How a Fake Beard Can Get You Hired on the Internet

[tcdent]

I'm not incredibly social, nor do I have a lot of variation in the clients I work for, but having a beard seems to be a positive attribute, if anything.

I mostly notice the effect when meeting in-person; probably because there is far more subtlety in a face-to-face conversation. People who have researched me on social media know what to expect, and seem to have a bit of anticipation when I walk into the room. Those that don't know what to expect are surprised, but quickly settle into a smile.

One of the first questions I'm asked is always related to my facial hair: "How long did it take to grow that?", "I wish I could.", etc. It immediately lightens the mood, which works well for me, because I can then add the level of professionalism I desire back into the conversation.

I also find that it starts off a meeting with a bit of free respect. I can, of course, back up my statements, but rarely am I challenged the same way that some other members of the group are. I may not be the perceived top dog, but I'm certainly never on the bottom.

It also has a similar effect with older people and "tough" guys. Eastern women seem to like it, too; though they are usually very coy. I can settle in with a pretty rough group without any problems, which has allowed me to glean a pretty broad perspective.

I havent shaved in 6 years now, and have no plans to start. I tried competition twice and was a finalist on both occasions. A beard, however, is not all that I am.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/wh49owr8q6zstqe/1458545_1020123291...

[wyclif]

Used to grow a pretty serious sysadmin-style or Linux beard like this. Then I got married, and my wife nixed beards.

[shizzy0]

That's an amazing beard!

[rfnslyr]

You should coin a new "law". Something to do with beard and tech. Give the law a cool name too.

Also, I ALWAYS comment on peoples beards. They love it.

[ck2]

This also works for women with non-gender identifiable names.

Because if you think there isn't still gender bias in hiring for certain positions in the 21st century, you are wrong.

[sophacles]

It also works for names that sound "white" vs names that sound "black" or "ethnic". Because racism is also still a thing :(

[dsirijus]

All this bias with so much staying power... Can't help but wonder is there something justifiable to it after all.

[awjr]

Anecdotal evidence, I specifically grew a beard in 1994 in preparation for a contract interview. I was 24. I got the contract.

A friend (25 years old) tried to get a contract clean shaven, eventually gave in after multiple failed interviews, grew a beard and got a contract. He had a real baby face.

'Young' Age perception is a real problem when contracting. Less so after the first contract.

Of note I still have my beard. I rather like it.

[scott_s]

Original article here: http://malditointer.net/after-working-1200-hours-in-odesk/

The author is not clear on how well he controlled for just changing the picture, and what his sample size is. I would not draw any conclusions from this.

[malditojavi]

I know is not a proper AB testing. I considered to include more info in the 'Stuff to take into account about this a/b test' but finally I didnt.

[mhurron]

It can also improve the popularity of your programming language.

http://www.alenz.org/mirror/khason/why-microsoft-can-blow-of... http://khason.net/blog/computer-languages-and-facial-hair-%E...

[chavesn]

Contractors hate him! How "one weird trick" will get you hired...

...really.

[bpm140]

This contractor added a fake beard to his profile. What happened next will blow your mind.

[sk5t]

This is not reddit.

[__pThrow]

Just another 1 weird trick linkbait article.

Wired should be ashamed of itself.

[Paul_S]

"They should be ashamed of themselves," said the man walking out of a strip club. It's what he always says when he walks out of a strip club. ;)

[tbrake]

1 beard trick, surely?

[mhurron]

You do know growing facial hair is very old advice if you have a younger looking face, right?

[teddyh]

Previous discussion of original article: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6858542

[malditojavi]

Thanks for sharing. I want to add this tweet from ‏@dhh: 'Orchestras use blind auditions to avoid hiring on pedigree, age, gender, etc: http://ideas.repec.org/p/nbr/nberwo/5903.html - It's the ultimate look at the real Work'. I think it make totally sense in the current society we are living today.

[peterwwillis]

I would love to see this same experiment performed with other factors like different color skin and sex/gender. How better to find actual evidence of hiring bias than with a giant automated freelancing system?

[quinnchr]

Here's some similar research on race: http://www.nber.org/papers/w9873

White sounding names get 50% more callbacks then black sounding names when sending out identical resumes.

[cliveowen]

Studies based on a groups of subjects made out of a single person are the best.

[MartinCron]

Anecdotal evidence isn't that useful, but we all live anecdotal lives.

[jacobparker]

The title of this story reminded me of http://www.folklore.org/StoryView.py?project=Macintosh&story...

[NAFV_P]

I was thinking it depends on the style of beard:

My favourite, The Franz-Joseph:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franz_Joseph_I_of_Austria

A website with lots of different beards (all displayed on the same chin):

http://www.dyers.org/blog/beards/beard-types/

Some of these beards are just so eccentric looking I think a potential employer would not take them seriously.

[Turing_Machine]

That generic family of facial hair (shaved chin, sides grown below jawline) is called "side-whiskers". They were pretty popular in Victorian times.

[ambiate]

Interestingly enough, having a beard has made people deem me as more socially approachable in the past two to three weeks. The underlying truth is if I have a beard: I'm depressed and lazy. Even at nearly 30, shaved, I still look in my late teens or early 20s. People do not treat me the same when I look younger.

[circuiter]

I experience something similar. When I have a beard I can't look at myself in the mirror because I think I look like a bum, but everyone (both men and women) are more friendly and pay better attention when I have a beard.

[jbrooksuk]

I saw an image on Facebook yesterday that said "Men with beards are sexy", with the same man in three stages, beard (closer to stubble), moustache and shaved.

It's a thing. I've been told when I don't shave and have a bit of "designer stubble" that I'm more attractive and look older. I get an itchy face though, so it goes.

[maaarghk]

Can anybody pinpoint when WIRED started publishing 50% link-bait nonsense which just links to other sites on the web, upworthy style? I love their UK magazine and this trend is disappointing. Bit off topic, sorry. Beards outnumber clean shaven 4:3 in my office! We're a digital agency. =P

[asdasf]

Some where around 1998?

[coreymgilmore]

Does it also help that beards are much more mainstream and accepted these days? Sort of like how a black business suit was seen as more professional than a grey or blue suit in the early-mid 20th century?

[xauronx]

That's the first thing that I thought of. The bearded hipster designer/coder is kind of in style right now. It's kind of like saying "designers wearing plaid get more call backs". If you fit the stereotype perfectly for your position, people will think your skills match it perfectly.

[twic]

I once met someone who could correctly identify the Linux distributions preferred by a friend and myself based solely on our facial hair.

[pjbrunet]

Maybe depends on the social network. Seems like I had more LinkedIn invites after shaving.

[h4pless]

Strange. I have noticed a decline in job offers since the internet grew out my beard, I wonder what may account for the discrepancy?

http://i.imgur.com/IfvPIZD.jpg