Employment related question - Dreadlocks

[saltynay]

(Pls move if in the wrong section I was unsure where to post as employment section is unavailable for such questions)

I am currently a DM and studying to go upto IDC staff instructor with trimix gas blending. I want to get dreadlocks but unsure whether the stigma attached to the hairstlye would affect my possibilities for employment. Is this a realistic threat to employment.

 

[Sas]

Well that really depends entirely on your employer...

Dreadlocks don't tend to come across well to most employers but some don't care. Probably they care less in diving - I've seen some very scruffy DMs

 

[vladimir]

We'd hire you with dreadlocks...if you had an undergraduate degree in mathematics and a master's degree in financial engineering with top grades. And if we couldn't find somebody with the same qualifications that didn't have dreadlocks.

I'm sort of kidding--obviously the standards in finance are a little bit different than those for dive shop employees--but my point stands: why take the chance that they select somebody else who's equally qualified but has a more professional appearance? I see you live in Singapore and the UK; Singaporeans tend to be more conservative than Britons on matters such as this.

 

[watboy]

The shop I did my DMT at was strict on appearance as they attracted an older, wealthier crowd from the 5 star resorts. Thus, you had to maintain a clean look, clean clothes (usually the dive shops T or polo), no crazy hair styles, excessive piercings or excessive ink.

 

[sibermike7]

The very fact that you asked the question lends you the answer.
Even you realize that a DM/Instructor's "professional" look is reduced or destroyed by dreadlocks. You have to decide which is more important to you: being a Rastafarian wannabe or a DM/Instructor.

 

[Interceptor121]

Some dive centre ask for clean look and dreadlock may fall out that category
It could potential hinder some opportunities for you depending where you are going to work
I know a course director with dreadlock and tattos all over he is very professional and resptected
In your case you need to see where you are going to look for work in some areas it would not be a big issue in another it could

 

[Jax]

. . . my point stands: why take the chance that they select somebody else who's equally qualified but has a more professional appearance? I see you live in Singapore and the UK; Singaporeans tend to be more conservative than Britons on matters such as this.

^ I second this ^ Vlad said it first.

 

[DCBC]

It wouldn't stop me from hiring you if your demeanor was acceptable.

 

[Reg Braithwaite]

Well my first answer is probably well off-topic, but in my industry (software development), we hire the best people we can. One of my colleagues has dreadlocks. If we ever hired the second-best person because we didn't like the look of the best person, we would be sending a signal to everyone that they need to spend more time thinking about their appearance than their code. That is a slippery slope that leads to playing golf to get ahead. Nothing wrong with that in sales, but it is the road to mediocracy in software development.

My second answer is that dreadlocks are sometimes untidy messes that look like medusa gone wild, but can also be neat and tidy and show that the owner is thoughtful about their appearance. If I cared deeply about hiring people who were neat and thoughtful about their appearance, I would hire those people who had neat and tidy dreadlocks.

I think dreadlocks are a lot like long hair. Today it seems rather quaint to discriminate against men with long hair. I think most people know the difference between someone who has neat long hair and someone who is "shaggy" of either gender. To the OP, I say grow your dreadlocks but take care to keep them neat and tidy. If someone doesn't want to hire you, take your skills elsewhere. It's a big world, why spend most of your day in an environment where people are quick to judge your appearance?

 

[Kingpatzer]

No matter what anyone says, appearances matter when it comes to employment.