Tattoos in the workplace

Nyblizzard

What do you guys think about it? The only thing preventing me from getting a light tattoo on my forearms is thinking about what kind of effect it could have with potential employers

Cpl.Klinger

Depends upon the shop. Where I work now the rule is no visible tattoos, no earrings for guys and only 1 (one!) on each ear for women. It's a VERY conservative company. Personally, I have one tattoo and want more, but plan on keeping mine where they can be hidden by a short sleved t-shirt. I don't care about people with tattoos, and generally speaking they're pretty cool people and tend to be very creative. If I was running a shop my only real rule would be no tattoo's above the neck and no totally crazy piercings.

ChooseLife

Has been discussed sooooooo many times here...

http://www.techexams.net/forums/jobs-degrees/35037-tattoo-piercing-policy-your-work.html
http://www.techexams.net/forums/jobs-degrees/44743-anybody-have-trouble-getting-job-because-tattoo.html
http://www.techexams.net/forums/jobs-degrees/82822-trying-find-job-when-you-have-tattoos.html
http://www.techexams.net/forums/jobs-degrees/68986-physical-appearance.html
(and a few more)

datacomboss

Cpl.Klinger wrote: »

generally speaking they're pretty cool people and tend to be very creative.

People without tats can be cool and creative too. I wouldn't have a problem if one of my employees had a covered tattoo. I would have a hard time considering someone with a sleeve or neck tattoo.

krjay

One of the questions asked during my first interview for the position I currently hold was 'Do you have any visible tattoos"? You will not get hired by my employer if you have visible tattoos, or if you're a male with piercings. I'm guessing this isn't the only place that has this style.

If I were you and wanted to get tattoos, I'd get them in a location that is not visible if I am wearing a short sleeve shirt and pants. Not worth losing a potential dream job for a little ink in my opinion. I however don't have any tattoos and don't want any so my opinion may be biased.

srabiee

It's unprofessional. Interpret that however you will.

Cpl.Klinger

datacomboss wrote: »

People without tats can be cool and creative too. I wouldn't have a problem if one of my employees had a covered tattoo. I would have a hard time considering someone with a sleeve or neck tattoo.

I don't mean to say that those without aren't, I'm just trying to combat against folks being painted with a broad brush and I've gone and done it. People with tattoo's tend to get a mostly undeserved bad reputation.

DevilWAH

I have seen hi level sales reps with Tats and pircings do very well. Like said its been discussed before.

Be aware if its visible then some places will right you off with out any exceptions. "Love Hate" across the knuckles is not likely to go down well any where. But tastfull well done Tats can work.

But its always the way starting out then without tats will give you more opatunities. However if you have a lot of experience and a proven track record in your field then having a bit of body art is less likely to affect your chances of securing a role.

chrisone

srabiee wrote: »

It's unprofessional. Interpret that however you will.

Agreed and I interpret it this way. Your working to keep the systems running so the business can run. Your responsible in some kind of indirect way of someone else's money. If I was an owner of a company I would not take you serious nor want you in any way responsible for any aspect of my business and my money, that is if you were covered with tatts on your arms and neck. If you had them covered at least I know you take your career seriously and know the seriousness of the work place.

You make your own decisions in life. People are judgmental at first sight. First impressions are a reality, deal with it because those preaching or philosophizing on tatts on people will not change the culture of how businesses are ran and the type of people business owners and managers are looking for.

Your not changing the work place so deal with it. You could always learn how to repair choppers and run a bike shop.....

NetworkVeteran

I'll echo what others have said. Visible tattoos are a no-no. Covered tattoos are your own personal choice. While I admire well-done ink, if you have a visible tattoo, I will weigh that against you for any potentially customer-facing position.

jibbajabba

krjay wrote: »

'Do you have any visible tattoos"?.

Errr, the fact they have to ask this shows you clearly don't .... Otherwise they would .... See ..... Them

nel

well done ink is awesome imo. However, i always think you should be able to cover your tatt's if you decide to get one.

Man, i would love a sleeve. Just dont have the balls to get one. Funny thing is, i know a guy who is a bank manager for a big european bank and he has a three-quarter and half sleeve haha.

SharkDiver

I have a tattoo on my upper arm that I got years ago. I have a few things for you to consider.

#1 - A tattoo always ends up being bigger that you think. I went to the tattoo parlor thinking I would get a 2 inch tattoo, and left with a 4 inch tattoo. This is a common tattoo complaint. Most tattoo artists end up making them bigger that you had wanted. If you get one on your upper arm, my advice would be to draw a line on your arm and tell them not to go below it.

#2 - You will end up knowing which stores and brands of clothing have shorter and longer sleeves. It gets a little hard to buy shirts when you need ones that the sleeve goes all the way down to the elbow.

#3 - It can be hard enough to find a job in today's market. If you get a tattoo, that at any time could be visible, just know that you may stack the odds against you a little more.

If I had it to do again, I might have put the tattoo somewhere else, or at least followed the advice in #1.

d4nz1g

NetworkVeteran wrote: »

I'll echo what others have said. Visible tattoos are a no-no. Covered tattoos are your own personal choice. While I admire well-done ink, if you have a visible tattoo, I will weigh that against you for any potentially customer-facing position.

And what about for a NOC/Engineering position?
I have never went through this problem, I believe that's because my position does not require any direct contact to the customers.
Inside our NOC/SOC, tats and piercings are not a problem, if you are really professional and qualified.

prtech

d4nz1g, I think it depends on the NOC. We always have potential/existing customers touring our NOC.

Master Of Puppets

It really depends on the company. However, it is frowned upon, in general. This is the only reason why I didn't get one last year.

NetworkVeteran

d4nz1g wrote: »

And what about for a NOC/Engineering position?

