Grey Hair = Incompetent?!

There are encounters that leave you speechless. Elke describes exactly such a situation in this blog post.

“I had to ask twice because I couldn’t believe what I’d just heard. And honestly, I’m still speechless.”

A short while ago, she met an assistant for lunch – and what an assistant!

• C-level experience

• Speaks five languages

• International corporate background

• Hands-on mindset and great personality

• Skilled and confident with all tools

• Highly loyal, dynamic, and with fantastic presence

• Many years of experience as an Executive/Personal Assistant

An assistant who would be an absolute asset to any executive, any company, any team.

She’s 50, wears her hair confidently short and grey-white – not coloured. And by the way: it looks absolutely fantastic!

Last year, she decided to take a new professional path and worked with several recruitment consultants.

And what did two consultants from well-known (!) recruitment firms tell her during the conversation?

👉 She should dye her hair if she wants to have a chance – otherwise she’ll look too old.

EXCUSE ME?!?

So now hair colour determines competence? Or how resilient, flexible, or tech-savvy someone is?

Let’s be honest: that’s not just superficial. It’s disrespectful – and a form of discrimination, on several levels.
And really, would anyone ever give such “advice” to a man?!

Unfortunately, this isn’t an isolated case.

Elke herself is in her mid-fifties, has always worn her hair short and cheeky – and for a few years now, naturally grey-white.

“Do I feel old because of it? NO!!!”

Reducing people to their appearance is simply unprofessional – and frankly, embarrassing.

For us, appearance plays no role. We focus on the person, the story behind the CV, and the mindset.

Neither haircut, nor clothing, nor make-up, nor any other external feature says anything about that!