Wrapping an ornate dragon tattoo around your forearm may have seemed like a good idea at one time, but visible body art can often be hindrance to success, especially in the workplace.
According to a report from Philly.com, those sporting visible tattoos are struggling to get hired in the face of stricter corporate dress codes.
In short, clean-cut candidates with a traditional corporate appearance are more appealing to employers than those with visible body artwork.
A survey conducted by Careerbuilder.com showed similar results, according to MSNBC. After taking the pulse of HR managers, the job search site found that piercings, cited by 37 percent of hiring managers, are the top physical attribute that can limit an candidate’s career potential. Bad breath came in next, at 34 percent, with visible tattoos trailing not too far behind at 31 percent.
Nevertheless, tattoos seem to have gone mainstream, with one quarter of Americans between the ages of 18 and 50 having some body art. Thus, where the ubiquity of tattoos meets with the distate of potential employers, the lucrative business of tattoo removal has found a home. And despite the procedure costing thousands of dollars, business is booming.
A study by the The Patient’s Guide found that laser tattoo removal procedures increased by 32 percent in the past year alone.
What's more, 40 percent of respondents cited "employment" as their reason for having tattoos removed.