There was a time when body modifications, tattoos and piercings were part of a tribal culture. The marks and adornments symbolized who you were, both as a person and in your tribe. Others could look at you and tell if you were brave, athletic and even what your position was in the cultural hierarchy. These days, many people choose body modifications for a variety of reasons. For some, their tattoos have deep personal meanings or they can be an expression of their personal hobbies and interests. For others, piercings are the way that they choose to express themselves and make their body look different from everyone elses.
A decade ago, there was definitely a huge stigma to having any sort of tattoo or piercing. The inked up look was most often associated with biker gangs, convicts and sailors. While piercing called to mind white faced Gothic teens whose unsmiling faces were filled with angst and metal studs. But, these days, body modification is almost mainstream. It is just about as controversial as ear piercing was during the 1950s-1960s. Conservative parents wouldn't let their teenagers do it, but many a teen dreamed of being able to wear real earrings. The little bit of rebellion that ear piercing signified was thrilling. Now, of course, having your ears pierced is not a big deal at all. Some women and even many men opt to put holes in their ears every day.
Even still, having piercings and/or tattoos can be a difficult thing to deal with when you are looking for a job. Even though body art and jewelry are becoming more accepted, many employers don't want to hire people who are sporting facial piercings or large tattoos. So, if you have facial piercings or tattoos that can't be hidden under your clothes, how should you handle it during your interview?
There are two schools of thought on this one. The first one, is the traditional viewpoint that you should not wear facial jewelry to an interview. If a long sleeved shirt wont hide your tattoo, you should use makeup or a bandage to conceal it. When you are at work, you are a reflection of the company and therefore, you shouldn't wear anything controversial while you are there. If are hired for the job, you will have to make sure that your jewelry is out and your tattoo is covered each day before you go to work. Still, there are other people who say that after being hired, you can slowly start to wear your jewelry at work and see if your boss says anything negative about it.
The other side says that you should consider changing any facial piercings to small, tasteful jewelry and if you can't cover your tattoo just let it be. The premise of this is that you don't want to have to be in a job where you feel like you aren't allowed to be yourself. During an interview, if you feel like it is something that is likely to be a concern for the hiring manager, you can bring it up politely. It doesn't have to be defensive, just a simple “As you see, I have small, tasteful piercings that will in no way effect my ability to perform the job duties. If you have a corporate policy against body jewelry, I would be willing to wear a clear retainer while I am at work.”
While it is true that some employers won't hire people with any sort of visible body modifications, I don't think that it applies across the board. My opinion is that you really have to consider the type of job you are applying for and what you feel would be appropriate in that particular corporate culture. Over the past couple of years, I have been seeing more and more sales clerks, waitstaff, librarians and even lawyers with small facial piercings. When they wear small jewels, the piercing is very hard to see and doesn't look jarring or vulgar. If you only have one or two small piercings, I don't think that it is unreasonable to expect that an employer probably won't have a problem with it. If you have chosen to go with a more industrial facial piercing style, complete with a variety of piercings in various locations on your face, you may need to put clear retainers in most of them. When someone has many piercings, looking at them can be almost painful for those who aren't as accepting of body modification and it can leave a poor impression on the customer. However, if your job has little to no customer contact, an employer would be hard pressed to come up with a valid reason why your body jewelry isn't acceptable.
As a person who has piercing, it is my opinion that you decided to get the piercings because you wanted to express yourself and make your reflection match the person inside of you. If that is the case, why would you want to spend the majority of your every day maintaining an image that you wanted to separate yourself from? I think that it is a little bit deceitful to take your piercings out for the interview and them put them back in once you are hired. Anyway I look at it, it just feels disingenuous. My thoughts would be to show up to your interview looking professional and being completely prepared. If you feel comfortable or think that it is appropriate, mention your concerns about your body jewelry to the interviewer and see what the corporate stance is on piercings. If they tell you that it is a problem and that they don't allow employees to wear facial jewelry, you can offer to wear a clear retainer, if you feel comfortable with that compromise. Otherwise, keep looking until you find a job that suits your personality and allows you to be you. I believe that being stuck in a job you don't like, that isn't a good fit for you and where you have to pretend to be someone else is no way to spend your life.
Do you have any piercings? Do you have to take them out at work? What do you think is the best way to handle the situation? Let me know in the comments.
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By Melissa Kennedy- Melissa is a 9 year blog veteran and a freelance writer, along with helping others find the job of their dreams, she enjoys computer geekery, raising a teenager, supporting her local library, writing about herself in the third person and working on her next novel.
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