Tattoos at Work

ART - Men and women who choose to get tattoos, piercings or any kind of noticeable body art are really wreaking havoc with their future career.

True, it may not hurt celebrities of the world like David Beckham (shown here), because their careers are already successful.

But for those people who are young and struggling in their careers having a large neck tattoo, a jungle of piercings, or a virtual art gallery on their body will find it difficult to find work.

Women I think can get away with this more. Women have a tendency to be more discreet about where they get their tattoos or piercings. Plus psychologically speaking employers are more likely to look the other way if a female has a tattoo whereas for men tattoos are associated with bad behaviour.

Lets take the South Korean military as an example. Military service for men in South Korea is mandatory. But there is ways to get out of it. One of the ways is to get a tattoo. The South Korean military believes that men with tattoos are unruly and won't follow orders, and therefore won't allow them into the military. (Which is the complete opposite of the United States military where tattoos of their units are welcomed.)

If you are a parent you have probably given your kids plenty of advice about how to get and keep a job. Not having tattoos or piercings was probably amongst your suggestions.

According to a recent study conducted by Career Builder applicants who do not follow proper job etiquette are hurting their chances - even if they are a good fit for the position.

Whether a candidate is seeking a new job or a promotion, a professional image can make a difference. According to managers who were surveyed they said the following personal attributes would make them less likely to extend a promotion include:

• Piercings
• Bad breath
• Visible tattoos
• Often have wrinkled clothes
• Messy hair
• Dresses too casually
• Too much perfume or cologne
• Too much make up
• Messy office or cubicle

Of course this really depends on the nature of the workplace. Well hidden piercings and tattoos are fairly main stream in cities these days. However there is never an excuse for poor personal hygiene unless you're a garbage collector.

Over 20% of hiring managers also said they are less likely to hire a candidate who didn’t send a post-interview thank you note. That’s because they say omitting this step shows a lack of follow through and sends a message that the applicant is not really serious about the opportunity. (We should note many young people don't even know about this unspoken rule.)

A hand written note is still the gold standard, but most managers are perfectly happy to get an emailed thank you from interested applicants. If there were multiple interviewers, each interviewer should get a personal note.

It makes you realize the number of unspoken rules the workplace these days has.

The whole thank you note thing may seem repetitive, but enthusiasm for the job is a key component for hiring people. It is also your last chance to boost your chances. (Especially if other applicants send a thank you note and you did not.)

Another big thing HR staff now check is Facebook and Google your name. Its a good idea to clean up your online reputation so that when they do take these steps they are seeing the best possible side of you.

ie. You probably won't want them seeing photos of you on a website involving "drunk people with tattoos" or any other poor behaviour.

There's even a case of a man who legally changed his name because of his old profession and bad reputation online. He now has kids and wanted 2 things: Employers to see the new him; His children to only know about the new him as well, as opposed to the old version which was very risque film work and involved his private member diving repeatedly into the dark spot between the legs of multiple women. (*cough cough*)

The end result is that men and women need to be more discreet about where they are getting tattoos and piercings if they want to have any kind of serious business career.

The same rule applies when applying to an university, running for political office, or even wanting to become a clergy member.

Tattoos, like all other forms of art, are subjective and not everyone likes particular styles of art.

Its a bit like picking out corporate art for your office. Do you pick a piece of abstract art, a landscape or a figurative nude? Probably best to go with an abstract or landscape piece just so you don't accidentally offend or distract clients.