Might have to shave my winter beard off early this year

[George]

I didn't start growing it until after Christmas this year but it has it come in pretty full compared to my last one a few years ago. The sideburns could be thicker but I make up for with a thick moustache and chin whiskers. There's lots of grey now, which doesn't bother me a bit. I had hoped to keep letting it grow and fill in until I just couldn't stand it anymore in the summer heat. I've always been a profuse "head sweater" if you know what I mean, so I cut my hair short in the summer and can't imagine having a sweat-soaked beard while out working in the yard or riding my bicycle in the warm weather. But, it appears I'll be shaving while there's still a good month or more of winter left where I live.

Why, you ask? Well, there's a bit of a story here, if anyone's interested.

Two years ago I took a job at a very large, publicly held corporation. We went through a major ERP conversion to SAP a month after my arrival and I have been working long hours and often with great frustration to get things right in my department. After two years of bitterly complaining and downright angry internal and external customers (that's modern corpspeak for "the people who tell me to do stuff and complain to my boss when I don't"), I have just this very week achieved a level of utter satisfaction and confidence in my job. I'm finally "caught up" after two years. Sure, there's still a ton of work but it's not filled with misery and system errors and strange problems out of our control that we take the blame for anyway as the last two years have been.

I've become a big fish in a small pond and love the amenities - a bright, comfortable, open office; a parking garage, so no more scraping ice in the winter or watching the paint blister off my car in the summer; a covered and access-controlled bicycle cage; showers, lockers, free soft drinks, teas, gourmet coffee; a very reasonably priced breakfast/soup/salad/sandwich restaurant downstairs, a 6% IRA match, 4.5 weeks of vacation accrued per year (even in year one!), and fully vested in a pension plan after five years. I'm getting close to having two years here (as an official employee instead of a contractor my first months) and the smart money says to make it to at least five in order to get a pension when I retire, even if it’s very small after only five years here. I also have a short commute that is easy by car and fun and scenic by bicycle. The money is right or I wouldn't be here in the first place. Oh, and a free public transportation pass for buses and trains that I rarely use, but I'm just adding up perks here. I am literally making a list of them on paper too, but I’ll explain why later, if you can't already guess.

So just this week I've finally crested the mountain and am really pleased with this place after all the strife and pain, and I see myself as a rising star. Had a great annual review where my boss rated me even higher than I rated myself on the required and dreaded self-eval. Now we're all waiting for next month when raises and bonuses are announced and paid. I'm on top of the world, right?

Well, let me back up. We used to have more people in this department. Four people, including the big boss (BB) and the "right-hand man" (RHM) to BB left this past summer and fall. The BB left to run a similar group for a different company. Then the RHM left to join the BB soon after. Both sold their homes and moved to Texas for these jobs.

Just a month or two later, we heard they were back in town (no idea why things didn’t work out) and doing the same work for another company - one that's also a huge publicly traded firm with headquarters just a few miles from here...and even closer to my house.

BB and RHM then peeled off two employees from here, so four of my previous co-workers are all working together a few miles away. These four are the Type A hard-charging mercenaries who are good at their job and very ambitious - the kind who change jobs every two or three years and keep climbing the ladder. The BB in particular is the kind that makes you swallow hard when you hear your name yelled from across the room but a ferocious protector of subordinates to others outside the group. Screw up? Sure, you'll hear about it from BB but what you won't know is that BB will go see the complainer and tell them how things are and cover the rank and file lunchpail joes like me from any negative fallout. BB’s like that are the kind you follow into battle.

I'm sort of reminded of crews that go put out oil rig fires or whatever. A team of experienced badasses show up, kick ass, get paid, and then move on. This is what this little group looks like to me, peering in from the outside.

I got an email this morning from RHM. They need someone who does what I'm good at. Even though I know these folks well and it will most likely be an interview along the lines of, "why don't you drop by after work one day and we'll chat", I figure I need to polish up the ol' resume, shine my shoes, and see if I have a suit that I'm not too fat to squeeze into just in case.

