Should tattoos, body piercings play a role in hiring decisions?

Should tattoos, body piercings play a role in hiring decisions?
August 3, 2010
By Greg Katz
Deseret News

have a confession to make, and it's one that will seal my position in the Fuddy-Duddy Hall of Fame.

Here it is: I have no tattoos. I have no body piercings. And I'm not interested in getting either.

There, I said it. Confession really is good for the soul!

Seriously, though, I have many friends who have tattoos or piercings, or both, and I figure that's their choice. However, I have wondered if visible body art hurts people's chances of landing jobs in certain industries, so a news release that popped into my inbox from global outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. caught my eye.

In the release, company CEO John A. Challenger says body art is becoming so common that companies would severely limit the pool of candidates from which they could choose employees if they rejected everyone with a tattoo or nose ring.

"Employers' anti-tattoo stance probably softened considerably during the labor shortages of the late 1990s," Challenger says in the release. "Today, even in this tight job market, most companies are not going to view tattoos too harshly

One reason is that with everyone from soccer moms to MIT computer science graduates sporting tattoos, preconceptions about tattooed individuals are no longer valid. Secondly, and more importantly, companies have a vested interest in hiring the most qualified candidate."

The news release says the Food and Drug Administration estimates that as many as 45 million Americans have at least one tattoo. A 2010 Pew Research Center report on Millennials, or people who are between 18 and 29 years old, showed that 38 percent have tattoos. For people in Generation X, or those aged 30 to 45, that number falls slightly to 32 percent.

"Despite concerns of how potential employers and others might perceive tattoos and piercings, a surprisingly large percentage do not make any efforts to conceal them," the release said. "While the majority of people keep their tattoos covered, the Pew Research study found that 30 percent of tattooed Millennials have their body art on full display for the public. Additionally, nearly one in four (23 percent) Millennials have a piercing somewhere other than the ear lobe."

Challenger says that might not be a problem during job interviews because people who are making hiring decisions today are "younger and not as adherent to traditions about workplace appearance."
"There are definitely certain industries where more conservative standards of appearance persist," he says in the release. "We may never see visible tattoos on bankers, lawyers, accountants or the clergy. However, areas such as advertising, marketing, sales and technology are more inclined to be progressive and more accepting of new fashion and lifestyle trends.

"As a job seeker, you have to judge whether the employer you are interviewing with is going to be accepting of your body art. If that is not the case, and that is where you really want to work, then you will have to make an effort to conceal your tattoos and take out your piercings."

I find excessive body art and piercings distracting when they're on people with whom I'm doing business, not that I run across that situation often. I'm guessing most bank tellers or standard retail workers cover their tattoos if they have them. And it's not difficult for me to imagine a hiring manager who would be put off by body art, particularly when there are so many candidates chasing every available job these days.

What do you think? Are tattoos and piercings so common now that they should not play a role in hiring decisions? Do you have preconceived notions about someone who is serving you at a business if that person has visible tattoos or body piercings? Let me know, and I'll share some of your responses in a future column.