<p>Or, it can just be a statement of not having a particularly good aesthetic sense. As someone who doesn’t care for tattoos, to me, they are always, always, always ugly. Ink on skin, to me, is just unattractive. I don’t care if Leonardo da Vinci was your tattoo artist. Now, people are, of course, entitled to their own aesthetic tastes, but to make such taste permanent is, to me, not a sign of good judgment. That said, I don’t particularly <em>care</em> if someone has tattoos; I just find it not a good look overall.</p>
<p>My business is very conservative. In very few cases exceptions are made for some people’s personal appearance if they are very good at what they do. It is almost a badge of honor if they could be different (it’s only allowed with a big nod).</p>
<p>We had an off the chart smart programmer few years ago, he was a MD and was allowed to wear jeans to work. The only requirement was he had to have a suit at work in case he had to meet clients or board of directors. Head of our derivative desk had 3 piercing in his ears. A structurer was allowed to have long hair because he made money for the desk. His boss constantly told him that the day he lost money his hair was coming off (we used to make clipping sound around him when the market was bad).</p>
<p>I personally don’t care for tattoo if it could be seen when wearing work clothes. Few holes in ears don’t bother me. Nose, tongue, eye brow piercing (or any other piercing on the face) is a huge turn off for me.</p>
<p>As we could see, everyone reacts differently to tattoo and piercing, so if you want to get a client facing job, it is probably best not to have anything visible.</p>
<p>oldfort is right, reasonable people can differ on this issue. The problem is that if you run into one of the people who don’t like tats, you just lost an opportunity.</p>
<p>OP: to answer your question directly, my company just implemented a policy of no visible tattoos. We are in a conservative, image-conscious industry, and some of our young women didn’t know when to stop inking themselves. They will now have to either cover up or leave. If you wanted a job at my company, no matter how qualified, you wouldn’t get it.</p>
<p>I don’t run across many tattoos, but then again, I work mostly with executives and law enforcement types.</p>
<p>I did have a young employee with a tongue piercing a few years ago, but I told him it was distracting. Didn’t tell him he couldn’t wear it, but he took it out when he was at work.</p>
<p>Dreadlocks don’t faze me at all. They do need to be neat. I’ve seen my fair share of successful lawyers who dreads. I will admit to thinking that dreads on a balding man is just silly.</p>
<p>I expect that eventually the tatoo fad will diminish. Then the wearer will be marked as being of a specific generation.</p>
<p>To me, tatoos/facial piercings signify that the person is proud to be outside the mainstream. Not exactly the right message for someone who is looking for an office or retail job.</p>
<p>Personally, I think a lot of the anti-tattoo bias will diminish in the future, because they have become so mainstream with our kids’ generation. I already told DD if she thinks she wants a tattoo, she has to tell us so we can make sure she gets it done at a reputable place. I wouldn’t particularly care if she had something modest. </p>
<p>I have 2 sets of ear piercings myself, so I don’t see what the issue is there. The ear gauges and tongue piercings are really disturbing to me, but otherwise most of the ones I have seen were not to the point of being a turn-off (unless they have, like 20 different ones).</p>
<p>Dreads are fine if they look right on the person and are well-maintained, like any other hairstyle. Now a mohawk…no. Same thing for a mullet: definite class marker.</p>
<p>Agree with sylvan . . . there are SO many kids with tattoos, they will eventually become mainstream. When I was in high school, only “rebels” got tattoos. Now kids get tattoos for a wider variety of reasons. </p>
<p>The next big thing will not be “do you have a tattoo”, but “what kind of tattoo do you have?” Someone with a butterfly on their arm is in a better position than someone with a tattoo of a skull with snakes shooting out of its eyes, dripping blood.</p>
<p>Oh, see - I think tattoos are just as conformist as sweater-set-and-pearls – just to a different aesthetic. I don’t find anything “free thinking” about them, personally.</p>
<p>Anyone getting a tattoo in a spot that cannot be easily disguised with clothes should seriously ask him/herself whether at any point in the future they want to be involved in a business partnership/work/study/live in a country where tattoos are treated very differently than they are treated here (real “class markers” (using Consolation’s words) vs fashion fad).</p>
<p>I know a lot of people with tattoos in all kinds of positions, but they generally ( unless in an artistic field), do not have them on places that are usually visible.</p>
<p>Piercings are not as common ( unusual ones) any more, and the people that I have known ( few) that have gauging, are wearing smaller plugs I have noticed than they did a few years ago.</p>
<p>Living in the city, I have seen some pretty shocking stuff- but it is virtually always on young people, who often try out different personas as they figure out how they want to present themselves and what they like.</p>
<p>If dressing outside of the norm- ( really unnatural hair, facial piercings) is that important to you, I also expect that the types of careers that would be appropriate/interesting, are also outside of a traditional/conservative path.</p>
<p>I also don’t see that many people with dreads anymore- thank god- because many of them didn’t wash. I think it is hilarious personally to see caucasians with dreads- but it probably isn’t anymore time consuming than my Sils hairstyle that she maintained with hot rollers/ curling iron and a perm. ( I am of the wash & towel dry school of hair care)
;)</p>
<p>Our store dress code includes no visible piercings (ear studs allowed) and no visible tatts. </p>
<p>When discussing the dress code I always mention that I DO NOT CARE about belly button rings … cause I am not going to see them … but please please please put a bandaid over it before coming to work because I do not want to see what happens when the bunny kicks you in the navel and gets his foot caught … … …</p>
<p>This topic has been covered on this forum multiple times. As with anything, there is a huge range of tattoos/piercings. Full neck/arm coverage is a lot different from a tiny symbol on the ankle. I see many, many of my adult friends getting tattoos to celebrate an accomplishment (athletic) or some other milestone. It doesn’t bother me at all. These are successful professionals. They are not getting full sleeves or serpents.<br>
My tattoos are easily covered by long sleeves/long pants or tights. That is normally what I wear for work attire anyway, but in the summer I often have short sleeves or bare legs and my two tattoos have not harmed me in my professional or personal life.