Even if I end up staying put, I’m excited to go talk about possibilities. I still have two kids to put through college and probably shouldn’t remain content here just because things have calmed down and the workload is manageable.

So, after the world’s longest backstory, here’s my semi-serious question.

I don’t need the job they’re offering, like folks who are out of work and eager to take anything. They know that. That puts me in a better position to negotiate compensation. They also know I’m a tireless working machine who worked 60 and 70 hour weeks side by side with them for over a year before they left and I can do whatever needs doing at their new company. They wouldn’t have contacted me if they didn’t want to hire me.

Does leaving the beard on further give the impression of “this guy is content where he is and we’ll be lucky to get him” or does it say, “Wow, this guy can’t even clean up for a job interview, even though we all know it’s just a formality. How can we trust him to have good judgment about the things that really matter?”

I realize it’s a bit silly, but I really like this beard!

[thesameguy]

I don't think you can generalize the statement a beard makes as it's influenced by the behavior of the person with it. I, for example, am quite sure mine says "doesn't give a fuck" - but I'll admit it's possible I think that because I do, in fact, think that. I just can't be arsed to shave reliably. Every other week is considered best case scenario. I used to have delusions that I could trade on appearances, but I am grossly outclassed on a number of levels by a number of people. If I can't trade on something, it's worthless to me.

[George]

As I recall, you have a decent set of sideburns, TSG - suitable even for driving an antique Cadillac across the western states with your elbow out the window like these guys:



Mine are okay with a beard but alone they're weak, so I keep 'em high when I'm clean-shaven, about where my glasses cross. Makes me look younger that way, too.

The surprising thing about a beard is I spend more time now shaving under it and trimming it than just dragging a razor across my face in the shower while still half-asleep in the morning.

A guy without a beard with three-day stubble looks rugged and outdoorsy. A guy with an untrimmed beard and unshaved neck for three days looks homeless.

I'm going to get a haircut this weekend at my old-timey one-man barbershop that has been in operation since 1948. The current owner is a young guy (40, ha!) who I get along with very well. I'll ask him if it looks good enough to keep and and he'll give it to me straight and impartially. I'll probably shave it off just to be safe. No facial hair is always the safest option for the modern American office. I realize that may not be true in the rest of the world.

My wife likes it, but she's obviously biased due to my overall awesomeness.




P.S. My interview is Tuesday at 4:30.

[thesameguy]

I'm definitely kicking it on a homeless tip. ZFG.

[Drachen596]

Ive given up shaving entirely recently. I hate doing it and with being in a warehouse daily it help keeps from drying my face out as much.

plus beards are awesome though mine looks more amish than anything.

[Alan P]

It took me two attempts to shave off a 2 1/2 week beard last night.

The question is, do you WANT to go? Is comfortable and being on top of your job after two years mean you're drifting along aimlessly and you want/need something new to push you so you get that nice satisfied 'Damn I really got things DONE today!' feeling when you go home? You mention kids. How old are they? Family>work. If you can get by now, do what you want and still send the kids to college then spend some time with them. You've earned it. You've done the 60-70 hour weeks to get to this position. Is moving going to mean coming home and seeing your kids sleeping and leaving again only having enough time to tell them to be good at school and don't get on their mums nerves?

[Random]

It would be interesting to find out why BB and RHM didn't end up staying in TX.

Doesn't hurt to talk to them and find out what the deal is...particularly if you don't *need* to go anywhere. Make them make it worth your while.

Good luck!

[jimeezlady]

1. REAL Beard owners don't have "seasonal" Beards.
2. They actually call Jim "ZZ" at work...
3. Pick the job that is least likely to make you want to blow your brains out after the first year...

[Godson]

I second on finding out why TX failed. Tread lightly and rock the beard.


Zero fucks given, and zero fucks taken.




(I'm currently waiting to hear if I get offered a position, so YMMV)

[speedpimp]

The last time my dad shaved his beard was in 1982. My dad's brother has had a beard since the mid-70's. My mom's brother has had his beard since the early 70's.