Second, whenever I have several job offers on the table, the first deciding factor of which ones I take is the companies’ policies on such things as tattoos, homosexuality,paternity leave, etc.

None of these things effect me directly, but I feel like they all are good signs about whether or not they care about supporting their individual employees.

I will not work with people who disregard hiring someone (or will fire them in the future) based on lifestyle choices that are alternative to their own values. This is the kind of attitude that will eventually stagnate the entire company. Tattoos, piercings, homosexuality, and “alternative” gender roles (such as men being homemakers) are all becoming more widely acceptable, and by not allowing any visible tattoos or piercings of any kind the amount of people you are ignoring is growing exponentially.

Good luck on your quest to stay in the past, ladies and gentlemen.

But I have a college degree and graduated cum laude. I am serious about my profession and about those I serve. I’m a high school teacher. I would be devastated if I were one day told I shouldn’t teach because I have tattoos.

In fact, I may sue over that one. As far as I have heard firing someone because of appearance is discrimination. Just as firing someone over weight, color or religion is discrimination.

A face really does make a difference — even which side you show. See:
http://www.charmaineyoest.com/2006/06/the_camera_loves_you_baby_here.php

Best,
Jack

The Small Business Trends blog had a post earlier this week about whether or not you should hire job candidates with body art (Job Candidates With Body Art: Hire Or Not?). I believe that it depends on the position the

I think my sister has a tattoo. My dad was in the Navy. I was in the Army. I’ve hired wild coders and graphics humans of unknown gender. Eye shadow used to be a clue. I’ve been surrounded by blue ink.

(Which is, as you imply, much better than red ink.)

Zig Ziglar would often say, “You can feed your ego, or you can feed your family.” And landing a deal might be difficult with distractions, however artful.

But Your Business Blogger does hold for hiring people who are very different — violating my symmetry and chemistry rule:

http://www.charmaineyoest.com/2005/09/hire_the_homosexual.php

Consistency being the hobgoblin of little minds…

Thanks again,
Jack

But keep this in mind. . .these twenty somethings that are expressing themselves in this way are very open minded, creative, outside-the-box thinkers. Granting them an employment environment that encourages their expression and creativity – may lead to some great new things, new ideas, creative technology. And everyone knows the old saying “Don’t judge a book by it’s cover.” I know some pretty intimidating and fearsome looking fellas – covered in ink from head to toe in skulls and flames – and they are some of the sweatest people I’ve ever met.

The days of associating body art with Hell’s Angels and convicts are gone. Body art has moved out of back alleys and biker rallys and into the suburbs. And I would guess that at least 60% of today’s college students – tommorrow’s leaders – have at least one example of body art. And it is quite possible that your recent hires, the attractive young women you referred too in the post, may have you fooled. They may be sporting a butterfly on their lower back, or a flower on their shoulder – that isn’t meant for everyone’s eyes to see. Ask around – you may be surprised!

To overcome my shortcoming, I have been lucky to work with people who could make human resource evaluations looking beyond such external statements. I trust my managers’ judgment.

For example, a few years ago, one of my staff made a hire and the twenty something young man had to work near my area. He came to work around me with band-aids on his ears.

Now, young Alert Readers know instantly what’s going on. But not me. I had to ask his boss, if everything was alright.

“He’s fine,” said the manager. “He’s just covering up the holes.”

I was dumbfounded. Which is quite normal. (But of course, I didn’t show it. Your Business Blogger finds that stern, direct eye contact covers any lack of comprehension and competence.)
http://www.charmaineyoest.com/2005/11/the_first_lesson_in_how_to_loo.php

But I was humbled to learn that anyone would care what I thought. Doesn’t happen much. Even when I write the checks.

Paul, the young man went on to do outstanding work, as you might have guessed from the wisdom you use on making your hires.

But they better not smoke around me.

Best,
Jack

I, too, fall out of that age range and I do not have any tattoos. But I have hired people with both tattoos and body piercings and they are exceptional people. One in particular has both the talent to create great graphic designs AND write the application source code to make a Web site run. If I had used a “no tattoo” policy, I would not have found him nor hired him.

I also know many people use a college degree as a filtering technique. This, too, can lead to some qualified candidates not being considered. The key is to figure out what you are looking for in a person, then add in the “nice to haves” so that you don’t miss out.

Again, I did not say that you wouldn’t find the “best” candidates, because “best” will include your own (important) criteria. The labor market is tight today and I am all for finding great people who have talent, integrity and want to work as part of the team. I cannot afford to exclude some of these folks due to their preferences for expressing themselves through body art, the same way that I don’t care what car they drive, what house they live in, who they hang out with or within acceptable business boundaries, what clothing they wear.