Facial Hair/Grad School interview

[Taylororr1]

Hello,

I have scheduled interviews in January and February at numerous Clinical Psychology PsyD programs around the country (Baylor, JFKU, Marshall, IUP, etc). My question is whether or not I should be clean shaven for the interviews. I have a full and well manicured beard. It is always well kept, trimmed, and groomed and I have always received many compliments on my beard. I have gotten mixed reviews when asking professors and professionals about what to do with my facial hair situation. Some say to play it safe and shave it off and some say that it would be something that could potentially make me more memorable. Any thoughts and opinions would be appreciated!

[GreenEyedTrombonist]

Have you looked through photos of the current PhD students at the universities you applied to? Seeing what their facial hair is like should be a good indicator of whether your interviewers will look kindly on the beard.

[rising_star]

How will you feel more confident, @Taylororr1? Will you feel confident at the interviews if you are clean shaven? 

[Eigen]

FWIW, I consider not going clean shaven nice on interviews because it's one less thing that needs to be done well each morning. Especially on the off chance travel goes awry, and you wind up having little time to prep before your first meeting, a nicely trimmed beard takes no maintenance.

Some also depends on how heavily your beard grows. I end up with a significant 5-o'clock shadow that I think looks less professional than a trimmed beard. 

I'm not in your field, but I've never heard negative comments about a well groomed beard, only unkempt ones. I also personally bias to the advice that you should be as much yourself as possible during interviews. Part of the purpose is to see how you will fit in somewhere. 

[Taylororr1]

23 hours ago, GreenEyedTrombonist said:

Have you looked through photos of the current PhD students at the universities you applied to? Seeing what their facial hair is like should be a good indicator of whether your interviewers will look kindly on the beard.

I have not looked into whether or not students at the Universities have beards. I know that a handful of the faculty do, but I am not sure about the students. That is a great idea!

[Taylororr1]

22 hours ago, rising_star said:

How will you feel more confident, @Taylororr1? Will you feel confident at the interviews if you are clean shaven? 

I believe I would feel more confident with a beard. I have had a beard for quite some time now and have never had anything but positiveness come from it.

[.letmeinplz//]

4 minutes ago, Taylororr1 said:

I believe I would feel more confident with a beard. I have had a beard for quite some time now and have never had anything but positiveness come from it.

I don't know what clinical psychology is like but my field is filled with beards, like a bunch of wizards casting spells from their MAgiCal books. I would just keep it, if they want to judge you for having a beard is that really a place you want to spend 5 years?

[pebs]

Keep it if you're used to it and it makes you feel like yourself. If it's well-kept, you'll be fine. As a woman, I wouldn't get an unfamiliar haircut before something so big, because I'd be too mentally thrown. If your interviewers are that incredibly thrown by a good beard, is that really a great fit for you, anyway? Best of luck with your interviews, whatever you decide!

[rising_star]

On 1/6/2017 at 0:30 PM, Taylororr1 said:

I believe I would feel more confident with a beard. I have had a beard for quite some time now and have never had anything but positiveness come from it.

Go with however you will feel most confident, which in this case means having a nicely trimmed and maintained beard.

[Concordia]

Depending on the branch of Psych you are aiming at, you might want to make sure the beard is short and well-groomed enough that some wacko isn't going to make your life difficult by grabbing it.  

You'll notice that a lot of shrinks wear bow ties, largely for that reason.