The key factor for me, again, would be whether this was a "potentially customer-facing position." If you "expressed" yourself by wearing Atlanta Braves shirts, I could ask you to wear something else when a Yankees fan visited. I can't do that if you sport a tattoo in a visible place. I'd count that against you in proportion to how likely customers were to see or interact with you.

I believe that's because my position does not require any direct contact to the customers.

Then it would be a minor consideration.

prtech wrote:

We always have potential/existing customers touring our NOC.

Then it would be a more important consideration.

krjay

jibbajabba wrote: »

Errr, the fact they have to ask this shows you clearly don't .... Otherwise they would .... See ..... Them

The first interview is a phone interview.

JDMurray

srabiee wrote: »

It's unprofessional. Interpret that however you will.

I interpret that as you are implying that the US Navy and US Marines are very unprofessional organizations.


Tattoos, like everything else humans do, must be taken within the context of a specific community or group. Therefore, their presence can range from absolutely required to absolutely forbidden. It up to all of us to decide with what communities we wish to associate.

jibbajabba

krjay wrote: »

The first interview is a phone interview.

D'oh ....

malcybood

In my opinion, getting new tattoos that are visible are not a good idea in the IT industry - this includes forearms. If you've already got them then you just need to work with it and put a positive spin on them / put any potential hiring manager at ease that you'll cover them.

During the working day you're an ambassador for the company you work for, not the tattoo artist of choice.

If someone goes into any work related scenario with the attitude of "I've got tattoos and you're discriminating against me etc etc............" just save your breath. There will most definitely 100% be someone capable of doing the job just as well if not better, who has no tattoos or attitude problem.

When hiring someone if they came in with visible tattoos, in my mind as a hiring manager it means that:

a) They have been done in a stupid place i.e. above the neck, knuckles etc
b) They want to show them off by rolling their sleeves up

It's maybe OK to get them in a visible area if you work in a NOC and that's fine if you never have any aspirations to get out of the NOC or progress your career. In my experience potential clients are given a tour of the NOC and office facilities so that would depend on company policies.

I personally wouldn't discriminate against someone for having a tattoo, as long as it was not blatantly offensive and could be covered during working hours. If I happened to notice a tattoo in an interview that I thought was cool, I'd probably ask the candidate about it with genuine interest but state that it should not be visible at work.

That being said, you have to go long and far to find someone with unique ink these days. Some look dreadful!

SteveLord

jibbajabba wrote: »

Errr, the fact they have to ask this shows you clearly don't .... Otherwise they would .... See ..... Them

Not if everything is covered up in a suit. And most employers allow short sleeved shirts so that is why they ask.

DevilWAH

Another tat I saw was a service engineer who had a picture of his daughter with "RIP little angel" under it, on his forearm. I never heard a single complaint from the customers he went to visit.

Most people would rather someone turn up well groomed, smartly dressed and well Mannered and with knowledge. Than unkept, unprofessional and clueless but clean skinned.

Tat are no different to hair style, jewellery, or clothes. It's not about if you have them, it's how you present them. If you have one and are asked if it is visible. The respond should be along the lines of. "Yes I have one on my fore arm, but I of course understand that some companies require they are kept covered at work at all times and I would of course abide by that." This sows that you put the company image before your own.

badrottie

From a personal perspective, what people choose to do to their own body is a personal choice and no more. Who am I to judge?

From a managerial perspective, I cannot put someone in a client facing position where their tattoos, piercings or fashion choices could impact our business relationship. Please bear in mind that most of our clients that we consult with are government agencies, financial institutions and other conservative market verticals. This lends itself to a rather conservative professional dress and appearance policy for these positions.

Basically, when it comes down to body modifications/tattoos, they must remain covered or removed in the case of piercings, even while in our offices (You never know when a client will be coming in for a meeting, and it happens more often than you would think).

That being said, one of our best principal consultants is an ex-Marine, and the man is covered in ink: full-sleeves on both arms for starters. It really irritates him that he cannot wear short sleeves in the summer when golfing with the clients, but he understands the business reasons why we have the policy. So, him having ink is not going to impact his career with us--he really knows the difference between how you act and present yourself while in "uniform" and when you are off-duty.

It is not too much to ask someone to professional in their work appearance, decorum and attire, after all.

d4nz1g

Unfortunately some people are still resistant to this even for internal positions (NOC/SOC/Engineering, etc.)
But if you are really good at you do, or even at least working towards at this, your tattoos won't be a problem at all.

networker050184

It's pretty simple, if a company is close minded enough to disqualify someone based on tattoos there is no way I'd work there regardless.

d4nz1g

networker050184 wrote: »

It's pretty simple, if a company is close minded enough to disqualify someone based on tattoos there is no way I'd work there regardless.

I totally agree with you.

hoktauri

While I haven't done IT hiring I have done other hiring, when I have had two candidates come in and one has tats and one doesn't (otherwise the same) I hire the one without the tats. While a lot of customers don't care some will and I'm not doing anything to drive them away.

About7Narwhal

JDMurray wrote: »

I interpret that as you are implying that the US Navy and US Marines are very unprofessional organizations.

I would consider that to be an exception. In addition aren't those USUALLY upper arm tats? Either way though, I would expect to cover a tattoo if I had one. I see no difference between covering a tattoo and removing excessive jewelry while at work. You have every right to have a tattoo, and if it is one you enjoy, more power to you. But the employer has the right to ask you to cover it as well.

As for my stance, while I am not a manager or a member of staff that interviews, I would be sure to point it out in the interview and leave it at that. "You will be expected to cover your tattoo if the position is offered." I wouldn't take a personal stance one way or the other even though I would never get one. Like everyone else states though, a face tattoo is going to be a big problem even for me. I'm glad you like it, but it sends the wrong message to our customers / employees.