Career Clinic: Can a beard hold you back in the City?

What a ridiculous question. For some years I have sported a neatly trimmed Arabic-style beard. Far from holding me back it has enhanced my career. Admitedly I have the face to pull it off but a good-quality beard says you are not afraid to be a little different, which is a rare quality amongst City lawyers, who all tend to feel a need to conform to a particular stereotype. Clearly my comments are to be disregarded if we are talking about a longer beard with food particles in it or some pasty-faced little trainee sporting bumfluff.

Beardo -01 Nov 2007 | 12:29

I don't think a beard holds you back in the City - unless, I suppose, one is a woman.

Anonymous -01 Nov 2007 | 12:52

A proper beard (not some silly little goatey one) is fine. But guys please please don't ever ever grow a moustache.

Helen -01 Nov 2007 | 13:57

Are you serious?!

Trainee -01 Nov 2007 | 14:34

This is a ridiculous question. Speaking as an equity partner in a City firm my beard has never held me back and has never attracted any comments. It's also a great place to store my blackberry if I've run out of pocket space.

Partner at MC firm -01 Nov 2007 | 15:34

Obviously yes. Beardo above is deluded. The only men who grow beards are either (a) insecure and need something to hide behind or (b) have bad teeth. A beard is unhygenic, often full of stray bits of food and unattractive. Appearance is important and a beard will do you no favours.

Wise Sage -01 Nov 2007 | 15:44

Like everything else to do with appearance in a conservative workplace like a City law firm, extremes are to be avoided and the goal is to look professional and presentable. A neat, clean, well-trimmed beard of whatever shape should not be a problem. A hairy, dirty beard, an extreme-of-fashion beard or can't-be-bothered-to-shave stubble would all be inappropriate.

Anonymous -01 Nov 2007 | 16:07

This is not a civil liberty issue. The question asked was whether a beard can hold you back in the City and I think the answer is that it might. Especially if dealing with international clients, the beardos should know that beards are definitely OUT in some business circles, e.g. North America and Far East.

Anonymous -01 Nov 2007 | 16:27

In answer to your question, I think it would depend on whether your beard got trapped in the door, in which case you would be held back....

Male solicitor -01 Nov 2007 | 16:32

Beardo and Partner are spot on. A smart beard will not hold you back and in some specialisms, such as tax, it may even enhance your chances of a successful career as a leading practitioner.In Slaughter and May's star-filled tax department, for example, it was joked that beard-wearing might be made compulsory when Stephen Edge still led the department (Slaughter and May tax partners now have the choice between being called Graham or wearing a beard; Graham Airs elected to do both). By contrast, a big bird's nest beard or a long wispy goatee are quite unacceptable, as are moustaches. I must say I think this is something of a shame. If women were allowed facial hair there would be a lot more creativity.

Ex-MC Lawyer -01 Nov 2007 | 17:19

It certainly doesn't seem to have held back the partners in Slaughter and May's tax department - but then Croesus himself sported a full bird's nest-hiding number in Claude Vignon's painting, so perhaps one should not be surprised by that.

Anonymous -01 Nov 2007 | 17:23

I will not hire anyone with a sniff of facial hair. A beard is indicative of insecurity, untrustworthiness and a subconscious attempt to hide something. It basically shows you have given up on life. Maggie Thatcher would not allow beards in her cabinet, and McDonald's, Disney and Microsoft will not employ people with beards. Above all, they are unhygienic, harbouring germs and so on. I am not the only one in a position of power who holds this view and it does hold you back.

Clean and clear -01 Nov 2007 | 17:35

I would go in the other direction and say that my beard actually furthered my career. I interviewed in the corporate department of a top 10 firm with a partner who also had a fine specimen of a bread, and we spent most of the interview bonding over 'beard chat,' rather than talking about my CV. It also helps hide my expression when I am in interminable meetings. In summary: rock those beards.

Senior associate- top 10 firm -01 Nov 2007 | 18:12

The trainee has been assigned to you so that he/she can be mentored by you, but also for you to teach him/her rudimentary behavioural skills as a legal professional. In that regard, partners like to be the good guys, and want aspiring associates to be the bad guys i.e. the partners were "jokingly" telling you that the trainee looks ridiculous with that bird and you should set him straight. How can you not figure out that a beard is out of order to start with? Clean look is the order of the day, and scruffiness is not, this is the 21st century, not the 18th century. I am not discriminating against people that have facial hair, but in a profession where first impressions count the hobo look is not particularly confidence-inspiring.

Investment Banker -01 Nov 2007 | 18:17

I fail to see weight in the argument that they are unhygenic. Is there any real difference between a beard and the hair on your head other than its location. No. A well groomed beard (I don't think anyone would have it otherwise in the workplace) does take a considerable amount of care and attention to maintain. In fact, it probably takes about the same amount of effort as it does for clean shaving. Also I do not buy into the whole hiding something argument either. What a nonsense. People with beards tend to love them and want to talk about them all the time. If you did have something to hide why would you draw attention to it?

Beard Lover -01 Nov 2007 | 18:38

Dear Beard Lover:The key difference between facial hair and head hair is that you don't breathe (germs), cough (germs), eat (germs) and drink (germs) through the top of your head. Have you ever seen a man with a beard drink something? They can't stop the dribbles and struggle to wipe their mouth surrounds properly. It is revolting and a risk to the health and safety of one's colleagues and family.

