Tattoo's, Piercings and Employment

miduck

adouglasmhor wrote: »

I don't think I look ridiculous now and it's over 30 years now.

Whilst I cannot (and would not) comment on your appearance, the issue here is how you are perceived by others, not how you see yourself.

Dunroamin

Person_one wrote: »

I think they'll just be seen as normal, as so many people will have them and we'll all age at the same rate!

Not many 60 year old women have tattoos now, but in 20, 30, 40 years it'll be perfectly commonplace to see a 50 or 60 year old woman with a few visible tattoos. They'll probably be seen as something 'old' and boring people have and teenagers won't bother, such is fashion!

More likely is that those in decent jobs will have had them removed (I'm sure techniques will improve over time) and this will leave those that can't afford this labelled as losers.

Person_one

Dunroamin wrote: »

More likely is that those in decent jobs will have had them removed (I'm sure techniques will improve over time) and this will leave those that can't afford this labelled as losers.

I suppose we'll see in time, although I must admit to being curious about what a 'decent' job is.

Lots of older men who got tattoos when they were in the forces have never had them removed though.

AP007

miduck wrote: »

Whilst I cannot (and would not) comment on your appearance, the issue here is how you are perceived by others, not how you see yourself.

No one should ever judge on appearance as I said to a friend once it's not the bloke in the dress you should be worried about but the bloke is the suit staring at you!

skivenov

Me, I've got a small amount of ink, beard and long hair that I can make tidy if I have to. A lot of management types don't think they can take someone seriously who's a bit alternative in their looks. I've run our bit of some pretty complex projects with blue streaks in my hair and a lip stud, and it's been hard getting past some people's preconceptions. I'd say most of them weren't awfully good at their job though.

xXMessedUpXx wrote: »

I'd be more likely to shop there, as i'd like the fcat the shop allowed the staff some freedom to express themselves, probably as well as i'd identify more with them as someone who has piercings and crazy coloured hair. Like for example..i prefer going into the small alternative shop to buy my hair dye as opposed to the other place because the other place has staff who all look the same (fake tan, blonde hair etc) an they never show interest in talking to me, where as in the alt shop i can usually have a decent coversation with them.

That said i'm fully aware a lot of people arent as liberal so if i have job interviews i always take out my piercings and wear my normal hair coloured wig.

Couldn't agree more. It shows the business has a human side where people can be themselves.

Most of the truely nicest people I've ever met have had ink and/or piercings.

Come to think of it, the last solicitor I had do a bit of work for me had a tattoo on his arm, kept it coverred though.

Dunroamin

Person_one wrote: »

I suppose we'll see in time, although I must admit to being curious about what a 'decent' job is.

Lots of older men who got tattoos when they were in the forces have never had them removed though.

I meant to say a decently paid job ie. one where someone would be able to afford cosmetic procedures like tattoo removal.

I don't think that tattoos for men are as much a matter of fashion as they are for women.

persa

Visible tattoos, piercings and extreme hairstyles will always close some doors for you.

People often keep certain things to themselves when being interviewed - a desire to have children asap, a particular religious/political belief, sexual orientation - which means they can't be judged for something that has nothing to do with the job they're trying to get. If you have visible body art, you're allowing the interviewer to assess an aspect of your life that has nothing to do with the position in question.

My advice would be not to get anything done that you can't easily cover up if later required to. E.g. hands - bad idea, arms - less so. Even if you're not obliged to wear a long sleeved shirt in a traditional job, you won't look out of place doing so. Provided you're smart about it - e.g. not wearing a long sleeved thin white shirt over black tattoos, they'll still show through - no one will realise. Thus allowing you to have an acceptable office persona and your own life outside of work.

TBH, covering up isn't the worst thing to me - it'll let you clearly define 'work you' and 'leisure you' and hopefully let you leave your work problems in the office and get a nice work life balance.

[Deleted User]

i worked in a gym for nearly 10 years and one of our members was a very talented tattoo artist (I was in my 40s). I had an amazing tattoo done which was all hand-drawn (black and grey only) - it starts just above my right knee and goes up my leg, across my lower back and round the top of my chest finishing on my sternum - its fantastic and i'm very proud of it! I now work in a school - the tattoo is not visible at all when i'm wearing work clothes but i still get a kick out of people's reactions when i tell them about/show them my body art. It just amuses me that people do make certain assumptions about you - people are so shocked that i have a tattoo but i love it. I'm in good shape and i love to show it off in the summer and on the beach

Errata

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2218787/Met-Police-BANS-recruits-thuggish-visible-tattoos.html

The Met takes a stand.

Sambucus_Nigra

The main learning point is that tattoos does not have an apostrophe (unless something belongs to the tattoo).

The second learning point is that it depends on which line of work you might well end up in.

And if having a tattoo or piercing is a sign of belonging to a particular 'alternative' clan then surely you could just as well not have them as a sign that you are 'alternative' to the 'normal alternative'?