Bald in Biglaw Forum

[Anonymous User]

I'll be going through OCI in August and have wondered if there's any kind of stigma or stereotype regarding young, bald, bearded associates. I remember a thread re: overweight associates a couple months ago and wondered if there was a similar stigma for those of who didn't get the genes for a good hairline. I can always shave the beard if need be for OCI/summer/when actually working if I needed to because of a firm's culture or whatever, but I've always thought it kind of drew attention away from my cue-ball head.

Other info, for what it's worth - k-jd, will be targeting a large, secondary market (think Houston, Atlanta, etc.). Think a more average-looking Adam Levine when he shaved his head.

[TheRealSantaClaus]

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[Anonymous User]

I'll be going through OCI in August and have wondered if there's any kind of stigma or stereotype regarding young, bald, bearded associates. I remember a thread re: overweight associates a couple months ago and wondered if there was a similar stigma for those of who didn't get the genes for a good hairline. I can always shave the beard if need be for OCI/summer/when actually working if I needed to because of a firm's culture or whatever, but I've always thought it kind of drew attention away from my cue-ball head.

Other info, for what it's worth - k-jd, will be targeting a large, secondary market (think Houston, Atlanta, etc.). Think a more average-looking Adam Levine when he shaved his head.

I'm 100% bald. Shave my head. I got tons of callbacks and offers. You'll be fine.

[HonestAdvice]

The ratio of baldies : bl for male lawyers over 30 is 65% according to a 2010 study (the last time this information was published) from Unilever, Inc. (the owner of Dove products among others) in conjunction with the Arizona State School of Law. This far exceeds the general population percentage of 32% (which to be fair, white men of european ancestry have much higher rates of baldness than most minorities so bl is likelier to stand out here).

The winning mixture of stress, no sunlight and heavy alcohol use do a fantastic job at accelerating any genetic predisoposition you have to be bald. At your callback interview, you might ask if you're on a callback interview or shooting a hairclub for men commercial. Surprisingly, the answer is often both. Outside of the v-15, a lot of firms have marketing contracts with dcompanies like Unilever. Someone's got to pay for all the models and bottles, and these marketing deals take care of a large part of it.

[TheoO]

Just tell them you'll be investing in a hair transplant.

[pancakes3]

i'd think the beard is a bigger deal than being bald and the beard isn't too big a deal if it's groomed. just don't go in looking like a hell's angel and i'm sure you'll be fine.

[Anonymous User]

Thanks for all the responses. I assumed it wouldn't be a big deal but thought it was worth asking about.

Yes, beard is trimmed and looks professional. Nobody is mistaking me for a duck dynasty character.

[Anonymous User]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2pSEX2_nNE

But as mentioned above, it's more about looking well groomed than anything else.

[HonestAdvice]

Thanks for all the responses. I assumed it wouldn't be a big deal but thought it was worth asking about.

Yes, beard is trimmed and looks professional. Nobody is mistaking me for a duck dynasty character.

What's the motivation behind the beard? Is it a compensation thing or the genetics for baldness overlapping with the genetics to have a nice beard? Legitimately curious. I think beards look good when they look good, but most people grow ugly patchy beards.

[Anonymous User]

Thanks for all the responses. I assumed it wouldn't be a big deal but thought it was worth asking about.

Yes, beard is trimmed and looks professional. Nobody is mistaking me for a duck dynasty character.

What's the motivation behind the beard? Is it a compensation thing or the genetics for baldness overlapping with the genetics to have a nice beard? Legitimately curious. I think beards look good when they look good, but most people grow ugly patchy beards.

Not really compensation, I just think I look better with it than without.

I guess secondary factors would be that it's easier to spend a few minutes every 3-4 days trimming/grooming it than shaving every day and my girlfriend likes it. As silly as it seems, I grew it out one year for no shave november (back when I had no obligations) and thought it looked good, so I've kept it the majority of the time since.

[Anonymous User]

I'm surprised the beard would draw more questions than a bald 23-24 year old. Barring medical reasons or something similar, you don't see many bald guys that age. Comparatively, you see many young guys with beards.

[HonestAdvice]

Thanks for all the responses. I assumed it wouldn't be a big deal but thought it was worth asking about.

Yes, beard is trimmed and looks professional. Nobody is mistaking me for a duck dynasty character.

What's the motivation behind the beard? Is it a compensation thing or the genetics for baldness overlapping with the genetics to have a nice beard? Legitimately curious. I think beards look good when they look good, but most people grow ugly patchy beards.

Not really compensation, I just think I look better with it than without.

I guess secondary factors would be that it's easier to spend a few minutes every 3-4 days trimming/grooming it than shaving every day and my girlfriend likes it. As silly as it seems, I grew it out one year for no shave november (back when I had no obligations) and thought it looked good, so I've kept it the majority of the time since.

I can't relate, but have some background in genetics, and baldness is related to masculinity in the sense that not one choir boy castrated in their youth (used to be common in parts of Europe) ever went bald regardless of baldness in their families. On the other hand, steroids that function by boosting testosterone levels make hair thicker and can regrow hair on individuals who are bald so who knows?

One thing I find interesting is a lot of bald people use headshots from like 10 years earlier when they were not bald, which makes things really awkward because then whenever you speak to them you're always self conscious about making them self conscious.

[Nebby]

Hit the gym and shave the beard

CREW