Getting a tattoo usually requires a bit of an internal battle. What do you get inked? Where do you put it? How big do you want it to be? But a big part of thinking about a tattoo has to do with how employers are going to view the body art.
The New York Times investigated what lengths employees will go to in order to cover up their tattoos in the workplace in 2013, and it seemed like the majority of people were concerned with allowing their ink to show while at the office.
One woman kept a myriad of sweaters in her desk drawer to keep her sleeves covered up and wore tights during client meetings to hide her ankle tat.
“There are parts of my body I wish I could get tattooed, but because I work in a corporate setting I have to keep them on a wish list. This is a pretty buttoned-up company,” Iman Thomas said.
The most recent research out of the Pew Research Center found that 40 percent of millennials have at least one tattoo, but 72 percent of those said they typically keep them covered up.
The Times also reported that 61 percent of employers said they would consider a job applicant with a tattoo at a disadvantage when it came to landing their position.
But no more of that, Baby Boomers!
New research out of the University of Miami and the University of Western Australia Business School over the last two years found that tattoos didn’t matter at all to employers who considered the 2,200 people across the country with visible tattoos. In some cases, the body art even helped them get a job.
So, when I was job searching for a year post grad, should I have gotten tatted? Hm.
“Previous research has found that tattooed people are widely perceived by hiring managers to be less employable than people without tattoos,” the study stated. “These results suggest that, contrary to popular opinion as well as research findings with hiring managers and customers, having a tattoo does not appear to be associated with disadvantage or discrimination in the labor market.”
Managers who insist on overlooking applicants with tattoos are actually putting themselves at a disadvantage; they’re more likely to go with a less qualified hire.
So go get your grandmother’s handwriting on your forearm or that cute little shamrock on a finger. Maybe even put it on your resume!