Graduation is approaching fast and the walk across the stage will not be the only steps the seniors will be worried about. Many of them will soon be required to walk the line between individuality and employment.
"It's important to keep your individuality, but at the same time it's important to know who the employer is," sophomore special education major Lydia Brauner said.
More obvious signs of individuality includes body modification, such as piercings or tattoos. Some employers frown upon such marks, while others are less concerned.
"It really depends on the industry. Industries that are more creative tend to be a little more accepting of tattoos and piercings. In your more conservative industries, it's not looked on as well," Willow King-Locke, assistant director of the Career Center, said.
Senior art photography major Cassidy Maley works at Steak n' Shake. She said she has been asked not to dye her dreadlocks by her supervisors.
Sophomore entrepreneurship major Jessica Cantrell has eight tattoos and numerous piercings, including her earlobes, which are gauged to one and a quarter inch. Gauging is a type of piercing that gradually enlarges the hole. She said she has seen evidence of the job climate changing.
"I've never had any problems. I've worked in a cubicle and behind a pharmacy counter, so I think that says a lot because those are jobs that typically wouldn't be as accepting," she said.
Cantrell said she refuses to give up her individuality for a job or career.
"All of those things are a part of me. I'm not willing to compromise any part of me, personally, nor anything that makes me feel more like me just to please someone to get a job. I'd rather flip burgers at McDonalds if I have to," Cantrell said.
The reasons for body modification discrimination might include the generation gap between employers and job-hunters.
"You don't see a lot of baby boomers walking around with tattoos. Those are the people who tend to be in power. Their perceptions aren't changing," King-Locke said, "Maybe once you get younger people into the positions, opinions might start to change."
King-Locke said first impressions are one of the most important parts of interviews. She reccommends doing as much as possible to cover up body modification.
"Cover it up if you can cover it up. Hopefully everyone's wearing a suit [to an interview]. I mean, that covers up a lot. If you have a nose or eyebrow ring, take it out. It's better for them to see you for who you are and your personality and all of your skills, than for them to judge you right off the bat for a tattoo or piercing," she said.
Tattoos can be covered, but a growing problem for job-hunters is gauged ears. While ears gauged to zero will normally end up reparing themselves, gauges beyond this point require surgical repair. In this case, King-Locke suggests using personal discretion.
Surgical repair is not an option Cantrell said she would consider.
"I would surgically repair my gauged ears only if I wanted to. I would never do it for a job," Cantrell said.
Brauner said the Career Center even has a book titled "What to Do with Your Nose Piercing" in their library.
Another piece of advice offered by King-Locke is getting in touch with someone who already works in the industry.
"If the student is worried about this then talk to people in the industry. Not only are you networking but you're getting advice from people who are in the trenches."
Cantrell said she won't be defined by society's standards.
"If i don't get a job because of my tattoos or piercings, then that's obviously an employer that I don't want to work for anyways," she said.
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