Wes’ Blog

A couple weeks ago I was filling out an application for an internship at a theme park. How this didn’t strike me then I don’t know, but it is striking me now. Two of the questions were about visible tattoos and hair length. Appearance is very important to this park and other organizaionts as well.

As I think about this topic, I can’t help but think of my friend with visible tattoos on his forearms. Are those tattoos going to come back and bite him? If he wanted to work at this theme park then…yes.

Appearance is something that is overlooked by college students. I go to class looking like a slob and don’t really care. Sad to say, but sometimes I go to work looking a little sloppy. But in the “real world” that shouldn’t fly.

I raise the question, should an organization penalize (not hire) someone for something they did when they were 18 or 19 years old?… I think it depends on the situation.
· If a company has a dress code or a policy about employees appearance before the person applies, I say they can turn them down. No questions asked.
· But if there is no policy about appearance then turning someone down for tattoos or appearance, I believe is wrong.

What can I do about it? Nothing really. I can only make sure that my appearance is the best it can possibly be when I start applying for jobs. I have realized that means no visible tattoos for me. Thus, no tattoos for me at all because who wants a tattoo if it isn’t going to be seen? Not me.

All I am saying is BE CAREFUL. The decisions we make today may have a great impact later in life.

Get a visible tattoo if you want it. But don’t complain if you don’t get a job because of your visible tattoo. You should have thought about that when you got the visible tattoo.