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Posted: **Wed Dec 21, 2011 4:35 pm**

How important/crucial is a clean shave for a guy? Have an interview coming up and thinking about keeping some scruff cause it looks better

Posted: **Wed Dec 21, 2011 4:38 pm**

There have been a lot of threads on this topic, no clear consensus.

By "scruff", do you mean a neatly-trimmed something or other? Or like a couple days growth?

Posted: **Wed Dec 21, 2011 4:39 pm**

It worked for Nixon,[FN1] it can work for you.

[FN1] nota bene - it did not work for Nixon

Posted: **Wed Dec 21, 2011 4:40 pm**

There's plenty of threads on this topic already so I'll just break down for you how it will go:

Some people will say of course you should be clean shaven, law is a conservative profession and while it might not hurt you to have facial hair, you don't want to take any chances.

Then people with beards will chime in and say they wouldn't want to work somewhere that would ding them for having a beard.

A bunch of people will say they have to have a beard because they look like a 12 year old without it. A bunch of people will say they look better with a beard without admitting that its because it hides their double chin.

My personal opinion though - "scruff" sounds horrible and you will probably look like a douche.

Posted: **Wed Dec 21, 2011 4:46 pm**

No interviewer ever says "He shouldn't have shaved." I imagine they do say "He should've shaved."

Do the math.

Posted: **Wed Dec 21, 2011 4:46 pm**

Ludovico Technique wrote:There's plenty of threads on this topic already so I'll just break down for you how it will go:

Some people will say of course you should be clean shaven, law is a conservative profession and while it might not hurt you to have facial hair, you don't want to take any chances.

Then people with beards will chime in and say they wouldn't want to work somewhere that would ding them for having a beard.

A bunch of people will say they have to have a beard because they look like a 12 year old without it. A bunch of people will say they look better with a beard without admitting that its because it hides their double chin.

My personal opinion though - "scruff" sounds horrible and you will probably look like a douche.

This sums up the debate pretty well. I personally have a neatly trimmed beard because my clean shaven baby face coupled with being rather short makes me look like pre-pubescent. But if I looked like a normal 22 year old, I would absolutely be clean shaven. Either have a fully grown beard (not just a couple days of growth that would qualify as "scruff") or go clean shaven. Scruff looks unkempt and not professional.

Posted: **Wed Dec 21, 2011 6:48 pm**

Man with a great beard here: Shave that shit off for interviews. There is literally no reason not to. Well, there are reasons not to, but if you think those are legitimate reasons, you probably shouldn't be in law school. OCI was the first time I had a shaven face in 4 years (didn't have to shave last year because I only did phone interviews for 1L summer).

protip: if you know you have an interview coming up, give shaving a practice run a week or so beforehand. Only thing worse than a beard in an interview is a bloody chin in an interview.

Posted: **Wed Dec 21, 2011 6:51 pm**

See: Socrates.

Posted: **Wed Dec 21, 2011 7:11 pm**

MrKappus wrote:No interviewer ever says "He shouldn't have shaved." I imagine they do say "He should've shaved."

Do the math.

This was my line of thinking. I've had a full beard for three years, but shaved it off for my interview today. Better shave than sorry.

Edit: what Geist said above, too.

Posted: **Wed Dec 21, 2011 7:16 pm**

Judge Philip Banks wrote:
MrKappus wrote:No interviewer ever says "He shouldn't have shaved." I imagine they do say "He should've shaved."

Do the math.
Better shave than sorry.

I see what you did there Lolcats

Posted: **Wed Dec 21, 2011 7:23 pm**

Although I am a long way from getting a law interview, I don't think I'd shave. I just wouldn't feel comfortable without a beard.

Also, I'm just too cool not to have a beard.

