4 discussion 8 responses

A professional image is not solely defined by your choice of clothing, but by multiple personal factors. You are all unique and present yourselves in a unique manner, whether it is by the jewelry you select, the shoes you wear, how you do your hair, or through other means of behavioral expression. In this Discussion, you will present your ideas on this topic and respond to others' opinions and comments in a professional manner. Please respond to the Discussion below. Your posts should be in the 100–150-word range and your responses in the 75–100-word range. Respond to at least two of your classmates with meaningful comments. Support from unit materials or outside research should be included. Check out the Discussion topic grading rubric in the Course Resources area for information about how you will earn your grade for the Discussion. Body piercing and tattoos are very common in today's society. What is your perception of body piercing and tattoos related to professional image? Are piercings and tattoos acceptable in your industry? Have you seen this perception differ from one workplace to the next in your industry? Why? Contact a professional in your field and ask him/her about the issues surrounding this topic and share what you found out. Responses Body piercing and tattoos are very common in today's society. What is your perception of body piercing and tattoos related to professional image? Are piercings and tattoos acceptable in your industry? I have a couple different thoughts about this kind of stuff. I think that now days in society tattoos and piercings are more acceptable than they ever have been. Seeing them when I am getting services out in the public does not bother me at all. Piercings and tattoos are accepted in the field that I currently work in. Thank goodness, because I have several tattoos. The only guideline is that they are not offensive and they are not gang related. I did have a gang related tattoo which I had removed. Have you seen this perception differ from one workplace to the next in your industry? Why? Yes, it definitely does differ with the tattoos I they tell a story of pain and sadness but, also love and strength. They tell a story and sometimes stories go a long way in the profession I am in (drug and alcohol counselor). I could understand why someone wouldn’t want a massive

piercings or face tattoos for fear of judgement on their work. It’s inevitable for people to judge and we can only learn on our own who a person truly is. I also understand that some piercings could be a hazard to the work environment which would understandably work against someone getting a job. I think that piercings are a stage that someone grows out of. I have rarely seen an older gentleman with a nose ring connected to his ear. You never know though. Contact a professional in your field and ask him/her about the issues surrounding this topic and share what you found out. My boss explained that tattoos can be a way to connect with a person. In my field people are usually scared of law enforcement and by having tattoos it kind of let’s them know that I was one of them and that the goals they are working on will not be determined by what they may have done in the past. Class, I will start this discussion post by pointing out that I am active duty in the United States Navy. This is given for reference. I have not worked any civilian jobs in 20 years, and I do not know much about civilian requirements for dress. I am working towards retirement so hopefully I can pick it up quickly. With the disclaimer put out, I can write an opinion-based discussion post. For the military we have written policies that govern what you can and can not get for tattoos and piercings go against basic grooming standards. NAVPERS 15665I and NAVADMIN 110/06 set the standards for this type of thing. The policies have been loosening over the last couple of years as younger people are having more and more tattoos. Now for the opinion part that was asked for in the beginning. I have learned that when asked for your opinion, normally no one wants your opinion but wants to hear you agree with their own predetermined notion of what the right answer is. I will do it this way. In our reading was an old adage "Dress for the job you want, not the one you have," (Hosking, p-5) If you have a face tattoo or piercings all over your face I doubt you are going to be a fortune 500 executive. I would not look to invest with someone like this. I would look at them and say gee the guy with sexy across his throat makes good decisions, lets give him my money to invest. If you wish to have tattoos, then get tattoos. You have lots of skin to get tattoos on that you can see when you dress down for going out on the town. You can also present a professional appearance by covering them when you are at work. I have a friend that is an airborne ranger. I would say use to be, but he gets offended by that. He has both of his sleeves done with just about every generic army tattoo you can think of. The people that work for him have no idea. He wears long sleeve shirts even in the summer in order to present the image that he wants to portray. So, he

is dressing for the job he wants, not the job he has. He can have his sleeves and manage his team. If he wants to move up, then he needs a better image. -Charles Hosking, R. (2009). Career ladder. OfficePro, 69(8),5–5. https://eds-a-ebscohost-com.libauth.purdueglobal.edu/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=1&sid=b27f b689-5f5c-4d8a-981a-41f646ba8521%40sessionmgr4007