Employment related question - Dreadlocks

[Reg Braithwaite]

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

Your statement is ambiguous. It can be interpreted to suggest that appearances always matter and matter to everyone. It can also be construed to mean that some appearances matter some of the time to some people. In this specific case, we are talking about whether dreadlocks matter to the OP when looking for employment in the diving industry. There are probably some places that care, but are there enough that dreadlocks will present a hardship to the OP? Or will it turn out to be one or two places but no big deal?

I think we can all agree that dreadlocks have no functional effect on diving instruction or trimix blending. Therefore, choosing not to hire someone with dreadlocks is discrimination. Perhaps not illegal in most circumstances, but still discrimination. This is not something we have to tolerate or perpetuate. People also discriminate based on gender, body fat, sexual orientation, religion and ethnicity. But that doesn't mean we have to do so ourselves, and we can choose to work for people who do not discriminate.

I have been passed over for jobs because I am black. Sometimes for reasons similar to the five star resort argument: "Our customers would not like it." I see exactly the same thinking at work with respect to dreadlocks.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

I would hire someone with dreadlocks that are clean and neat before I;d hire some kid who is too lazy to pull his pants up, put a hat on straight, and wear a shirt that fits. Profiling? Damn right. That is what setting a professional image is about. I for years told my nephews to not come to my house or expect me not to laugh when they were trying to emulate the dregs of society by dressing like this. Say what you want but this style came from prisons. And why would I want to hire someone whose role models are criminals? Dreadlocks and a big doobie hanging out of their mouth? No. Dreadlocks and a BPW and long hose setup with wrist mounted gauges? You are hired!

 

[Kingpatzer]

Your statement is ambiguous. It can be interpreted to suggest that appearances always matter and matter to everyone. It can also be construed to mean that some appearances matter some of the time to some people. In this specific case, we are talking about whether dreadlocks matter to the OP when looking for employment in the diving industry. There are probably some places that care, but are there enough that dreadlocks will present a hardship to the OP? Or will it turn out to be one or two places but no big deal?

Any time you limit your options, it has effected your opportunities. In an industry where there are far more employees than employers, that can very easily be significant.

He can guess that it won't be a big deal, or he can pro-actively prevent putting himself in a position where he might have to find out the hard way.

 

[Reg Braithwaite]

Dreadlocks and a big doobie hanging out of their mouth? No. Dreadlocks and a BPW and long hose setup with wrist mounted gauges? You are hired!

There's a difference between a "roll" model and a "role" model. I agree that we all want to know that a Dive Master's idea of "buddy breathing" involves sharing a regulator, not a narcotic

 

[Reg Braithwaite]

Any time you limit your options, it has effected your opportunities. In an industry where there are far more employees than employers, that can very easily be significant.

He can guess that it won't be a big deal, or he can pro-actively prevent putting himself in a position where he might have to find out the hard way.

Would you say the same thing about a black person with fair skin trying to pass themselves off as white? Or a homosexual pretending to be straight?

p.s. Wikipedia on Dreadlocks. In my jurisdiction (Ontario, Canada), discrimination on the basis of religion or ethnicity is illegal. If I wanted to discriminate against someone on the basis of their hair style, I would have to be very certain they grew them to emulate a Death Metal band and not because they venerated Olokun, the Orisha of the Deep Sea. That reference seemed appropriate for a scuba professional!!!

 

[wrybosome]

Get the job then grow the dreadlocks.

 

[rstofer]

Customers are always allowed to discriminate with their $. Given a choice of a DM with dreadlocks and a DM with an 'up tight and white' haircut, I know where I'm going to come out. Same with tattoos and piercings. Given a choice, I'll choose someone else. Every single time!

If I ran a shop, I would make my hiring decisions based on what I would expect my customers to think. I would be in business to satisfy my customers, not to enable my employees. Take a look at 'In-N-Out Burger', they have the cleanest looking employees I have ever seen. i'll bet it is a job requirement!

Now, software development is a different deal. Who cares what a code weenie looks like? They don't generally interact with customers and social skills just aren't required. Elegant code is all that's necessary. It's not even a job requirement that they show up at the office. If they're REALLY good, the company will send a car to pick them up.

Richard

 

[Reg Braithwaite]

Customers are always allowed to discriminate with their $. Given a choice of a DM with dreadlocks and a DM with an 'up tight and white' haircut, I know where I'm going to come out. Same with tattoos and piercings. Given a choice, I'll choose someone else. Every single time!

If I ran a shop, I would make my hiring decisions based on what I would expect my customers to think. I would be in business to satisfy my customers, not to enable my employees. Take a look at 'In-N-Out Burger', they have the cleanest looking employees I have ever seen. i'll bet it is a job requirement!

Off topic but... If your customers prefer attractive white male heterosexual employees, is that what you hire?

 

[Sinbad the Diver]

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?

I've had developers on my staff that the fact that they bathed that week was a plus...but they sit in their little world and produce, so I don't care. But, in a customer facing position, that would be totaly different. A person is obviously allowed to dress or wear their hair anyway they want. But they have to realize that some jobs require a higher level of professional appearance and their "rights" may be career limiting.

 

[Reg Braithwaite]

I've had developers on my staff that the fact that they bathed that week was a plus...but they sit in their little world and produce, so I don't care. But, in a customer facing position, that would be totaly different. A person is obviously allowed to dress or wear their hair anyway they want. But they have to realize that some jobs require a higher level of professional appearance and their "rights" may be career limiting.

It is not obvious to me that dreadocks or tattoos are "unprofessional." It sounds suspiciously like Sneetches with Stars, some arbitrary way some people have of dividing "us" from "them." Come to think of it, I have trouble with the word "unprofessional," it's intellectually empty. Unkempt is a very specific word. Anti-establishment is another. When another poster criticized baggy pants, he didn't say unprofessional, he said it was associated with prison culture.

Dreadlocks mean what exactly? Rastafarianism, a religion based on pacifism and vegetarianism? The worship of a god of the deep sea? Being into music and youth culture? Or just being different than what we (I'm 47) grew up with? Is there any correlation between dreadlocks and poor job performance?

Any ways, back to the OP: It should be clear that the world is full of narrow-minded people who will judge your ability to keep them safe and instruct them based on matters of personal appearance that are functionally irrelevant. It should also be clear that there are people who will claim to be above such things but use chasing the almighty dollar as an excuse to participate in discrimination. Govern yourself accordingly.

Speaking of governing, here is a picture of a couple who at the time this was taken were wearing hair styles that would have barred them from employment with many establishments: