With “one in three young adults” having a tattoo and the figures still on the rise, it’s inevitable that attitudes towards them are going to change right? I mean, surely they can’t be covered up forever?!
We all know the general rule when going on job interviews is to dress as smart as possible – long sleeve shirts top button done up and suit jackets worn at all times. This can then extend even further if you feel the need to cover up ink – dark tights for the ladies, dark shirts so that no ink can show through lighter fabric… it all starts to get a bit extreme.
Is this always the best policy though? There have been many reports over the years of employees being dismissed due to not complying with the companies ‘cover ink’ policy and although it’s common enough that we all know someone who has one, it’s still a taboo in the job market.
There are those that argue that perhaps the way forward is to not be so strict with covering ink at the interview stage… after all, you can’t discriminate over age, sex, or skin colour so why should an individual expressing themselves through body art be any different?
Certainly there appears to be certain job sectors that are less fussy about showing tattoos than others. Indeed, the creative industries and construction appear to be the best at looking through the ink and truly seeing the skills and abilities that potential employees can offer.
Hopefully it won’t be long before other industries and sectors begin to follow suit, after all, if Mrs Cameron can have a tattoo whilst her husband ran the country for 6 years, they can’t be that bad, can they? Tell us your thoughts…