Got tattoos? Sorry, you're not allowed to work for us

reply to post by kyleisboss


Very well written post and you have my sympathies. It is a sad state when the job you were applying for really doesn't have that "suit and tie" position but you were turned down anyways.

I hope that your search results in you getting employment soon and you can look back on this without regret.

take care......

reply to post by ldyserenity


Funny story, I actually have relatively long hair for a male. Its about shoulder length. One of the questions asked by the regional manager interviewing me was whether or not I had a problem cutting my hair. I, without hesitation, said no that wouldnt be a problem. He laughed, and said he was only joking, he was just interested to see what I would say.

As for being buff and sexy...you'd have to ask my wife I suppose But I thought the same thing...

Aren't mechanics supposed to have tattoos? And smoke?

reply to post by kyleisboss


Personally I think a girl with a tattoo is kind of hot. I wouldn't have a tat, but some ladies look wonderful with them. That said, I do have an earring; got it pierced just to PO my boss at the time I was finishing up my degree, LOL.

Originally posted by ignorant_ape
reply to post by kyleisboss

 

and a swastika tattooed on my hands,

i would not employ you either - can you guess why ?

You should learn to read the post more carefully....can you guess why??

Originally posted by Sly1one
I understand your frustration and it is completely warranted. I myself am covered in tattoos and every time I even slightly feel discriminated against because of them I get pretty defensive. I work for the state and I have had no issues regarding my tattoos because I think ultimately they know its a lawsuit I would win in a second, and yes I would go there.

I can guarantee you that you'd have absolutely no chance of winning this lawsuit.

You'd have as much chance as someone who sued their employer for not allowing them to turn up for work wearing nothing but a posing pouch.

Companies are quite rightly legally allowed to not employ someone because of tattoos that cannot be covered up.

Originally posted by LeaderOfProgress
As an owner and operator of a tattoo and piercing shop, I warn people on a daily basis that having tattoos on your hands neck and face can and will affect your ability to find employment. The problem is people do not listen. You were more than likely aware that this could happen, so why did you get them done knowing that it could affect your employment disposition?

In a valvoline shop all he has to do is put on work gloves. Then the proplem is completely avoided. No customerswould know and there would be no complaints. He even offered to do this, after being asked if he would. This is ridiculous.Sounds to me like they hired somebody else and just needed an excuse when asked.

A lot of managers now will avoid telling you they don't want to hire you. They will tell you it was a great interview and they want to hire you. Then when you can get in touch with them later they make an excuse. A lot of people are afraid of making an aplicant mad these days.

reply to post by kyleisboss


I got a Jewish tattoo on my left forearm and an Egyptian Ankh on my upper left arm.

If anybody says anything to me, I will bring out the Religious Grounds bit and they can go figure!

After all, you are allowed to wear a Turban or bed sheet with a letterbox slit to look through

Originally posted by minkey53
If somebody said your skin colour means you don't get a job, there would be an uproar!

We do not have a choice over which skin colour we are born with, which is why their would quite rightly be uproar if someone was not employed on these grounds.

We do have a choice on whether we have tattoos or not, and not finding employment because of having stand-out tattoos is something that people should take into account before they choose to have them.

It's all down to personal responsibility.

People shouldn't expect society to bend over backwards to accommodate their own personal choices.

I've noticed the economy has changed things quite a bit as well. 4 years ago, you probably would have been hired on the spot, but right now the competition for jobs is fierce!

The last position I hired for, I had 4 people with Law Degrees that didn't even get interviewed, and the position only paid $32k. We've been getting about 200 applications per position.

For a guy like you, 4 years ago construction and/or automotive would have been a gimme, but today, there construction is down, the automotive world is down, and there is a huge reserve of highly employable people with experience and skills in those areas, it won't be easy to find work.

Originally posted by tribewilder

Originally posted by ignorant_ape
reply to post by kyleisboss

 

and a swastika tattooed on my hands,

i would not employ you either - can you guess why ?

You should learn to read the post more carefully....can you guess why??

Come on ape; he said he DIDN'T have a swastika, naked lady et cetera. Read up!

reply to post by ignorant_ape


At least you proved your name fits. Try rereading the line you took out of context.

2nd line

reply to post by getreadyalready


To be honest, I thought the same thing. I suppose I should have just kept my hands in my pockets. As soon as he saw me, this guy had to know IMMEDIATELY he was not going to hire me. If he would have excused himself and asked me to leave, that would have been fine. Instead, he sat there and gave me a thorough interview, leaving me to assume that they interested. There was never a doubt in my mind that I would be hired. The issue was never even brought up by this guy...why waste my time AND your time if you KNEW you weren't going to hire me?

