Those who tattoo be wary

Chynna DeHoyos

The Signal

Generation Next is about to graduate and a recent Pewter survey reports that half of those graduates have a least one tattoo.

Tattoos have moved beyond their negative past in our society. No longer sure signs of a criminal past or criminal intent, they have become a popular means to express one’s ideas and beliefs. But they might not help graduates secure a job.

“Attitudes have changed in the workplace because lot of people have them, but [most offices] still have a dress code that people must adhere to,” said Debbie Mebroso, vice president of Burnett Staffing.

“It went from being the guys with the barbed wire on their arms to actually producing good artwork on skin, and it’s not just a tattoo, its art,” said Javier Garcia, artist at True Love Tattoos.

It is not just the youth who are embracing tattoos either; Garcia says most of his clientele is made up of women in their forties, especially in this area.

This new attitude on tattoo acceptance has many graduates assuming that tattoos will be more tolerated in the workplace, just as they are in public.

This assumption may be wrong depending on the graduate’s chosen profession.

“We make [clients] aware that they [tattoos] depend on the type of job that they are looking for,” Mebroso said. “For example, for accounting, they must be covered for the profession.”

In recent years, many companies have relaxed their standards, allowing employees to have tattoos.

“Actually the tattoos on my arms are allowed and I don’t have to cover them up,” said Brittany Fair, a floral department manager.

Her job requires her to work with the public every day and her visible tattoos have not held her back from gaining a managerial position. She feels that there is not anything she has to worry about when applying for jobs because she feels that there are not any prejudices against her tattoos.

Many companies have a policy that still allows a person to have a tattoo as long as it is covered. These companies include Target, Wal-Mart, Kohl, Bank of America and the Houston Police Department.

Visible tattoos, especially tattoos that are hard to hide such as neck, wrist, upper chest, and leg tattoos, for women who wear dresses or skirts to work, may cost a person a job.

“A job seeker came in with a ‘C’ tattoo on his forehead and is in the process of removing [the tattoo] for a dishwasher job,” said Velma Vepeda, an employment counselor at Texas Workforce. “He limited his marketability because most jobs wouldn’t allow him in the front due to the judgment he might have gotten from customers.”

“The attitude toward [tattoos] changed a lot; they are a lot more accepted than they were 20 years ago but at the same time visible tattoos will always be frown upon because of that stigma of tattoo artist or tattoos being badass or rebels,” Garcia said.

As for future graduates with tattoos it is always important to research company policy and try to work with the policies that are in place.

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