Tattoo's, Piercings and Employment

MrsTinks

Rule of thumb - never have a tattoo that you can't cover up with "standard" office attire. Facial piercings will usually leave a mark even if you do take it out later in life, this could be enough to put some employers off hiring you. I never planned on a customer facing career, yet somehow I ended up in one where I was facing customers in board rooms... ooops.

I do have tattoos and a belly button piercing, hubby has even more and bigger tattoos than I do and likewise all can be covered with his work shirts - he works a very high profile job too. Neither of us ever planned our careers to go this direction, they just did. Be VERY careful about any modifications that you can't cover up with clothes...

For the record I've always hired people based on skills and personality, but then I'm a sort of kindred spirit... I had an awesome team working for me because many of them couldn't get employment elsewhere... do not risk putting yourself in that predicament...

j.e.j.

Just another thought, tattoos and piercings are quite a 'young' thing I suppose, so if you're in a working environment where there's a lot of teens/students/young people it won't stand out as much. However for the more 'serious' roles that people may end up in once they've got past that stage in life, piercings and tattoos could well put employers and colleagues off.

Fwiw I don't have tattoos or piercings. I used to have pierced ears, and as a teenager I did have my nose pierced but the piercing is invisible now. While part of me hankered after getting a tattoo done, luckily I was sensible enough to realise that while it might look good at 18/19, what would it look like on a 40-year-old! I am glad I didn't have any done.

scooby088

miduck wrote: »

And they'll look ridiculous in thirty years time!

Always thought wiping my own bum in 30 years time to be more important than what a tattoo looks like.

Errata

Isn't it the point that skin ink and rivets give a clear indication of someone's value system and world view? And if it does, what does that tell us about those whose skin doesn't have any added extras?

Sambucus_Nigra

Errata wrote: »

Isn't it the point that skin ink and rivets give a clear indication of someone's value system and world view? And if it does, what does that tell us about those whose skin doesn't have any added extras?

That they may have any world views but they choose to keep it personal?

Who knows?

I am often stunned by people that I meet that 'know' the same art or music or literature that I do, but none of us show it. And alternative has a way of going mainstream so what was once arty ends up being incredibly middle of the road.

So you really do have to choose what you 'wear on your sleeve' so to speak. [Not you in particular, but you in general ]

Errata

A person's world view is personal. Human beings demonstrate to others who they are by way of visible signs such as clothes eg police officers, goths.

Sambucus_Nigra

Errata wrote: »

A person's world view is personal. Human beings demonstrate to others who they are by way of visible signs such as clothes eg police officers, goths.

Yes I know.

Those things can be changed.

Which is why people need to be careful what they write on themselves permanently.

Faith177

Tattoos and piercing a do not bother me in the slightest mainly because me and OH are really into them.o

I have 5 tats OH 6. We both has piercings 3 holes in my ears OH has ears, lip & tongue. Granted all but 2 of my tats are covered and their on the underside of my wrists. All of OH's are covered

My kid brother has 22 piercings only 2 aren't in his face (nipples). He has never had any problems getting work and hasn't been out of work once since turning 16 he's 22 now.

OH does alternative photography as a side line so is surround by burlesques girls covered in tats and they are gorgeous.

To say people with tats ect are dodgy I find very outdated I don't know a single one of my friends that doesn't have one and they are the nicest group you could ever meet. I would rather be at the mercy of a bunch of alternatives than a bunch of trendies lol

I love going into a shop where the staff are able to be themselves I think it shows modern values in a way. Yes you will always get the melon who has the stupid tattoo and piercing but who are we to judge.

To be honest I don't care what the person looks like as long as they can do their job properly and I don't think a tattoo or piercing stops this.

Each to their own and all that but as I said how can a tattoo or piercing stop someone being able to do a job

BitterAndTwisted

I work in the media where tattoos and facial piercings are common-place, both on employees and on some of our younger clients. Every single one of us who works in this business is client-facing and I would be very reluctant indeed to employ anyone with either if they were visible in their work-clothes. Call me a fuddy-duddy if you like but I see them as very poor choices and I don't want to employ people who have proven that they've made poor choices in the past. Work is not college. Just because you might work somewhere now where such things are acceptable or the norm does not mean that you will in the future. Decent jobs are hard to find right now, so why willfully compromise your possible opportunities for the future? That's just short-sighted and foolish.

lolavix

AP007 wrote: »

And how many people have you seen with a burn or a birth mark on their face in a customer facing role? I have seen none

I work with a guy who has a strawberry birthmark which overs half of his face and head. He also has a lot of tattoos. Truly the most decent and genuine person I've ever met, and the most successful in our whole region, no one dislikes him or comments on his disfigurement at all. He doesn't like it himself, but no one takes any notice of it once they've met him!