Throwaway account.
I’m a current undergrad female student in Japan who’s going to start the job hunting soon. I know that for Japanese students it’s mandatory to have black hair when job hunting as new graduates, but how is it for foreigners? I’m European and I have bleached fake blonde hair. You can tell it’s not my natural color by the color of my eyes and eyebrows (both close to black) and when my roots start to grow out. I try to keep it looking well taken care of, without it getting too brassy. Should I go for my natural hair color (very dark brown)? Or as a non Asian foreigner I get a pass on dyed hair as long as it’s not some unnatural color like pink or green?
Please share your experiences, or maybe something you observed from other foreigners you’ve encountered. Thank you!
6 comments
You’re a foreigner, as long as it’s not like pink or blue or something the foreigner will be more of a focus than the hair.
2nd what Bull said.
It also depends on the job. If you’re doing part time or non office job, they generally dont give AF
but Blonde? should be fine or not the reason you dont get the job
They dont push the “Japanese standard” to non-asians. If you are visibly non-asian most things dont apply to you in terms of looks
It is not mandatory, just safe bet. About [25%](https://journal.rikunabi.com/p/break/28738.html#:~:text=%E3%82%A2%E3%83%B3%E3%82%B1%E3%83%BC%E3%83%88%E3%81%AE%E7%B5%90%E6%9E%9C%E3%80%81%E3%80%8C%E9%BB%92%E9%AB%AA%E3%80%8D,%E3%81%AF2.8%EF%BC%85%E3%81%A7%E3%81%97%E3%81%9F%E3%80%82) of Japanese new grads do job hunting with dyed(茶髪 or brown) hair.
If you are non-asian looking, I doubt anyone cares
Honestly I can’t agree with other comments here, Japanese standards are definitely applied to foreigners as well. You may have better luck with dyed hair than you would with facial hair or tattoos, though.
hi op, I used to assist with screening the new grad hires at a med/lg size jp company. I am just one person, so it isn’t going to be the same everywhere, but in my experience:
Asians with blonde hair were not seen as as professional as those with dark hair, though we still interviewed and hired several. At least one of them (female, not Japanese) was asked to dye her hair dark after being hired. I couldn’t see her roots or anything, and her hair was healthy, but I think they were concerned about her image at domestic client sites.
They didn’t care so much about white (assuming that is what you mean by European) people, so long as the roots weren’t obvious and it was a color that was naturally possible (i.e. no purple/green/etc). As a non-Japanese, your Japanese skill is going to matter more than your hair, honestly.