Tattoos

[Damn True]

Like Nick, I have tattoos. Like Nick, I work in a professional environment albeit in Silicon Valley an environment that is less "formal" than finance. Like Nick, my tattoos are invisible to anyone I might encounter in a professional capacity.

If I interview someone, male or female, with visible tattoos I see it as a strike against them. We do business with companies that are far less formal than ourselves, and we also do business with the biggest of the big Fortune 500 suit/tie type corporations and government organizations as well. A guy with a visible sleeve or neck tat or a lady with ivy wrapped around her ankle is two steps behind an equally qualified un-adorned applicant. Is it fair? No. But that is the reality of working in a professional environment.



Many younger people will read the above and think, "Well I wouldn't want to work somewhere that would look down on my personal expression of style." Hogwash. First of all, that severely limits your professional opportunity as companies such as that are few and far between. Second, no matter how "open-minded" a company is at some point they are going to attempt to do business with another company that isn't. Again...limiting. At the end of the day, regardless of your role in a professional capacity you are being hired to in some way represent the company you are working for. Given the above you want to present yourself in as professional a way as possible and that includes things that are perceived as counter-cultural or edgy in appearance.

I'll give you an example. A friend of mine has a son who fit's to a "T" the modern definition of "hipster". Skinny jeans, chuck taylors, those big stretch hoop piercings in his ears, scraggly 1/2-beard, ironic printed t's under a goofy cardigan, sleeve tat's and of course...a fixed gear bike. He is an EXTREMELY talented and highly regarded digital illustrator. He want's to advance into a "director" role at IL&M or Pixar (both local companies) but despite no less than 10 different opportunities for the promotion he cannot make the jump. His mentors keep telling him he needs to present a more professional appearance if he want's to move into management, as do I and his parents. He refuses to sacrifice "his right to express himself" and has been stuck in his individual contributor role for 6 years and is now working for two former peers 3-4 years his junior.