There are personal choices that bother me a lot more than tattoos, but that is the subject for another thread…</p>
<p>We’re old, it’s just that simple. Just as our parents would not hire a woman wearing a pants suit to an interview, we feel that only old WW II Navy men wear tatoos. This will change as those with peer exposure to tatoos begin getting into positions to hire.</p>
<p>My husbands best employee was a guy who had piercings all over his body and face, including ones where it was like a series of pins poking under the surface of the skin to create a design of bumps and silver on the arm. My family met him once at the company picnic and I was taken aback at first to be honest. My girls thought it was creepy and painful, they were 10 and 12 at the time. He was brilliant but no way was he going in front of anyone except other programmers.</p>
<p>I love my ankle tattoo, but since moving from Berkeley, CA to Indiana, I have to cover it up at work at all times. When I was working as a project manager/training exec for a major bank, had not problem in CA. I now where pants to work (or boots). It is not an undue hardship. My piercings that I had in my nose are no longer noticeable, and I rarely wear earrings.
I say that if you really want one, make sure that it can be covered. I would also get it on a part of the body that will not stretch too much as you age. My best friend in high school had a rose on on her lower stomach. After having triplets, the rose has wilted! Even though I weigh more than I did when I got my tat, my ankle has not changed as much.</p>
<p>My tattoo/piercings have never worked against me (at least to my knowledge).</p>
<p>I’ve worked for the Department of Defense for almost 30 years. I have a tattoo which is in a place where it is always covered, but I have a nostril piercing, one tragus, one helix, and 3 lobe piercings in each ear.</p>
<p>Has having a tattoo and piercings affected my <em>work performance</em>? Of course not, and that is what counts (as far as I’m concerned). </p>
<p>I am seeing all the new, younger employees coming in and I’m noticing that many have tats, and I’m noticing quite a few nostril piercings and multiple ear piercings. Looks like things might be changing in the workplace, and I certainly hope so.</p>
<p>Let’s make sure we clarify a couple of things gymeni just stated.</p>
<p>First off, DoD for the military will not allow you to have tats, or body piercing (except ear lobes) that can be visible. If you get your ears with the gauges, you will have to pay for elective surgery yourself to have them corrected before you are allowed to join.</p>
<p>Second, I am going to assume gymeni is very young. I think what she is missing is it won’t affect your work performance, but in the DoD it will affect your promotion ability. The same is true for corporate America, as you go up that ladder, you will represent the face of the company. For companies like Facebook I am sure it won’t be an issue, for companies like Raytheon, it will be an issue.</p>
<p>The glass ceiling you hit maybe due to your image. No employer will come out and say that for fear of a lawsuit, but take a look around at your company to the people who have jobs you aspire to obtain and then make your decision.</p>
<p>It reminds me of the movie Working Girl, where Melanie Griffith learns that her image was why she was not be taken as serious as she wanted to be taken.</p>
<p>Decades ago probably every guy in the Army had a visible tattoo, that is not the case anymore. I think tats will actually go away again to become a small subsection of society. </p>
<p>I have told my DD before you want to get a tat, where ever on your body you want it, go ask grandma to show you what her skin looks like in that spot, and then decide. It might look cool at 21, but trust me wrinkles happen on every part of your body plus your body changes. You can be 5’6 and 120 lbs now, so that butterfly on your back will look cool, what happens when you are 40, and now weigh 150 lbs? Not so pretty!</p>
<p>If I were more assertive I would request a different waiter when they come to the table with facial piercings. It takes my appetite away completely.</p>