Black Lives Matter tattoos: Would you hire an applicant with this tat?
Is hiding your tattoo considered hiding your political stance?
Imagine walking into a job interview knowing that 49.39% won’t take you seriously if they see your tattoo. Reading that poll result from Workopolis caught me a little off guard. It’s not that I’m unaware some people don’t like tattoos. It’s more that the average person I meet these days has at least one tattoo, so I’ve grown pretty desensitized to seeing them. I also don’t care if someone has a tattoo. In 2020, I hired 10 people after interviewing at least 20, and I can guarantee you that body art didn’t phase me.
In all fairness, there are a couple of reasons for that. The first, and probably most important, reason is that I have a tattoo — technically I have five tattoos. They’re just all in the same spot. I got so many cover-ups in the same spot that my grandfather used to call me “Etch A Sketch” and a former co-worker called me “ComEd” (electricity company in Chicago) for getting laser surgery so much. I didn’t want a bunch of tattoos all over the place, so I’d just redo the same tattoo over and over again when I didn’t like it.
ADVERTISEMENT ~ Amazon
As an Amazon affiliate, I earn a percentage from purchases with my referral links. I know some consumers are choosing to boycott Amazon for its DEI removal. However, after thinking about this thoroughly, I want to continue promoting cool products from small businesses, women-owned businesses and (specifically) Black-owned businesses who still feature their items on Amazon. As of the first date of Black History Month 2025, each new post will ALWAYS include a MINIMUM of one product sold by a Black-owned business. (I have visited the seller’s official site to verify that Amazon Black-owned logo.) I am (slowly) doing this with older, popular posts too. If you still choose to boycott, I 100% respect that decision.
I’m also the artsy type who can get lost painting ceramics for hours and turned a simple bathroom wallpaper job into decorating my fuse box and entire hallway. I like creativity. Without standing up to count them, I have no idea how many framed paintings are on my wall, and that’s not even including the photographs from the days when photography was my minor in college. (I can fill up a bookshelf as tall as me with photo albums.) Besides writing, artwork is my thing. But what if your “thing” clashes with finding a job, specifically political or social justice stances? Are you more invested in the statement or more invested in a paycheck?