When is a visible tattoo too visible for a hiring manager?

When is a visible tattoo too visible for a hiring manager? A while ago I wrote a post titled 'Would you hire someone with a visible tattoo?' - and (unsurprisingly I guess) it still gets a load of traffic every single week. This is a question that comes up regularly with companies as they try to deal with the more and more people that now have tattoos. Now I am a fan of good ink, and while I do have a couple myself, you would never know it. And for me I guess that is the point for an employer. Tattoos hidden under normal clothing are one thing, but tattoos visible to their customers and clients take a little more acceptance. Yesterday I was doing some work on career sites and came across this disclaimer/question on the Center Parcs application form: Now the magic question is this: what happens if someone ticks one or all of the boxes? Do they fail to get the job? What do you think? The problem here of course is context. Obviously a big facial tattoo is probably not going to get you the job! But they don't ask what the tattoo is, how big it is or even ask for a photo (ok, probably not easy to manage!), but even if a candidate has a tiny wrist tattoo, they have to admit it, for fear of not getting a job (don't they?) Is there a difference below for you? They are both wrist tattoos, but is one more acceptable for companies than the other? Or are they both treated the same way? What do you think? Would these be acceptable for your company? Alternatively as a recruiter, would you even bat an eyelid with these types of tattoos? It is the first time I have seen this type of question, posed in this way on an application process. I am just wondering now if this will become more normal over the years to come? Image links here and here. If you like reading this blog, then click on the orange RSS icon here and get the latest Sirona Says posts delivered to your RSS reader or your inbox the moment they come out.