Tattoos and Job Interviews

Survey: Tattoos Hurt Your Chances of Getting a Job

Find Out How Tattoos/Piercings Can Limit Your Career

By Aaron Gouveia, Salary.com contributing writer.

Ink Can Be a Career Stain

Maybe it’s a tribal arm band, the orchids on your lower back playing peek-a-boo with your coworkers, or -- gulp -- you’re wearing it on your face a la Mike Tyson. But even if it’s that cute little leprechaun on your ankle, our latest survey results show visible tattoos at work could have a negative effect on your pot of gold.

A recent study from the Pew Research Center found nearly 40% of people between the ages of 18 and 29 have at least one tattoo, and body piercings are also a growing means of self-expression among people in this age group. In a perfect world we would all be judged solely on the merit of our work. But if the 2,675 people we surveyed are any indication, there is a lot more going on when it comes to performance evaluations, raises, promotions, and making character assumptions about people based on their appearance.

But who has the tattoos, what do people find objectionable about them, and to what extent? The results might surprise you.

Tattoos, Piercings & Credibility

Of the nearly 2,700 people we surveyed, 12% reported having a visible tattoo that can be seen by managers and coworkers during the workday. Only 3% reported having a visible body piercing (other than an earring).

The biggest takeaways from our survey include a whopping 76% of respondents feel tattoos and piercings hurt an applicant’s chances of being hired during a job interview. And more than one-third – 39% of those surveyed – believe employees with tattoos and piercings reflect poorly on their employers. Furthermore, 42% feel visible tattoos are always inappropriate at work, with 55% reporting the same thing about body piercings.

Fortunately, only 4% of those with tattoos and piercings report having faced actual discrimination because of their ink and body art.

Age Plays a Factor

Overall, 42% of those surveyed feel any and all visible tattoos are inappropriate at work. That number climbs to 55% for body piercings. And as you might guess, age plays a huge role in how tattoos and piercings are perceived at work.

The younger generation was most likely to have tattoos, as people age 26-32 edged out the 18-25 demographic by a 22% to 21% margin. That number drops steadily with age, bottoming out at less than 1% for people age 60 and older. For body piercings, the 18-25 age group topped the charts at 11%, compared to a combined 3% of people older than 40. Although respondents in each age group seemed to recognize tattoos and piercings hurt an applicant’s job search chances, there was a very clear difference of opinion regarding the appropriateness of tattoos in the workplace.

In a nutshell, the older you are the less tolerant you become regarding tattoos. Not surprisingly, people 18-25 were the most accepting of tattoos in the office with only 22% claiming they are inappropriate. That percentage jumps in each age group, maxing out at 63% of people age 60 and older finding tattoos objectionable at work.

Education & Tattoos

Basically, the more educated you are the less likely you are to have or condone tattoos or piercings.

Twenty percent of people with tattoos are high school graduates. That number drops slightly to 19% for those with associates degrees, but falls to 10% for recipients of bachelor’s degrees. People with advanced degrees are even less likely to have tattoos, as 8% of those with master’s and just 3% of PhD recipients have ink.

Those with high school diplomas were also the least likely to find tattoos inappropriate at 38%, compared to 55% of respondents with a PhD. However, when it comes to body piercings, there was no significant statistical difference between education levels as an average of 56% found them objectionable.

Gender, Marital Status & Location

According to our survey, you’re more likely to have tattoos and piercings if you’re a woman who is single or divorced.

The number of women with tattoos more than doubled men by a 15% to 7% margin. Also, 5% of women have body piercings compared to a mere 1% of men. Interestingly, single and divorced people were far more likely to have ink and piercings as only 9% of married people have tattoos, compared to 16% of respondents who are married and divorced.

And if you’re wondering what part of the country has the most people with tattoos; that would be the Mountain region (Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico) with 16%. The area of the US least likely to have people with tattoos is the West South Central (Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas and Louisiana) with 8%.

As for which parts of the country think tattoos are inappropriate, here’s the breakdown:

• Mountain (ID, MT, WY, NV, UT, CO, AZ, NM): 35%
• West North Central (MO, ND, SD, NE, KS, MN, IA): 36%
• Pacific (AK, WA, OR, CA, HI): 36%
• New England (ME, NH, VT, MA, RI, CT): 36%
• Outside the US: 38%
• Mid-Atlantic (NY, PA, NJ): 38%
• East South Central (KY, TN, MS, AL): 41%
• East North Central (WI, MI, IL, IN, OH): 46%
• South Atlantic (DE, MD, VA, WV, NC, SC, GA, FL): 48%
• West South Central (OK, TX, AR, LA): 55%

Tattoos by Industry

Wondering which industry is most likely to include tattooed workers? That would be the people working in agriculture and ranching. Twenty-two percent of respondents who said they work in agriculture and ranching reported having tattoos. But in an ironic twist, 67% of those workers found tattoos inappropriate in the workplace -- by far the highest percentage of any industry surveyed.

Workers in the hospitality, tourism and recreation industry were second with 20% of workers tattooed, followed by 16% of people in the arts, media and entertainment industry. Government workers are least likely to be tattooed with only 8% of respondents stating they’re inked. Here's the full breakdown of tattooed workers by industry:

• Agriculture/ranching: 22%
• Hospitality, Tourism & Recreation: 20%
• Arts, Media, Entertainment: 16%
• Retail: 14%
• Finance & Banking: 13%
• Healthcare: 13%
• Professional Services: 13%
• Other: 13%
• Education, Child Development, Family Services: 12%
• Manufacturing: 9%
• Energy & Utilities: 9%
• Engineering, Design & Construction: 9%
• Information Technology: 9%
• Government: 8%

Corporate Attitudes Play a Part

Most people interviewing for new jobs worry about base pay, bonus potential and benefits. But nearly one-quarter of survey respondents said they take a company’s stance about things like tattoos and piercings into account when making their decision.

Twenty-three percent of all those surveyed said they specifically examine a company’s permissiveness regarding tattoos and piercings when deciding whether or not to accept the job offer. Workers age 60 and older are the age group most influenced by corporate attitudes towards body art, with 31 percent reporting they are affected by company policy regarding tattoos.

Think of the Children...

Just because adults have tattoos, doesn’t necessarily mean they think that’s a good idea for future generations.

Nearly half – 49% of all respondents – said they don’t want their children (or future hypothetical children for survey-takers who plan to have kids) to have tattoos or piercings. That could be because of of surveys such as one by CareerBuilder.com, which found that 37% of HR managers cite tattoos as the third most likely physical attribute that limits career potential.

People age 26-32 are the least likely to object to tattoos and piercings for their kids, with only 26% against it. That’s compared to the 31% of people age 18-25 who are against tattoos for their progeny. Not surprisingly, 70% of people age 60 and older don’t want body art for their kids, which tops the list.

Use Common Sense

Getting tattoos and/or piercings is a personal decision, but you should take future earnings into account when making it. Whether it’s a career-ender or no big deal at all will vary from person to person, and the easiest way to figure it out is a hefty dose of common sense.

Meredith Haberfeld, an executive career coach who appeared in a 2012 NPR article about tattoos at work, said there are many sectors in which tattoos are absolutely fine, and even encouraged. The key is feeling out the culture of your workplace ahead of time and adjusting accordingly.

"Each employer is going to vary from conservative to liberal when it comes to tolerance for their body art, so a good rule is to keep it covered in your interviews and even during your first few weeks in your job until you get a sense for the culture of the workplace," Haberfeld said.