Tattoos may still be job interview killer

While visible tattoos and body piercings have become more acceptable in mainstream society, they can still carry a stigma in the white-collar workplace. • "When you present yourself in the workplace, you need to recognize that people will naturally make a judgment about how you look," said Sue Thompson, a workplace consultant and speaker based in Wilmington, Del. "You need to look like you mean business."

There was a time when tattoos were strictly out of bounds — unless you happened to be a sailor. Today they have evolved into a fashion statement routinely seen on professional athletes, rock stars, models, movie stars and other high-profile figures who set the cultural agenda.

But when it comes to corporate America — especially in certain industries where more conservative standards of appearance rule the day such as banking, law, accounting and insurance — tattoos and body piercings can hurt your chances of landing a job or advancing in your career.

"As a job seeker, you have to judge whether the employer you are interviewing with is going to be accepting of your body art," said John Challenger, CEO of global outplacement firm Challenger, Gray and Christmas Inc. "If that is not the case and that is where you really want to work, then you have to make an effort to conceal your tattoos and take out your piercings."

If the tattoos and piercings are a big part of how someone sees himself, it might be a mistake to try to cover them up during the interview, said Diane Samuels, a career and image consultant based in New York.

"I would say don't cover them," she said, "because that's like covering up who you are. You want to be authentic when interviewing, or the interviewer could walk away thinking there was something not quite right with you even if he or she is unable to identify what it was."

In this day and age, employers might have a difficult time finding candidates without some type of body embellishment.

The Food and Drug Administration estimates as many as 45 million Americans have at least one tattoo. A 2010 Pew Research Center report revealed tattoos on 38 percent of Americans ages 18 to 29 and 32 percent of people ages 30 to 45.

Richard Citrin, an executive coach and career counselor in O'Hara, believes that as the younger generation moves into management, there will be a greater acceptance of piercings and tattoos in the white-collar workplace.

"As recently as 15 years ago, you didn't see too many guys wearing earrings, but today we don't think twice about guys wearing earrings," Citrin said.

"In time, tattoos will have the same acceptance as women coming into the workplace wearing pants instead of dresses," he said. "This is how society changes."