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Let It Ride Episode 42: Would Facebook Make Liam Cut His Hair?
Would Mr. Z. Say No to the Flow?
He’s a computer programming and business major at San Francisco State University, a retired amatuer muy thai fighter and lifetime martial arts student and competitor. And he’s got the dope flowing locks.
But most recently Liam was offered a job in the tech field, an ideal internship position at none other than Facebook, Inc.
The offer came with a single contingency: he would have to cut his hair.
AT FACEBOOK?? Say it ain’t so!
What Would Happen at The Big F?
Liam was faced with a dilemma not uncommon among the ranks of longhairs: do I have to cut my hair to get the job? Not the first and certainly not the last, Liam’s quandary is all too familiar in the family of flow. It’s a deeply personal issue forcing us to choose between a vocation and self.
Most of us are compelled to choose an occupation best suited to provide for ourselves and our families. On the other hand, the decision to live with long hair can be very personal and deeply connected to one’s identity.
The conventional and conservative approach would be to “do what’s best,” and simply cut your hair. But does it have to be one or the other?
Brown v. The Board of Education, Obergefell v. Hodges...Facebook v. The Flow?
In our first documented instance of a man facing an occupational hair hazard at a major company, Liam shares his experience with The Longhairs.
How did he approach the situation? Is there a personal grooming policy at Facebook? Would he be forced to cut his hair to get the job?
In our exclusive interview, The Longhairs dive into the issues with Liam, his experience with long hair at Facebook—and dialing the direct emergency hotline to El Rubio himself.
Listen to The Longhairs Podcast Episode 42.
What you'll hear about:
Does Facebook Make Employees Cut Their Hair?
Would Liam cut it? Would he hold strong? ARE THE LOCKS INTACT??!
FIND OUT!
Kick It With Liam
Liam is a computer programming and business major at SF State, a retired amatuer muy thai fighter and lifetime martial arts student and competitor. You can find him tricking in the South Bay, or just follow him on IG @liamtricks
This episode of Let It Ride is brought to you by Hair Ties For Guys, the finest men’s hair ties in the world. You can find these and other superior products for men with long hair in The Men’s Aisle, at thelonghairs.US.
Have you had to choose between a job and your hair? We’d love to hear about it in the comments.
Comments
I’m glad I have never really had this conflict. I’ve kept my hair long for the majority of my life off and on, but I decided I wanted to work on cars for a living, (not the most lucrative idea). Having said that though, as long as you can perform as an automotive service technician, you can pretty much look however you want to, which is a plus because I feel like long hair is more me than short.
Glad to hear it man! We are working on a ‘Grease Monkey’ collection of hair ties. Sounds like that could be right up your alley.
I had a job at a mail sorting facility, where long hair was MOST DEFINITELY a safety concern. But they were perfectly fine with me rolling it into a bun.
I used to be a restaurant cook. I was talking to the owner of a local eatery over beers one night. He told me he wouldn’t hire me because of my hair. I asked him if he would make the same decision if I were female. I think he saw my point. At another place, I kept it up in a cap at work. I went in one day with my hair down to pick up a check. The owner said “If I had known your hair was that long I would not have hired you.” He got a stink eye from me. They went out of business and I still have long hair.
It was both on soundcloud in browser , and the stitcher podcast app , but it only lasted for about 25 seconds , no big deal was just wondering if it was just me
Ok actually now I see what you are talking about through my pocketcast app. Must have got corrupted on the upload somehow. I just fixed it. Thanks for the heads up bro, appreciate it!
Was it just me or was there an audio overlap problem around the 4 minute mark ?
Yo Alex! Thanks for giving us a heads up on that but not experiencing that issue. Can you try refreshing and see if it happens again? Wondering it if just loaded wrong or something. Are you listening in the browser or an app on your phone?
I cut my hair unwillingly at the age of 23. My father had been pushing me to do so, but what really convinced me to do so was the difficulty I was having finding a job at that time. Ultimately, I did find a job close the area I was looking for. Looking back, I’m glad I took that job because it gave me valuable experience, and I treasure what I learned there. But at the time I remember hating my job partially because 1) I couldn’t grow my hair long, and 2) I had to wear a shirt, tie and slacks to work every day, which was very much NOT me.
Fast forward over a quarter of a century, and my hair is back at shoulder length a couple of years into my new career as a therapist. I am my own boss, so the only thing I have to worry about is what my clients think. And I now live in a city where long hair on men is more widely accepted. If anything, my long hair might actually distinguish me from other therapists in a field where it’s important to stand out from the pack.
As a therapist, I try avoid the trap that a lot of therapists fall into where they become fixated on how “normal” their clients are. I am a firm believer in people being allowed to be themselves, instead of living for other people’s approval, and I want to help people in their efforts to be the persons they are meant to be. My long hair shows that I walk the talk and that I mean what I say.
I’ll report in the future as “El Terapeuta” (Spanish for therapist) to let people know how this adventure goes.
ET! Glad to have you here! Thanks for your thoughtful comment, looking forward to hearing more.
El Terapeuta great to hear from you man and thanks for sharing your story. Looking forward to future updates. We can totally relate to how the long hair distinguishes you in a crowded field. When we were operating our digital marketing agency the hair was a simple tool we used to make ourselves memorable. It’s subtle but it works. People would often refer to us as “the long haired guys”. I can see in your situation people probably referring to you as “the long hair therapist”.
as i go to a therapist, that’s not for his appearance, but for his efficiency…lol
and i believe that everybody do act as me
American bosses are the most stupid on the earth !!!
they want employees with an original thinking, and they oblige them go to the church and be the most conservative in their appearance
in Europe, it is a long time that haircuts are not a problem for the society is more tolerant, even for stores employees
that explains why our industries are more inventive…especially in the field of organic cosmetics
and i believe that american ceo should become tolerant if they want make the XXl° century business ( and not only the gafam…)
gafam are: Google, Amazon,fesse bouc, Apple and Microsoft
I wonder the range of salary it would take for longhairs to cut their hair. Would some do it as low as $40,000? $100,000? $365,250 is the minimum annual salary I would cut my hair for, a year later quit, and back to long hair.
1.5 billion would probably do it for me.