I will definitely be interested in hearing about the experience, if that time comes.crfriend wrote:Not yet, but I'm certain that time will come.Daryl wrote:Ever tried job hunting in a skirt?
In places with a healthy economy it's likely easier to do so because the downside cross-section is smaller. In places with unhealthy or wrecked economies, one has to play all sorts of games to even retain a job so one toes the line very, very carefully.
I've got an agreement with the Boss at work, and he knows that I will in no way bring disrepute to the Company, and when operating in a mode where I represent the Company I peg things at a notch well above "business casual" (pretty much a suit minus the jacket) and with unobtrusive restraints for my hair (usually a very simple pony elastic). Since I tend not to talk much about my work, save for generalities, and never mention who I work for, that's not a problem. So that works.
I suspect actually getting a(nother) job here -- assuming that one can get past all the "screening" stages to get an interview (which is in no means any sort of "given") -- a skirted outfit could well nix any sort of deal at the outset unless the interviewer is a free-thinker and needs to fill a position quickly. The skirt would be entirely incidental, but the average person follows their indoctrination even if they're not aware of it. Frequently that can involve a loss for all parties.
I think the mental process for either a screener or an interviewer may involve unconscious bias but perhaps more it involves a conscious bias, not against the person who dresses unusually, but in favour of their own approval-seeking on-the-job. No one knows how a new employee will work out. Hiring a new person is always a bit of a risk. If you hire someone who is a bit weird, you will at least think that others will be whispering "I don't know why he hired a weirdo then was surprised when it blew up in his face." In the face of uncertainty, people do what feels safer, especially when they perceive that their decision represents a risk of some kind.
I have seen this in action. A boss, after hiring a new guy into a very visible role, discovered that the guy was not only gay, but spoke of his husband. Now, I know the boss. He is not even slightly homophobic, but the company's rural midwest client base represents a demographic that opposed the recognition of same sex marriages, and has other options for the company's services. He asked the new hire to decline the offer of employment. (Which he did not, and everything worked out fine anyway.)