Self-Promotion/Marketing, Pen Name, etc.
Moderators: Celeste Stewart, Ed, Constant
Re: Self-Promotion/Marketing, Pen Name, etc.
This is why I can't wait to give up my day job to write full-time (and it's going to be this year the way things are going, thank god). I dyed my hair neon red for Comic Relief last year, raised a few hundred £ in the process, but had to change it to a (slightly) more natural colour to avoid having my life made miserable at work. There's nothing in our 'handbook' that bans any colour hair (and in fact our HR manager told me I HAD to keep it as she loved it so much), but I was told that as I'm a manager in a finance dept I 'should be boring'. Same with tattoos, I have to wear long sleeves whatever the weather to keep them covered, and as I'm having my collar bones tattooed in a couple of months it's going to be high necks as well!
Re: Self-Promotion/Marketing, Pen Name, etc.
That's ridiculous!!! If anything, people seemed to like me more in my regular job because of my appearance. I specifically remember a painter in her late 50s coming in, wanting to buy a pair of "twins" (i.e. a pair of mismatching shoes), but hesitated because of what others would think of her. I told her "You're an artist. if you wanna wear different shoes, fine! Go nuts! I'm not an artist, but I sure have!" Well, she was so psyched that she bought two pairs! 
I've never had a problem with even more conservative customers, from grannies to priests! And, hell, I work at a drugstore now! Yeah, sure, some people will occasionally give you dirty looks or whisper behind your back, but that doesn't mean you're a bad professional.
All in all, I think employers who judge their employees based on their appearance take themselves way too seriously!
I've never had a problem with even more conservative customers, from grannies to priests! And, hell, I work at a drugstore now! Yeah, sure, some people will occasionally give you dirty looks or whisper behind your back, but that doesn't mean you're a bad professional.
All in all, I think employers who judge their employees based on their appearance take themselves way too seriously!
Re: Self-Promotion/Marketing, Pen Name, etc.
That sucks. I'd love to have a boss/director with wild hair. It means they must be cool (I'm a little prejudice about that thoughEFowler wrote:This is why I can't wait to give up my day job to write full-time (and it's going to be this year the way things are going, thank god). I dyed my hair neon red for Comic Relief last year, raised a few hundred £ in the process, but had to change it to a (slightly) more natural colour to avoid having my life made miserable at work. There's nothing in our 'handbook' that bans any colour hair (and in fact our HR manager told me I HAD to keep it as she loved it so much), but I was told that as I'm a manager in a finance dept I 'should be boring'. Same with tattoos, I have to wear long sleeves whatever the weather to keep them covered, and as I'm having my collar bones tattooed in a couple of months it's going to be high necks as well!
). But really, people with cool colored hair have got to be cool. I'm shy IRL, so I don't approach people which means I don't make friends easily. Well, with the hair more people approach me and I've made friends just from people talking to me. It works out well. To have a boss with cool color hair would be a good thing I would think...It would seem to me that you'd have more employees feel less intimidated and they would feel more free to talk to you.But you are right. Corporate sucks and is still stuck in the 1920s. Old, balding white guys still run things. Hopefully, that changes.