organization that I volunteer for has some jobs/ positions that you can do at home on a laptop like data entry or help spruce up their web design if your tech savvy. Also you there are volunteer positions that will work with your schedule. Say maybe only a few hours here and there when you can and not on a regular schedule. Check out volunteermatch.org to see what they have.
Try LinkedIn. I know you said you don’t have much of a network but give it a shot and try find former professors classmates, heck even church members. LinkedIn is great because it lets you look at what organizations the people you know are connected to and whehter they are hiring. Good luck!
You women who think like this are crazy. My white manager loves when I wear my hair in an afro however, truth be told most NATURAL haired women will take issue with you for thinking you would subject their reputation with that mess. The only people who are going to have a problem with your hair are BLACK people and maybe the southern Baptist racist. No normal, rational person is going to take issues with the natural state of a Black women’s hair, that’s insane and who would want to work with someone that stupid???? So go to interviews with your hair styled however you see fit and enjoy. In an Angela Davis fro, a twist out, or a wash and go or updo. if you are meant to get the job, you will get it. I work in corporate office in HR and no one seems to give much of a crap about other people’s appearance. Sure we have guidelines, but I think people enjoy getting dressed up and looking professional more than anyone really cares. The only environment I’ve worked in where I’ve seen women (relaxed,white,asian) wear their hair up or tied back is in minimum wage jobs, such as cashier or food service. Most everywhere else they wear their hair down wavy/curly or flowing 99% of the time in it’s natural form, so all that hub bub about everyone needing to style their hair is just that.
Yes, Black people tend to police and outright harass other Black people when it comes to things like this. But Black people learned these behaviors from White people in the first place.
It has been literally beaten into us and, actually, the White people who willingly accept natural hair now can range from those looking to hire indiscriminately to those who are completely ignorant of the history and racial politics behind Black hair and are just fascinated with it. You know, the people who just think it’s ‘cool’ or ‘different/interesting’ and are ‘glad we got over our apparent autogenous hatred of our own features’ (as if years of discrimination played no part in that).
That said, as long as you think our hairstyle is appropriate for your profession, go or it. Any employer foolish enough to turn away a highly qualified applicant because of their natural hairstyle would probably have no trouble find something else to disqualify you for if you wore your hair straight.
Hot damn! I couldn’t have said it better myself! One thing I have come across on my journey, is that there are always the texturizer police! Yes we all know who they are! lol I even had one black woman accuse me of “THINKING” I had that”good hair” and yes she was in South Carolina. She continued to point out that I didn’t have “good hair” when I said my hair was natural, she just couldn’t BELIEVE it!!! and wondered why I was wearing my hair “Like THAT?” You know, since I didn’t have “good hair” and all. (Basically, if you don’t have good hair, you shouldn’t wear it natural)*sarcasm*
This Southern black belle was just was just so mortified that I wasn’t wearing a weave, like most of the robots. My look is sort of bohemian, and it seems that many black people perceive that as “unkempt” or “messy”
Then when I go out around my own neighborhood, other black women just STARE at my hair and want to know if it’s real? Where as white people can care less. I’ve received more compliments from white people on my hair and skin and from people with mixed children. Most black people either think I do something to get my hair this way, or that I really don’t have “GOOD HAIR” all hair is good hair in my opinion….but most Black people, no matter how “pro black” they claim to be, they really aren’t. No matter how much they claim to have black pride, they never REALLY do? Black people can often be the most hair obsessed people I have ever met. Where as most white people don’t really care or notice on the job or anywhere else. They seem fascinated by my hair but not in a negative way.
True, True. Black women care much more about appearance, and much more about other people’s appearance, then people of other races. I think black women cause ALL of black women’s issues. You don’t see white women hounding other women’s who’s hair does not look silky and bouncy like in those shampoo commercials, because they don’t care. Some women feel like they look their best if they follow what the media tells them they are supposed to look like, out of VANITY not out of concern for other people’s opinion, that’s what black women don’t get. Black women act like their opinion is the end all and anyone who doesn’t live up to it is unkempt, etc. Why do black women care so much, like all black women are representing them???? It’s really irritating.
I wouldn’t say women who think this way are crazy (lol) but definitely overthink things. I used to be like that. In my experience the only people that have problems or make really rude comments about my hair are BLACK WOMEN. I’ve been living in a predominantly white area of Germany for the last few months and this was when I learned to LOVE my hair the way it is (after almost 3yrs being natural). People don’t have an issure with my hair here AT ALL; getting a job as a student & the only black female in my company was not a problem at all. I really feel that there’s less pressure to please others in this environment, so I’ve come to appreciate my hair just the way it is. In my home town though things are very different because everyone has always something to say and that brings SO much pressure.
My conclusion is: it’s all in our heads most of the time. We as black women are way too obsessed and paranoid about our hair(IMO) and cause our own problems. Being away from that influence showed me that once I got over the natural hair/afro paranoia, people generally were nice to me regardless of my hair. Sometimes I created barriers myself by preempting people’s opinion of me and my hair without any evidence…
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/24/new-company-policy-forces-woman-to-cut-dreadlocks_n_4159369.html
While it may not be happening to you, it is happening to some women. I can link a couple of other instances that have made the news, and one on here where a woman’s natural hair was in issue in the work place. It’s not just paranoia, it does happen. That being said its great that you work in an environment where your natural hair is accepted.
Exactly, there are little Black girls who have been kicked out school because they dared to wear their locs and their fros. Of course, school isnt the corporate world, but if they can be denied an education at such a young age, surely the way they perceive themselves will be informed by such a traumatic event. To the OP, it may sound crazy for you since you work in an environment where it’s okay to wear your hair, and I too agree, that is absolutely phenomenal. But sadly, it is not as common as we would like to think. There is also the notion of ‘exoticism’ to consider, especially if you are the sole BW in the workplace, who wants to go to work only to have their afros pawed at by foreign hands?? So I get what the author was trying to convey, our hair is a factor to consider. I just think it is important to not invalidate other people’s experiences. Personally, I have worn my fros and kinks and I had it described as ‘wild, messy’ at work. I now stick to buns and halo braids. All because I just dont want to deal with the comments.