Posted on 04/03/2006 8:42:51 PM PDT by presidio9
Tattoos and piercings are ways for an individual to express their personality, but most employers are looking for presentable employees.
"I think that appearance is very important, [because] it lets the employer know that you know how to take care of yourself," said Eric Constantine, the manager of Athlete's House in Nashville.
It can be a very difficult choice whether or not to have your ears pierced or to get a tattoo, as Lisa Stevens, a freshman, found out.
"I really wanted the lifeguard job at the local pool back home," she said. "The only thing was that I also wanted a couple of tattoos that I could get, now that I was 18. I had to make the choice between the two because the pool wouldn't allow any visible tattoos. I second guess my decision a lot."
More and more people are getting tattoos than ever, and more and more of them are having to find ways to cover them up at work.
Tyler White, a Jackson, Tenn., freshman, was trying to find a summer job when a friend of his told him about an opening at a local car shop.
"I went in for the interview and everything seemed to go well, then the manager asked me about my tattoos," he said.
"I had to wear a long-sleeved jumpsuit all summer," White said.
It is important to realize that getting a tattoo is permanent and can hinder one from doing some of the things they might want to, like getting a job.
There are places that are appropriate to receive tattoos that are almost never visible.
Most employers say it would also be a good idea to stay away from too many piercings if one doesn't want to have to remove them every day before work.
Constantine said, "The employer pays a lot of attention to your appearance.
"It is important to look your best for [an] interview, even if that includes passing up getting a tattoo or an extra piercing," he said.
Overall, most people think it's okay to get that extra hole in one's ear or that barbed wire around a person's arm.
However, students are urged to know that career options might become limited because of many visible tattoos or piercings.
So by what standard do you suggest I decide whether it merits reading?
So.... the prison tattoos on my neck may have cost me that job at Merrill Lynch?
Only for a freak show.
It's really quite simple. Open the book and scan the pages. :)
Is Barnam & Bailey Circus still in business?!!!
Well duh! Who the hell is dumb enough to hire some yoyo with a tattoo of a prison on his neck?
I overlook birthmarks and natural blemishes. Willful stupidity in ink, I don't.
Tattoos, visible piercings could affect appearance-related job opportunities...
Ya think?
Exactly right. You make decisions and you have to live by the reaction of others fair or not. I've always found that people who get radical piercings and tatoos are searching to be noticed. The way I feel is if you wish to be out of the mainstream then you exclude yourself from mainstream jobs.
So "scaning the pages" is okay, but looking at the cover is not?
Sounds a whole lot like "Heads, I win. Tails, you lose." to me. Where's the "difference" in the "distinction?"
If she knows what she's doin', she don't need one.
That is thoughtful of you to overlook birthmarks and natural blemishes. I wonder if the daughter of our friends was being "willful and stupid" when she decided to get a tattoo. Her brother died in a tragic accident when he was 15. A couple of years later, she went to a tattoo parlor and had the shape of a heart tattooed on her shoulder, and inside that heart was a cross, the name of her brother, the year he was born, and the year he died. Not all tattoos are eeeevil. :)
No, you can't always judge character by outward appearances. But neither can you do something to your appearance-- something manifestly and purposely intended to create an expression-- and expect it to have no effect on the impression it makes on others.
Just as the freedom of speech does not protect one from the effect that speech has on others, the expression of oneself through body art will have an effect on others because that is its purpose. Live with the effect, or don't do it. But don't blame others for the effect, since that's what was intended.
People who have a lot tattoos look like barbarians. They make you look dangerous or also like a pagan from the Old Testament. I always think of people with tattoos as rough and agressive.
Ughhhh maybe. To clean bathrooms, only after testing them for HIV, Aids, including Beriberi and a few other known disease. These two had to be someone's cuddly little babies. How did the parents go wrong?
Pretty sad, isn't it? Like you say, their parents either made them that way or have disowned them, lol.
He's also incredibly talented and intelligent. We've had to go through all types of "stereotyping" over the years (including with my Dad...LOL!).
He was turned down for several jobs because of his hair; but he also had a sales career that was successful despite a few initial concerns by his customers. Some of the old guys ribbed him about it occasionally...but they became his best customers.
We now have our own business; and if someone doesn't use our services due to his "looks" (and trust me...he looks SMOKIN' in a suit)...they are not the type of people that we want to deal with anyway. I want to deal with customers who want the "best" service...and we provide it. If they cannot get past the looks to see it; it's their loss.
In any event, the really funny part is that the prigs will eventually have no choice but to deal with these "kids" as the tattooed masses will start their own businesses and hire whoever they want.
Ditto on that. My friend Leti has a tat in honor of her deceased baby brother. Alot of people I know have tats that are very personal to them, usually commemorating the life of a dead friend or family member, and usually in a place that is unobtrusive. Leti's is small and on her ankle.
That will look better over the many years ahead...
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.