Tattoos Proving a Roadblock For Some Job Seekers
By Lynne Adkins
DRESHER, Pa. (CBS) -- That tattoo may be a problem at the job interview, and not only in corporate America.
Want a career in the military or in certain police departments? That visible ink could be a problem.
Stephanie Black, 27, of Dresher (Montgomery County), Pa., found out the hard way that the two demure tattoos on her wrists will have to go if she wants a career path that leads her dream job -- first, an internship with the Abington Police Department, which she hopes will be a stepping stone to a career in the military or the FBI.
"I'm sorry I have to get them removed because of the meaning behind them, but if I'd known back then that I wouldn't be able to have visible tattoos, I wouldn't have put them there," she tells KYW Newsradio.
Black, who paid to get the tattoos, says she will now pay to have them removed.
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Police lieutenant Steven Hochwind says Abington Township's policy states that no ink can be seen when in uniform.
"Some of the tattoos below the elbow, they're very large and they take up a lot of the arm, and at particular times it doesn't look as professional," Hochwind says.
And he points out, covering them up with makeup won't do. Most other employers with tattoo bans -- including the US military -- say the same thing.