Posted: **Wed Dec 21, 2011 7:43 pm**

clean shave = always fine.
neatly trimmed beard = probably always fine.
"scruff" = wtf

Posted: **Wed Dec 21, 2011 8:09 pm**

Geist13 wrote:Man with a great beard here: Shave that shit off for interviews. There is literally no reason not to. Well, there are reasons not to, but if you think those are legitimate reasons, you probably shouldn't be in law school. OCI was the first time I had a shaven face in 4 years (didn't have to shave last year because I only did phone interviews for 1L summer).

protip: if you know you have an interview coming up, give shaving a practice run a week or so beforehand. Only thing worse than a beard in an interview is a bloody chin in an interview.

This guy speaks the truth.

Posted: **Wed Dec 21, 2011 8:24 pm**

I did not shave. It worked fine for me.

Go with whatever makes you feel comfortable. I've had a beard for 13 years. I don't feel comfortable without it.

Posted: **Wed Dec 21, 2011 8:26 pm**

I would think an interviewee who didn't shave was lazy or cocky. Ding, goodbye.

To be clear, actual beards are fine, but the "I'm ruggedly casual handsome" scruff is simply not acceptable for an interview. Even the trimmed scruff isn't acceptable, unless it has crossed over into beard territory. Jump through the hoops when preparing for your interview, which includes shining your shoes and SHAVING.

I've been told I have a baby face, and that's ok, because you are young and looking for a job. So it's ok to look young. You look like an asshole if you show up to an interview scruffy.

Posted: **Wed Dec 21, 2011 8:31 pm**

Ludovico Technique wrote:There's plenty of threads on this topic already so I'll just break down for you how it will go:

Some people will say of course you should be clean shaven, law is a conservative profession and while it might not hurt you to have facial hair, you don't want to take any chances.

Then people with beards will chime in and say they wouldn't want to work somewhere that would ding them for having a beard.

A bunch of people will say they have to have a beard because they look like a 12 year old without it. A bunch of people will say they look better with a beard without admitting that its because it hides their double chin.

My personal opinion though - "scruff" sounds horrible and you will probably look like a douche.

+1

Posted: **Wed Dec 21, 2011 9:28 pm**

If it's well kept, then a beard is totally fine. Everyone who doesn't want to take the risk ITT is too beta to do anything, really. I had a nicely kept beard and ended up with 10 offers, and I'm now an associate at a V10 firm.

Posted: **Wed Dec 21, 2011 10:29 pm**

Why would you take the risk and not shave?

Posted: **Thu Dec 22, 2011 1:30 am**

Posted: **Fri Dec 23, 2011 6:16 pm**

What about mustaches?

Posted: **Fri Dec 23, 2011 8:16 pm**

I can't imagine a nicely kept beard having any impact, but the scruff look could certainly screw things up.

I don't think senior partners are into the whole 'the scruffy looks ruggedly handsome' thing.

Posted: **Fri Dec 23, 2011 8:52 pm**

What about when you actually work at a firm?

I worked at a firm during 1L summer and would sometimes go 3-4 days without shaving, but was too much of a wuss to take it any farther than that.

Posted: **Sat Dec 24, 2011 12:29 am**

Only keep facial hair if it looks professional. On 80% of people, it doesn't. Get other opinions and if in doubt, shave it.

Posted: **Sat Dec 24, 2011 9:59 am**

traehekat wrote:clean shave = always fine.
neatly trimmed beard = probably always fine.
"scruff" = wtf

+1 seriously I can't believe there is even a debate on this.

Posted: **Sat Dec 24, 2011 10:23 am**

concurrent fork wrote:
traehekat wrote:clean shave = always fine.
neatly trimmed beard = probably always fine.
"scruff" = wtf
+1 seriously I can't believe there is even a debate on this.

The debate is arising mostly because some people "don't want to take the risk."

See, people who suffer from asperger's make a utility table or whatever that looks like this:

Code: Select all

                   Chances of it being positive             Chances of it being negative
Beard                           0%                                                    1%
No Beard                      0%                                                    0%

No matter how small the chance of it being negative, according to that table, they should not have beards.

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