Getting a Tattoo Can Even Land You a Job

Having a visible tattoo can be an advantage for job seekers in some kinds of employment such as bartending as managers believe that body ink may attract younger customers and convey a positive image for the organization. In the study in UK found that managers were more likely to select applicants with a tattoo on their face for a hypothetical job as bartender in a nightclub. The research suggested that some managers think tattoos on staff can “positively convey an organization’s image”. Scientists showed that 192 people with managerial experience two versions of people’s faces, one with a tattoo added to the neck using image software, one without. The mangers were asked to imagine they were recruiting a bartender and to rate the faces on a scale of one to seven.

They gave the same face a higher score, 5.07 on average, when it was tattooed than when it was not, 4.38. The approval rating was higher for women with a tattoo: 5.14, compared to 4.51 for women without a tattoo. When considering the person for a role as a waiter in an up market restaurant where the customers would be older, managers rated the tattooed version of the face lower: 3.38 on average, compared with 4.67 without a tattoo. Researcher said that the mangers believed that having a bartender with a tattoo would attract younger customers who thought body art was trendy. Visibly tattooed job applicants can present as attractive candidates in the labour market because they can help to positively convey and organization’s image or brand, particularly in firms that seek to target a younger, edgier demographic of customer.

Tattoos especially in pop culture industries such as fashion retail are an effective marketing and branding tool. Body art can be seen as an asset in the labour market, as long as an applicant’s tattoos are compatible with the organization’s wider brand personality. This argument is compatible with anecdotal evidence that there has been, in recent decades, what might be called a ‘tattoo renaissance’ in which body art has figured more positively in mainstream society and popular culture.