Career baldy
Look at the two images above and compare them. Which candidate do you believe will have an easier career? The correct answer is the one on the left despite what many would have us believe. In fact a study was done where a duplicate CV was sent with the difference being one is bald and the other wasn’t. It wasn’t a surprise, the bald candidate got significantly less job offers with the exact same CV. The study was done across different job boards with similar results. Even if you land a foot in the door, baldness can hinder your career, denying you a promotion. The truth is hair loss affects every aspect of life from health to how a person is perceived. We live in a world where most people portray bald men without a defect despite the embellishment, baldness is still not treated favorably in the real world, neither in the job market nor dating scene. Unless you have a skill that makes you different to others, you will have a hard time succeeding in your career. The candidate on the left will need unique skills to compensate whereas the other will have an edge by default. You may be thinking of others who have seemingly overcome challenges while still bald but as it happens they expended more effort, time and money than men with full hair that could have otherwise been spent on leisure. You may be wondering about famous bald actors. Don’t look at bald actors who star in action movies and how well they are treated, in reality these men live in a life insulated by wealth and fame. You can’t lean on the success of these men for hope unless you have their wealth and fame for support. Actors are not immune to baldness but what they have more than compensates for their baldness. The actors live in a theatrical world where the rules of social dynamics are different. This applies to every VIP person who attained wealth and fame besides movie actors. Look at the average Joe who lives an average life. How baldness affects the average man isn’t easily seen but it's detrimental. Men tend to keep their troubles bottled up inside instead of talking about it and so does society.
Baldness isn’t a protected characteristic in most employment discrimination laws. Gradual loss of hair can expose you to hidden discrimination you can’t report or defend against. Perhaps ageism is working under the hood. Studies suggest that men with hair are slightly favored in the job market, but this is likely due to societal biases rather than a lack of competence. First impressions are vital in interviews, giving you a boost over other candidates of similar qualifications. First impressions are the defining moment of most interviews, proving the truth of a CV. For example, compare the interview of two candidates below.
Candidate 1: Intelligent-Industrious-Impulsive-Critical-Stubborn-Bald
Candidate 2: Bald-Stubborn-Critical-Impulsive-Industrious-Intelligent
If you are like most of us, you viewed candidate 1 much more favorably than candidate 2. The initial quality seen in the list changes the very meaning of the qualities that appear later. The baldness of an intelligent person is seen as likely to be justified and may evoke respect, but intelligence in a bald person can be seen as domineering. There is ambiguity involved when deciphering a person's suitability for a particular job. The adjective stubborn is ambiguous and will be interpreted in a way that makes it coherent with the context. A bald stubborn person may be viewed stupid as if their lack of hair is contributing to their stubbornness. Subsequent traits will be interpreted from the outlook of baldness. For most people baldness is the defining trait because it's the first trait proven in an interview.
Self-confidence is another factor impacted by hair loss. Confidence flows from self-image, a mental image of how you think people perceive you. A negative self-image can be cemented if you keep getting rejected in the interview stage after your CV has been accepted multiple times. The mind can’t help but believe the lack of hair is causing the rejection and at this stage a coping mechanism won’t work to alleviate pain. These rejections can’t be recovered from, they become part of the self-image and later influence confidence in hidden ways, setting off a vicious cycle. If your baldness is noticeable to all, it's best to just shave it all off to hide it so that lack of hair can’t be blamed whether subconsciously or not. On the other hand, you can make a bald joke to show you’re happy with the way you look. A positive attitude can significantly impact how one is perceived, building self-image.
Societal bias can work against you, especially if you’re seeking front end jobs like sales representatives. Some jobs heavily leverage looks in order to sell products and lack of hair will inhibit that. Bald models are able to compete only if they shave all their hair to hide their baldness. Even presidents need hair to compete as evidenced by presidential candidates getting hair restoration procedures. Donald Trump's hair is a result of multiple surgeries and medication. Baldness is mostly considered old wherever it’s seen regardless of culture therefore the effect of ageism will pile on top. Thus far no amount of rebranding baldness has helped stop discrimination instead it enabled it under the radar. Exposed scalp while the hair around grows looks foolish despite all the coping mechanisms aimed at family, friends and fools.
The way to advance your career without investing too much time, effort and money is to regrow your hair naturally. You won’t have to spend money on buying a program, just practice ritual exercise.