Do Tattoos Really Impact Your Job Prospects?
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At some point in life, almost everyone will have heard a family member or another elder say, “You can’t get a tattoo! How will you get a job?”
Nearly 30% of adults in the UK have at least one tattoo, yet only 5% of UK people are unemployed. That means that at least 25% of people in the workforce possess some kind of body art, and it seems to disprove the ‘tattoo=unemployed’ attitude.
But how many of these people are in artistic or ‘blue collar’ jobs? How many sought-after jobs are occupied by people with tattoos?
It is definitely rare to find a tattoo artist that has no tattoos themselves, but these people barely make up a fraction of the work force.
A consulting company’s CEO, John Challenger, argues that most employers today recognise that physical appearance does not make qualification invalid, and that if he didn’t employ people because they had tattoos, he would have missed out on some great workers. He claims that “companies have vested interest in hiring the most qualified candidate.” After all, you can’t judge an employee by race, gender or religion, so why would you be able to judge people by their body art? A diverse team can often lead to the greatest successes in the workplace. Many European countries, such as Germany, embrace the idea of tattooed staff, especially in schools and nurseries, as it helps the children to have a more open-minded outlook.
However, many companies do have strict regulations about tattoos, believing that they seem ‘unprofessional’, or that they send out the wrong message to customers. It can be argued that while people try not to judge a book by its cover, it is human instinct to do so. In some jobs, first impressions can be the difference between winning a deal or contract. Furthermore, 31% of employers say that tattoos are the top personal attribute that make a candidate less likely to get the job. Historically, tattoos have been associated with rock stars and sailors, giving them a rebellious stigma and employers associate tattoos with ‘risk taking’, an attitude that can be detrimental in some jobs.
The negative attitudes attached to tattoos are slowly starting to fade, and it is likely that one day there will be no discrimination at all. However, for now, it may be a good idea when applying for some job to cover any tattoos up, at least for the interview.