Do Employers Look Past Tattoos

Walking around Virginia Commonwealth University on a warm day are colorful arms, legs, backs, and stomachs. Tattoos are everywhere, and they are bigger and more colorful than ever.

This more liberal way of thinking with the VCU students hasn’t reached the professional world yet, but many students feel that their tattoos aren’t going to be a problem once they are in the job market.

“It’s not as bad as them being on my face or unable to be covered I don’t think,” said Brittany Watson, a VCU sophomore and clinical exercise science major.Has employers mind set about tattoos really changed?

Not according to a recent study done by Vault.com. The study showed that 85 percent of employers said that having a tattoo will still hurt an applicant’s chance of getting a job.

“People who see tattoos are like oh, that guy is trash. We don’t want him working here,” said Dan Jeffery, a sophomore and a criminal justice major. Shawn Sweeney, a sophomore and a painting and print making major, also feels that not having a tattoo will boost his ability of getting a job. Tattoos “look kind of gross after awhile," he said.

Susan Story, the director of the VCU Career Center, believes it also depends on someone’s major and the job they are going after. Story said that if people are applying for a job “in the public eye,” tattoos aren’t the only thing they should be worried about. “Tattoos and piercings go together,” said Story. “I have told males to cut their hair and take out an earring, and then they got the job,” she said.

Story also talks about how the hard economic times in America is in now may affect a person who has tattoos even more. She said that employers are rarely offering jobs now, and when they do it’s going to be to the most professional-looking person. If the tattoo is in a spot were it can be seen at work or at the interview, then it should be fine.But that is where the problem comes in. More and more people are getting large or numerous tattoos in noticeable places.

“There is a professionalism factor that needs to be taken into account,” said Vernon Lee Gordon III, a junior and a clinical exercise science major who also has tattoos. “I think many individuals neglect that fact when they are getting tattoos in their younger years.”