Personal presentation at interviews?

Admiral Huddy said:
Do you think his appearance is affecting his chances?
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Absolutely, he views his tattoos (full sleeves, neck) and piercings (eyebrow and lip too) as ''who he is'' and therefore should not be hidden in interviews.

He has been to around 6 job interviews, he ultimately wants to be a primary school teacher. :confused:
 
All the more reason to think very carefully before having any permanent work done.

I have no tattoos or piercings but would it not be an idea to put them somewhere that could be easily covered when need be? A tattoo on, for example, the forearm can be covered with a long sleeve garment and normal piercings can be removed.
 
It makes a big a difference. I would never hire someone with a stretching to work in the environment that I work in. Tattoos i don't see as such a problem, as long as they are not on their face or too excessive or very rude. Piercings I don't think an eye or noes piercing is appropriate to wear to an interview for a professional environment, especially if it is client facing roll. Ear stretching is just stupid and i couldn't take anyone seriously who has stretching and wouldn't hire someone who had one, unless they were trying to recover from it. ie they had it when they were young but now regret it and have had it cut out and you can still see the damage.
 
think its the first 8 secs or something like that the person decides whether you have the job. appearances are very very important.
 
Admiral Huddy said:
Simple question really. Do you think your personal presentation at interview is important? When I say personal, I mean tattoos, piercings, hair etc. Do you think an employer is personally influenced as what he/she deems as acceptable.

Ear lob stretching for example, do you think this is acceptable or not? At the end of the day, does it not come down to the opinion of the person interviewing?

Thoughts?
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Employers will make a perception of you by how you look, that's human and unavoidable. How much they act on that depends on the sector in which they work and what job and person they are looking for.
 
Admiral Huddy said:
As said, does this not depend on the job? Let's say for a high street shop.

The reason I'm asking is my son has a stretcher and is looking for employment whilst he's studying. He's had plenty of interviews but not been successful. I can't help thinking that the piercing is restricting his chances because regardless of how you and I might feel, my feeling is that it comes down to the interviewer and how he perceives the individual.

Do you think his appearance is affecting his chances?
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In this instance I reckon it may well have a bearing. The interviewer is not only assessing your son in terms of capability / competence, but he will also be making the decision on whether your son is presentable to his many customers. By that I mean, does your son offer the corporate image the company is looking for whilst dealing with customers?

Depending on the shop and job role, piercings, tattoos, hairstyles etc may all have a bearing on the final decision. Rightly or wrongly, that is just how some companies work. I got told in no uncertain terms that wearing a thigh length leather jacket was not acceptable in a job I once had, as it did not present the corporate image that the company wanted.
 
groen said:
It makes a big a difference. I would never hire someone with a stretching to work in the environment that I work in. Tattoos i don't see as such a problem, as long as they are not on their face or too excessive or very rude. Piercings I don't think an eye or noes piercing is appropriate to wear to an interview for a professional environment, especially if it is client facing roll. Ear stretching is just stupid and i couldn't take anyone seriously who has stretching and wouldn't hire someone who had one, unless they were trying to recover from it. ie they had it when they were young but now regret it and have had it cut out and you can still see the damage.
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Tattoos, stretched lobes and peircings wouldn't look right in Tellytubby land, so it's no surprise.
 
Making an effort is all that counts. If you've got a face full of tatts and piercings you're going to find your choices limited, obviously. However having tatts and looking professional are not mutually exclusive.
 
Dj_Jestar said:
Making an effort is all that counts. If you've got a face full of tatts and piercings you're going to find your choices limited, obviously. However having tatts and looking professional are not mutually exclusive.
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How do you reliably and objectively define what "looking professional" is though?
 
Yes, in my experience. Employers should refrain from generating bias based on physical appearance, regardless of whether it is a customer facing role or not. However as ultimately this individual will represent or be associated with the organisation this often isn't the case.
 
As long as their appearance is suitable for the role and suitable for the interview. As a people manager I would certainly draw a judgement on how someone dresses for an interview - including whether they covered tattoos, what jewelry they wore (including piercings) and their general attire and appearance. If you are unable to moderate your appearance appropriatley for a job interview then in my opinion you would be unable to moderate your attitude or approach to varying workplace situations.

For context, I work in a highly professional client focussed business. My attitude would be different if it was for say a factory or call centre.
 
It shouldn't matter, but it most definitely does.

I've conducted interviews before where, in conjunction with other things, a candidates appearance is enough to put them firmly in the 'no' camp.
 
It's funny how people always talk about racism etc. But then making pre-assumptions on people based on their appearance is completely ok in a "professional" environment.

World would be such a better place without every narrow-minded idiot going against tats/piercings as the worst thing you can see in life.

Disclaimer: No visible tattoos or piercings here. Why should I care whether anyone else has/does not have them?

Edit: the culture in this aspect is very old-fashioned in Britain as a whole. In several other countries, they don't take it nearly as bad. Look at Russian businessmen for example, and no, they are not all mafiosos.
 
That's 'ascrimination!

It definitely matters. I know my employer would not have taken me on if I had stretched ear lobes, loads of tattoos, piercings etc. That is more likely due to the industry I'm in though. I have a hard enough time getting away with my goatee.
 
The act of judging someone in the first few moments of seeing them is no doubt a hard wired instinct we have. Now it is whether we like the look of someones hair, or attire. Before it would have been is this person a threat and should I fight or run away? Likewise the same process would be used to identify a suitable mate.

Whilst we can say it is not right in a modern society, I believe it is our nature and cannot be legislated out of our behaviour, no matter how much we would like it to be.

All you do if you try is make it an unwritten rule that still applies but is illegal. Hence the interviewer will think it but officially record another reason why an applicant is not suitable.
 
Making an effort, being presentable, caring enough about the position to tidy yourself up, all definite yeses.

But, wearing a suit to every interview? No. I disagree with that.
 
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