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IRISH BUSINESSES ARE getting more conservative, it seems.
Apparently 76% per cent of employers here wouldn’t hire someone, if they were displaying a visible tattoo. That’s up from 73% this time last year.
65% of employers said they thought tattoos presented an unprofessional image.
Even if two candidates were shortlisted for a job – following, presumably, several rounds of interviews, 82% of those questioned said they’d give the job to the candidate with no visible tattoos.
Creative industries, marketing and IT are less likely to discriminate.
However, according to Alan Price of employment consultancy Peninsula Ireland “there are still a lot of companies who hold traditional values”.
So if you’re an employee with the right skills and qualifications, going for a job interview and you have a tattoo on display then it may be worth covering it up.
“Also remember that if you’re an employee and you are looking at getting a tattoo then it may be worth speaking with your employer and checking the dress code for your business.”
1,722 Irish employers were questioned over the phone by Peninsula Ireland as part of the survey – across a number of industries.
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I saw a dolphin once with a tattoo of a fat girl from a council estate on its back.
Does the man in the photo realise you can buy shirts with sleeves? Probl solved.
*Problem
It looks like he got it with a packet of bubblegum, it’ll come off in the shower.
@Neal. The man in the photo looks as if he has a job, so no problem.
You always have to take the results of these surveys with a pinch of salt. We don’t know the exact questions asked nor do we know who the surveyor spoke to. It was over the phone. The person answering could have just said yes or no at random. Also people’s concept of a visible tattoo differs. For some it could be something small, for others, it might mean a full face and neck.
It would be helpful to do a survey of tattooed people and see where they’re working
“Also remember that if you’re an employee and you are looking at getting a tattoo then it may be worth speaking with your employer and checking the dress code for your business.”
REALLY???? This should read “Your employer might want to check his bank account to see if he can afford the Workplace discrimination and anti bullying lawsuit he is going to have to pay out on”
If I had a choice of two equally good candidates, the non tattooed one gets the jobs.
If both candidates met your criteria but the tattoo’d had just that bit extra experience/qualification – or even a better rapport with you in the interview – would the fact that they had a tattoo prevent you from hiring them?
What if the one without the tattoos had a pure sneaky head on them?
What if the person was a big name hire you were trying to poach away from a competitor and had the talent and the skills that you needed for a role you had been trying to fill for a year and had already been turned down.
Or (and this has happened)… You said something disparaging to your companies potential Generation Y graduate recruits about their appearance that made your company seem old fashioned, conservative, out of date. They all talked to each other (as they do) word got around, it nudged a few towards a company they felt better aligned with their values and you dropped a few places in that precious ‘most desirable place to work’ surveys….
What if the jobs in a dark room?
What if the job is in a tattoo parlour? The public needs answers!
What if its a tattooed hot chick with a body built for sin and a doirty head up on her? Ha? Haa? Now for ya.
It’s terrible, but employers may not be actually against tattoos themselves, and are instead looking at the prejudices their clients and customers may have as liabilities they can avoid in the hiring process. If people want to augment their body to express themselves more power to them, but you have to recognise that we don’t live in a perfect world and doing so in certain ways can be detrimental to other people’s perception of you.
I have f@uk you tattooed on my forehead, l have been trying to get a job in customer service now l know why I’m finding it hard.
Try wearing an anonymous mask it may help .
You might try a motorcycle helmet…
Unless the job is customer service for a bank…
Try Ryanair, you would fit right in?
Spot on Paul. The traditional head gear for entry level banking roles is a Victorian era bonnet. Later you progress to a Viking battle helmet….mind you, only after a lot of hard work.
I’ve been asked at interviews if I had any tattoos which I don’t for roles that involved sales or dealing with the public. I know other people in sales who wouldn’t hire someone if they had a tattoo that was visible when dealing with customers. The same would go for earrings worn by man or any facial piercings for instance.
Given the rich history of tattoo I’m still struggling to figure out what “traditional values” means in the context of not hiring someone.
I can understand it for the context of some tattoos. I mean, if it was a big dopey IRA one or something and you’re looking for a job in NI or GB – but in a general sense they’re really not a big deal.
What on earth have 135 people found to down vote in this reasonable comment?
Pathetic and superficial. Wow, I thought the yes vote meant we had entered 21st century but clearly we are still dragging our heels.
Not at all … Public perceptions of tattoos are still quite negative and particularly in public facing work involving for example tourism, restaurants, medical, professionals etc.
Just accept the fact that tattoos and piercings are considered by the majority tobe only visible in private and not in public.
What in any conceivable way by any stretch of the imagination has the yes vote got to do with tattoos?
Spot on!! Laughing out loud!
Anything that makes getting a job more difficult is not worth having and tattoos and face piercing are right up there.
As people get older these look more and more ridiculous so I’m with the bulk of employers on this one.
Really? From time to time a conscience can make getting a job more difficult and I think one of those is worth having.
Tattoo’s seem to be very popular in the catering industry for some reason. I think judging a person on whether they have a tattoo or not is very short sighed but it does go on. That’s why I have my artistic individual expression neatly above my short sleeved shirt line.
And these are exactly the small minded views that helped me move to England. Where I have a good medical career and tattoos. Like my friends who are tattoed cops, nurses, surgeons, fire fighters etc. This type of judgement is SO pointless and useless.
Same issue exists in the UK. I have nothing against tatoos personally and I have friends that are tatoo freaks but I wouldn’t employ a person with a visible tatoo as I am well aware how many people percieve them. Wouldn’t be good for business. I think if you get a tatoo you also need to be aware of the stigma attached and don’t be dissapointed when the rejection letter arrives.
you may want to pack up and head off from the UK too Laura http://www.theguardian.com/careers/careers-blog/tattoos-workplace-job-prospects-career Head east, we don’t miss ye much
Please tell me that isn’t a Tattoo on your kid.
