RE: Gray hair and first impressions

["Lydia Wong" <lydiaw -at- fpoint -dot- com>]

Pat's question about dyeing her hair reminded me of a conversation I had
with my mom before I got married. She didn't want me to change my last name.
One reason (of many) she had was people who hadn't met me might think I'm
Asian (I'm not, my husband is), and have preconceived notions, therefore
hurting my chances for a job.

Well, that's a no brainer folks: I'd never want to work somewhere that
wouldn't hire me because they thought I was Asian. If I lost out on those
jobs, that's NOT a problem.

I'm not saying Pat's right or wrong if she decides to dye her hair, but I
think sometimes it's helpful to look at an "accepted" prejudice (in this
case ageism), and put it in terms of another prejudice (in my case, racism).
If Pat had a last name that indicated a certain ethnicity, would people
reply that she should change it to get the job? I doubt it. So why should
she change her looks?

Just my $0.02. Whatever you decide, Pat, good luck. And if you decide to get
your hair done, go to a professional. It's worth the $$. ; )

Lydia
-----------------------------------
Lydia Wong
Technical Writer
FarPoint Technologies, Inc.
www.fpoint.com


^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Attention ForeHelp and Doc-to-Help Users! Upgrade your existing product to
RoboHelp for only $299, through January 31st. RoboHelp can import your
existing Help projects! Learn how else RoboHelp can benefit you. www.ehelp.com/techwr

---
You are currently subscribed to techwr-l as: archive -at- raycomm -dot- com
To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-techwr-l-obscured -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com
Send administrative questions to ejray -at- raycomm -dot- com -dot-  Visit 
http://www.raycomm.com/techwhirl/ for more resources and info.