I feel that this has been a long debated topic and decided that it is something that I would like to talk about on my blog. There has often been a lot of stigma around people having tattoos and having coloured hair, with many people (particularly in the older generation) saying that people who have either (or both) of these are unemployable. Personally, I think that this is complete and utter nonsense and don't understand where this opinion came from.
We all look different and none of us look the same. We all have different personalities and interests that make us who we are. If we didn't have these then we would be lying to ourselves about who we really are - almost like playing a character.
We all like to express ourselves in different ways, and for some people this means dying their hair or having tattoos put on their body. People should be allowed to express themselves in whatever way they like, whether society likes it or not. The only person that should be allowed to tell you what to do is you and not anybody else; whether you know them or not. Obviously everyone has their own opinion and like to make this opinion known, but just because they have an opinion doesn't mean that they have the right to tell you what you can and cannot do. And if you want to dye your hair a random colour just because you want to, then go for it. If you want to get a tattoo because you like the look of it or it holds a special meaning to you, then go for it.
Now, moving onto the problem of having coloured hair and tattoos in the workplace. It is a common belief that people who have coloured hair and/or tattoos aren't as hardworking or as good at doing work as those who have natural looking hair and no tattoos (at least not any visible ones). As a young person, I have never understood this belief. As an example, when my dad's family found out that my cousin had got a tattoo, they all went mad. They were not at all impressed by it, but for me, personally, I couldn't see that there was anything wrong with it. I mean, at the end of the day, it's just a bit of ink on your skin. I get that it's there for life, but if it's something that you like and you want to have then you go for it.
But from what I can gather, people who do the interviews for potential employees don't just judge them by what's on their CV, but also by how they look. And if they interview someone who has coloured hair or visible tattoos then that person is pretty much guaranteed to have been put in the no pile before they've even sat down to have the interview. Even if their CV is MILES better than anyone else's, if they have coloured hair or tattoos then it's a big no-no. I read something online recently where someone said that they had been to an interview and for the interview they had covered up their tattoos. They were given the job and on their first day of work they turned up with their tattoos on show. But obviously by this point they had already been employed and their employer had realised that there was nothing they could do about it. So just because someone has coloured hair or tattoos doesn't in any way mean that they are unemployable.
I, myself, do not have coloured hair or tattoos. My hair is its natural colour and I do at some point want to get a tattoo, however I want to wait a while until I either find something that I like or can think of a tattoo idea that would be meaningful to me. But if and when I do eventually get a tattoo (or colour my hair) I would like to know that someone would want to employ me because of what's on my CV, and NOT take into account the fact that I have coloured hair or a tattoo. Wanting to work with children, possibly as a teacher, means that this will probably be a tiny bit more difficult for me as I know that employers don't like teachers in particular to have tattoos that are showing as, for the reason that one person told me, they're a 'bad influence' on children. I, personally, don't see what the problem is. Chances are that some of those children when they get older are going to end up with at least one tattoo anyway, so what's the problem? Plus the fact that many of them (if they're like me when I was a child) will have stick on tattoos.
To me, I don't see what the big deal is about people having tattoos or coloured hair in the world of work. One of my lecturers has purple hair, but does that make her a bad lecturer? No, it absolutely does not. If anything she's probably one of my most interesting lecturers that I have teaching me. It's slowly coming up to 2019 now and there are still people in the work environment who believe that people with coloured hair and/or tattoos aren't suitable for work. I don't understand this attitude and think that it's now time for change. We need to stop judging people by their appearance and start judging them by what it says on their CV and how they come across as a person.
I would love to hear your views on this topic. Do you believe that people with tattoos and coloured hair are suitable for work? If yes then why? If not, why not? Or do you have tattoos and/or coloured hair and have been turned down for a job for this reason? Let me know in the comments below.
Love Beth xx
No comments:
Post a Comment