Why hasn’t the Journal, with its phalanx of intrepid reporters, issued an account of the nefarious goings on in Brussels yesterday. You obviously attach no importance to the fact that a vote on TTIP ( Transatlantic, Trade and Investment Partnership] was postponed. This is probably the most dubious and controversial proposal in the history of the EU. Perhaps a wee nod and a wink memo arrived from FG HQ just in case you didn’t get the script. You should be ashamed to call yourselves journalists.
Jaysus lad it’s 06.45, give them a chance to have a cup of coffee and eat their breakfast roll would ya!
Patience, John. They don’t have hundred of people with typewriters and press cards in their hats swarming around all night. That’s why it’s free
John,
I’m just going to leave this here: http://businessetc.thejournal.ie/ttip-negotiations-2151486-Jun2015/
Paul
Mr Phalanx has got awful quiet..
Haha – pwned.
it’s too early for some of these big words.
I’d admit to anyone I’ve two pretty decent sized ones but can you EVER see them in work??? Not in a million years!!! They’re along my ribcage on either side & if I wear a blouse they can be seen through I put a tee under it. It’s hard to be take seriously with ink on display. I’m with employers- they’re right. Even when I was getting mine, this was something I was aware of. When I’m interviewing I don’t like to see tattoos so why would I put mine anywhere it could potentially adversely affect me?
Never had a tattoo and have no intention of ever getting one…
Its a class issue … You have it or you don’t simple as …
Yeah just look at this classless trashbag #sarcasm
What do you mean it’s a class issue?
Tattoos or class – pick 1.
If you can’t comprehend what I said then then you clearly fall into a lower class bracket …
Tattoos are a branding for idiots .
I would hesitate with someone with a Chinese writing tattoo but then would realise they made a mistake in the past and have probably come a long way to overcome that and want to move on to big and better things.
That’s a load of bollox. I have quite a few tattoos, a half sleeve being one of them and I’m a PA/administrator in a big company. My boss doesn’t even know I have tattoos. I wouldn’t wear a dress or top that would show them but I wouldn’t be against taking off a cardigan should it be hot.
Now in fairness some tattoos are dodgy and look really bad but for goodness sake, there’s people on here who are discriminating against due to a living a life with tattoos?
Would someone here call me a scûmbag based on appearance first before knowing anything about me?
Id give them fingers and wish them good day if they did. Most people I meet are intrigued by my tattoos but I have come across really irritating opinionated arsehôles who have to make sure it’s known their feelings on tattoos.
that’s ridiculous. I bet the same people would discriminate,if the candidate had a facial mole, or birthmark etc.
Not allow to discriminate on the basis of a disability. Can’t use the presence of a large visible tattoo as an indicator of atitudes, decision making etc. my job is working and communicating with older people. I would think that a visible tattoo might impair people ability to do so thus it would be a disadvantage in having one.
Recruitment is flawed full stop!!
Hell no! Chinese lettering, get a sleeve or something a little more creative or original.
At a private xmas party in one of the CEO’s houses last year the topic of discussion turned to the industries(traditionally conservative) opinions tattoos. There was a dozen people in that room that showed their ink the lowest paid of which probably takes home about 150k.
Last year a company(tech more liberal) in which I worked did a spotlight on the Internet of the 10 coolest employees tattoos.
Wow – you role with some rich and open minded playas.
Had a few mormon clients once… Had to roll the sleeves down for that one.
I call BS.
How can you be in “One of the CEO’s houses”
A company only has one CEO
1. Many companies have 2 CEOs
http://www.businessinsider.com/why-major-companies-have-2-ceos-2014-9
2. Many companies CEOs have more than one house. So you can be in ‘one of the CEO’s houses’
In this case both are applicable.
As the article says Samsung has 3… Tends to be more common in big asian family controlled firms. Keeps the kids from squabbling over daddies empire so to speak.
It’s not even correct Chinese. It’s mixed script, the first being Traditional 違 (I think, it’s kind of hard to make out), the second being Simplified 彦. No clue what he’s even trying to say, though. Doesn’t make any sense to me.
Unless his name is “Wayne”, but that would be an extremely unusual way to transcribe a name, since 違 means “violate”. Even then, the script still doesn’t match between the two characters. It’s like writing “I’d like one square meter of red-coloured paper”. Only worse.
This is the problem with high unemployment like we have here. It means dozens of qualified candidates for every role and the company hiring can reject people merely on aesthetical reasons without any real grounds or basis.
Yes, those damn employers actually choosing who to employ in their business.
It’s just not fair, it should be more like Communism !
You know my views about tattoos.
Like piercings and depilatory,
They are designed for the simple mind,
Malefactors and the military!
Amen
Prejudicial perception is strictly for closed minded idiots. Wonder what kind of artwork these lads are sporting
http://www.thejournal.ie/whelan-mcateer-anglo-sentences-1598091-Jul2014/
Bottom line is people like people who are LIKE them… So people who smoke would be more tolerant of employees who smoke. And people who don’t have tats are going to feel more aligned with an employee who is tat-free. Having tattoos is an advantage if you want to join a band or a cool startup or hip restaurant/bar.
Not too many Brain Surgeons with tatoo’s.
I guess this guy might have problems in sales then..
Image from http://www.eonline.com/eol_images/Entire_Site/2014617/rs_600x600-140717150631-600-2vin-los-tattoo-model.ls.71714_copy.jpg.
Tattoos are grotesque. Anyone with them has serious mental health problems.
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