Thats the part the most disturbs me. Forget that job, you didnt even have enough decency to tell me straight out? You couldn't even call me after and let me know that I was no longer being considered for employment? That would have been the respectable thing to do, and I think maybe that's why I feel so slighted

reply to post by MikeNice81


Ape's a good guy. We all miss some things in posts.

I just hope kyle gets a break. I mean, tats and Valvoline don't mix? Huh?

Valvoline has no issue with tats. My neighbors kid who is covered in them because my neighbor owns a tat shop was just hired and fast tracking to MGR 3 weeks ago.

Tattoo issues have always been around. Everyone who gets them ( me too.. got mine in 1986) knows that in certain settings you will not be hired if you are tatted up. It not really anything new. OTOH I have 2 bracelets and was hired by a hospital and worked in an ER ....and my husband has tats and has worked for the DoD for 20+ yrs. SOmething tells me OP wasnt hired for some other reason than his tats.

First off - Welcome!

Secondly - Society is not slipping, it is vastly improving. When I was working in repair shops in the early / mid 90s I knew multiple experienced and good mechanics that had to take the crappiest of jobs in dinky shops just because the bigger shops wouldn't hire anyone with tattoos,long hair, and in some instances even facial hair.

Society has become much more accepting especially as all the older people who are stuck in the 50s are dieing off. We are still now stuck with the baby boomer prejudices which are less and soon as they begin to retire and leave the market en mass we will see even more tolerance. It's a process.

That said warehouse jobs, forklift drivers, etc etc can pay decent to good and generally don't give a darn what you look like as long as you work hard and can pass a drug test.

Originally posted by minkey53
reply to post by kyleisboss

 

I got a Jewish tattoo on my left forearm and an Egyptian Ankh on my upper left arm.

If anybody says anything to me, I will bring out the Religious Grounds bit and they can go figure!

After all, you are allowed to wear a Turban or bed sheet with a letterbox slit to look through

If you were fired and claimed your tats were as you say religious you would have merit.

Originally posted by kyleisboss
reply to post by ldyserenity

 

Funny story, I actually have relatively long hair for a male. Its about shoulder length. One of the questions asked by the regional manager interviewing me was whether or not I had a problem cutting my hair. I, without hesitation, said no that wouldnt be a problem. He laughed, and said he was only joking, he was just interested to see what I would say.

As for being buff and sexy...you'd have to ask my wife I suppose

But I thought the same thing...

Aren't mechanics supposed to have tattoos? And smoke?

Yeah what the heck? I was just saying I find long hair and tattoos sexy, the buff part, well usually they are because of physical labor so even if you aren't now, after a few months you would be. Both things (long hair and tat"s) my fiancee has and he used to be a mechanic at jiffy lube and now is in construction. LOL

reply to post by Advantage


Sounds like a pretty solid guy to me. BTW: love the pic, Metropolis right?

reply to post by Sherlock Holmes


Just because its within legal bounds does not make it right in my personal opinion. In the courtroom of the US maybe so, but in the courtroom of Morals (which appears to be getting increasingly smaller and smaller) I would say no.


Morals, however, are overrated nowadays it seems. Or they may just be extinct.

reply to post by mblahnikluver


Most companies have some kind of a dress code for their employees.

Even in a Valvoline Oil change place, the employees are most likely required to wear a uniform, and even though they may hire someone that has tattoos, they may make a decision based on whether they think the employee may be able to keep them covered up. Especially in an industry where an employee is using their hands for work that is dirty, they may feel that it would be impossible to do so and made a decision based on that.

I have a relative that works for a big insurance company. She tells me that all employees that have tattoos have to cover them up. Ladies that have tattoos on their chests or legs have to cover them with band-aids if they would be visible. And depending where the tattoos are, or even what they look like, or, I guess, whether they can be covered adequately, you can be denied employment. The same company has a rule against piercings, except for pierced ears. I don't know if the men are allowed to have earrings though.
This is even though the employees do not have contact with the public, and do not usually have visitors coming in.

Heck, I worked for a company that had a rule against * spandex *. Of course, the the rules were not always enforced equally, depending on what the *spandex* looked like on the person that was wearing it, lol. This company would also ask the ladies to wear dresses or skirts if we had customer tours coming into the business.

Another company I worked for would let the female employees in the plant wear jeans and the men and women in the plant wear shorts in the summer, but the men and women in the office were not allowed to wear jeans or shorts.

I, personally, do not care for tattoos and would never get one. I have told all my kids to think about how placement of tattoos would affect their employability, but unfortunately, my one of my sons has decided to get a *sleeve* and now the tattoos are slipping below his elbow. This means he will probably have to wear long sleeves at whatever job he gets in the future.

Unfortunately, if a person wants to have tattoos in certain, very visible places, you probably will not be able to get a job in certain industries.