| Topic Name: |
Piercings and tattoos, etc |
| Message Name: |
hmmm |
| Date Posted: |
03/23/2005 |
| In Reply To: |
What do you do for a job/internship interview if you have visible tattoos, piercings or funky-colored hair? Are employers generally turned off by this appearance, or is having a creative edge sometimes an advantage? What do you do in this case? |
| Message: |
Well, as to jewelry, it is definitely a detractor. No two ways about it... If you are applying to be a roady, an athelete, an artist or you are just a really, really good code writer, the hair, tats, and jewelry might be overlooked.
Unfortunately, business has a uniform and it doesn't include anything you mentioned. Advice, though... and please take this as not a repression of your personality or a slam on your lifestyle, but as a way to improve the odds...
You have to downplay all those issues you brought up... Make your hair the proper color with nothing distracting... cut it to a conservative length. Wear NO (and I do mean NO) jewelry other than a watch (simple - gold - nothing ornate) and a wedding band if you are married. NOTHING ELSE. Lose the tongue piercing, the eyebrow piercing.... all of it... Remember as you go for a job, they are looking for someone who fits with them as a general rule. Read this as fits THEIR culture.
Wear a conservative, white shirt, button down... long sleeve. Cover as many of your tats as possible.
If you choose (my choice of the word choose is intentional, you chose to modify, you must take the consequences... it is not necessarily fair, however, it is the way the world works)
Your objective should be to make your lifestyle choice a non-issue. Focus them on what you can do for them not how many piercings you have. Most people do not understand your choices and will react unconsciously to your presentation. In an interview, keep them focused on your abilities.
If what I have counselled bothers you, then examine your motives for seeking that particular job. Remember, you are trying to fit in with them, not the other way around.
The other solution, of course, is to start your own business. It is America after all...
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