Not really -02 Nov 2007 | 08:51

A colleague has recently grown a moustache with great support from senior management. He is now considering opting for a full beard. Whilst a moustache has made him very popular around the office, I think a full beard would move him into a new stratosphere of respect. I have encouraged him to show his support for the Beard Liberation Front and to combat beardism with the wearing of an expanded amount of facial hair.It never held back Richard Branson. Though Sean Connery was allegedly originally denied a knighthood because of his beard. So food for thought there.

Superdude -02 Nov 2007 | 10:56

I think that it depends on one's area of practice - as some posters have pointed out beards do not tend to hold tax lawyers back, but this is largely because they are not client facing, so no-one knows that they wear a beard. If clients knew this they would probably struggle to take the advice seriously. Perhaps some of the beard-wearing readers of this page could carry out a trial to test this hypothesis - try inviting your clients to a meeting, and deliver your advice in person (please try to avoid stroking the beard while you are giving the advice as this really would be too much) and then see if you ever get instructed again. Has anyone else noticed that the huge cull of partners at Freshfields followed the election of a bearded managing partner? I have heard that Tony Angel also has a beard, but he wears a disguise like Kenny Everett doing the louche champagne-drinking Frenchman character. Ever wondered why Darth Vader wore that black helmet all the time? Yep - beard. Who was that dude in the Old Testament who sacrificed his son? You got it - the bearded Abraham.

Boo -02 Nov 2007 | 12:37

Boo, the tax lawyers I referred to are very much client-facing.

Ex-MC Lawyer -02 Nov 2007 | 15:13

They can be quite cumbersome, and getting them to follow you around is quite hard unless you have a very well trained one. Also, I tend to find that they scare the clients.Oh, sorry, I thought you said BEAR!Still, it's an equally ridiculous question!!!

Anonymous -02 Nov 2007 | 16:08

Surely the only reason anyone thinks Abraham or tax lawyers have a beard is because of the idealised images one gets of them from artists (as concerns Abraham) or photoshop-enhanced pictures (as concerns tax lawyer pictures on law firm websites). After all, it's not as if anyone has ever met them.

Simon -02 Nov 2007 | 16:10

This was a conundrum that I had to mull over when I was a an associate contemplating whether to grow a 'Nautical Action Man' style full beard. The conclusion I came to (after discussing the matter at great length with my good lady wife) is that provided one dresses like a gentleman in an elegantly-cut three-piece suit, handmade italian shoes and knows how to tie a decent half-windsor then one should have little to fear from the beard police. Time has proven this to be the correct conclusion and I have never looked back!

Partner, Top 10 Firm -02 Nov 2007 | 16:28

I could not comment on whether City laws firms are inherently beardist, but speaking as a potential client, I would absolutely retain a bearded or moustached lawyer over the clean shaven competition. Fully developed facial hair growth requires confidence, focus and commitment in the painstaking development process and cultivators suffer ridicule, discomfort and ill appearance before the fully formed facial growth can be admired in its full glory. These are attributes to be respected (and hired). I'd suggest any trainee who is prepared to suffer this is well qualified to make a career in law and survive the ridicule of the 1PQE who is finally getting their own back after two years of being treated like plankton, the discomfort of not sleeping for 72 hours while your partner/client bellows instruction via BB from a beach in Tahiti and the look of a man who's been dragged through a bog after the third all nighter of the week.

FD -02 Nov 2007 | 18:12

I have a full beard (have not trimmed it for almost 10 years) for religious reasons (al la Abraham cited above). I have worked in the poshest firm in the West End and in a very conservative city firm and the beard has never held me back. (I also have a couple of friends who are partners in City practices with similar facial growths). In my case it would be a question of racial discrimination if I was not employed because of this. It has never given anyone, colleagues or clients pause for thought. By the way in addition to Blackberry storage it is also good for preventing stains and spotting on one's shirt/tie as it catches falling food - and in this respect is actually and aid to a neat appearace.

senior assistant -05 Nov 2007 | 09:08

Personally I'm un-decided on the whole issue of facial hair. However, this chap has certainly made up his mind. Follow the link.http://www.actuaries.org.uk/Display_Page.cgi?url=/finance_invest/Duval_profile.html

Huadhunter101 -05 Nov 2007 | 17:34

Does diversity not mean anything to you or the beardists out there? For those of you without a beard, who have expressed such dislike of them, imagine being forced to grow one. Don't like the idea? Well that's how those of us with facial hair feel at the prospect of being bullied into shaving.

Associate, Magic Circle Firm -06 Nov 2007 | 12:04

For all questions of this nature, whether they be aesthetic, sartorial or regarding facial hirsutitude, I refer you all to The Chap magazine at www.thechap.netAs a teaser: "The Chap takes a wry look at the modern world through the steamed-up monocle of a more refined age, occasionally getting its sock suspenders into a twist at the unspeakable vulgarity of the twenty-first century."

Aginald Berkeley-Witherington-Gibbon -12 Nov 2007 | 11:37

I'm not sure about the City, but the Bar doesn't seem to go for beards. I used to wear a goatee. When I first applied for pupillage, on the basis of my CV I got plenty of 1st round interviews, but no 2nd round invites. Following the advice of well-informed fellow BVC students and an established barrister, I shaved it off. Clean shaven results - a 70% conversion rate from 1st to 2nd round interviews and a couple of offers. In summary, gentlemen generally don't wear beards (Prince Michael of Kent and King George V aside), so if you are entering or hoping to progress in a gentlemens' profession, then don't grow one. Alternatively, if you're of the non-conformist persuasion, you could, as the saying goes, "grow some", and bravely tell them (expressly or impliedly) where to stick it by growing one. If you follow my drift.... :-D

Anony non -26 Jan 2009 | 17:24