Entries Tagged with appearance

Thursday June 12th, 2008
Flip-flops and interviews: Where do you stand? (Comments invited!)

I'm 38 years old, which means I'm old enough to think it's appalling when candidates show up for interviews wearing flip-flops (and in the past week, I've seen 4 of them do just that) - but young enough to feel piqued when the 20-somethings in the office think my aversion to flip-flops is old-fashioned.

I don't think it's old-fashioned to think that toes are a body part which should be visible in an interview. (Though I do think that it's just fine for women to have bare legs in the summer - I think offices which insist women wear pantyhose all summer are ridiculous.)

So what do you think?

Leave a comment - and don't forget to include your age bracket!

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Saturday June 7th, 2008
Shaved your head for cancer but won't wear a wig to work? You're fired!

Now, here's something you don't expect to happen in Canada: a woman from Owen Sound, Ontario, was fired from her job for shaving her head to raise money for cancer, and then refusing to wear a wig.

"I don't believe it," you're probably saying to yourself. "She was probably some radical, punked-out, over-pierced freakshow and the shaved head was just one freak too far."

But in fact, the woman is a married, 36-year-old mother of two who works as a waitress in a mid-priced restaurant. After shaving her head as part of a cancer fundraiser, she was told not to return to work until her hair grew back to an acceptable length, or wore a wig.

The owner of the restaurant is apparently very strict about appearance - male waitstaff can't wear earrings, for example - and said that customers would be 'appalled' if they were served by a bald-headed woman.

The most surprising thing about all of this is that when the media contacted the owner for a comment, he made it clear that he thought what he'd done was perfectly acceptable - it hadn't crossed his mind that the waitress could file a Human Rights complaint or that there would be any negative consequences.

However, thanks to all the media attention, the blogosphere is buzzing - and I have a feeling that Nathaniel's Restaurant is going to learn, first-hand, that there is a demonstrable economic cost to discrimination.

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About the Authors

Paul Dodd
Co-founder and President
Head2Head Canada

Paul has one simple goal: To help companies hire great people - and get the most out of every recruiting dollar they spend. That's why he's recognized as one of the best recruitment-industry thinkers in Canada.

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