I received an email from someone who wondered whether his long hair, facial hair, and tattoos were hurting his chances of getting a job. He was applying for jobs at restaurants and stores and, despite being dressed appropriately, nobody was giving him the time of day.
He most likely was right on target. There are employers, especially in the hospitality and retail industries, that are very concerned about the appearance of their employees. Many employers have company policies limiting facial hair and body art.
Other About.com readers have shared their stories about trying to job search with a tattoo:
However, there are also employers who hire candidates with visible tattoos and piercings. Still others have no limitations at all, including a few that had a company policy stating they did not discriminate based on tattoos or piercings. High on the list of employers with few restrictions are information technology, technical trades, and call centers.
Tattoos and Employment
- Employment Discrimination: Share Your Story
- Sample Company Dress Code
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It’s interesting to see that the rise of tattoo culture has done to hiring practices. While I know that many companies do not discriminate based on tattoos or piercings, for others, it’s necessary to uphold a certain standard for their employees due to their daily interactions with a variety of different people. Jobs with little to no client or customer interaction generally have a very high tolerance for tattoos and piercings. Job seekers with tattoos should take the time to learn more about which industries and companies generally hire tattooed job seekers.
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Visual image has a long history of making and breaking ones chances of getting a job, but we are getting to a point in our culture where tattoos are more acceptable. I myself am an I.T. professional, very qualified for my job, yet I deal with a bit of discrimination in my work place because they know I have tattoos, even though I cover them up. Finding jobs that are tattoo friendly can be difficult, and with two close friends of mine who are EXTREMELY modified expressing their frustration with trying to find a job, I got an idea. I started a site called TattooedJobs.com to help people with tattoos find tattoo friendly jobs. It is still new, but I am doing everything I can to help people find a job that they love, and that doesn’t care if they have tattoos or piercings. Hope some of your readers might find the site helpful.
Let’s get something straight… discrimination of a person because they have tattoos and are applying for a job IS NOT a problem that we should be trying to solve. If fact, it isn’t a problem at all.
It’s the tattoos and other body modifications that are the problem. It makes people look like idiots. Maybe there should be a requirement that anyone who wants a tattoo has to first get a big “L” tattooed to their forehead. This makes it easier for interviewers.
Remember that you should always impress the generation before you. They do the hiring and THEY ARE in charge. It’s quite simple.
Don’t be stupid.
BOB TRAIN , You are right on the money. These people should think before following the herd. I hire people and tattoos are appearance. Rules do not change. It is shocking that so many people are into this sort of thing and they do look low class. Lets be honest here. As prevalent as tattoos are, they reflect more of the lower socio economic classes. Usually the same people that are sheep when it comes to starting smoking. An athlete or Hollywood star is not the average rich doctor or rich lawyer or rich entrepreneur, so they can not be used as solid examples.