Spring Break Mistake?
 

I am really excited about upcoming fall recruitment. I go to a SEC school that is VERY competitive, but I've been working really hard on my grades, getting recs, etc.

I just got back from Spring Break, and while I was away I decided to get a tattoo on the top of my foot. It's not very big and not anything weird looking, but I still have to wonder if I made a mistake getting it before recruitment (according to my mom, I did). What do you all think? Should I hide it during recruitment? Will it affect my chances of pledging? :o

Yes and Yes

Hide it.

I consider tattoos to generally be a bad idea, especially when you get them when you're young or in a place that isn't always easily hidden.

That's a life thing and not specifically about recruitment.

agreed!

You're already going to have a harder time getting a bid at an SEC school as an upperclassman. The tattoo may be viewed as out-of-place at an SEC recruitment. Not to say there aren't sorority women with tattoos all across North America... but I would suggest covering it up.

It depends on the school. It depends on the individual GLO. It depends on the tattoo. To be safe I'd consider buying some heavy duty professional grade cover up makeup.

Oh, come on people. It's not that big of a deal, even in the SEC! I'd say a LARGE percentage of the sorority women have them. I will say...the more urban the university, the more likely you'll see people with multiple tatoos and multiple piercings. But if it's small...don't worry about it.

Better to start getting practice now. Many places of employment will think it inappropriate to display as well.

I have a tattoo on the top of my foot- so does one of my pledge sisters, We both had them before recruitment and it didn't hinder either of our recruitments.
then again- i go to school in canada and I have no idea what rush is like in the SEC.

Picture yourself when you're 37 or 38, you've been working your keister off in your chosen field to build your work history, credibility and respect.

You go into a huge negotiation or a major board meeting or a next-step-up interview with the big cheese, you stride in full of confidence, you've got your best suit and fabulous shoes on, you sit, cross your legs and ... staring up is this cutesy memory of spring break when you were 18, 19, 20 that you didn't think to at least get in a place you could conceal at appropriate times. Your credibility will drop instantly.

Just wear socks with your sandals during recruitment -- you'll be fine. :rolleyes::p;)

I don't think it'll be as big of a problem later on in life as people say. It all depends on what you're going into. I have VERY visible tattoos (one on each wrist) and I had no problem getting a job, into a sorority, or during interviews for things like Leadership conferences.
Now I can't say how it'll affect you going through recruitment, but foot tattoos are pretty common and I wouldn't worry as long as it's not obscene. ;)

Well, duh, of course it technically depends. :)

But the OP was asking for our opinions as outsiders. She can't both hide it and NOT hide it. She probably also can't conduct an interview of tattoo'd sorority girls and aspirants at her school.

So it's better to be safe than sorry. This is one reason why tattoos and certain types of piercings are generally a bad idea (I personally don't like them), unless you plan on being surrounded by the same people everyday of your life and not venture into unchartered terrorities in your professional and personal lives.

No one wants to read her "A Tattoo Ruined My Chances" thread on GC so she should hide it. :p

That would make her recruitment thread very short, and would lessen the amount of greekchat I have available to read while I'm at work, so I see your point. ;)

By that time, the HR person and the company president will also have tattoos.;)

Maybe in 25 years or so (although I still think the non-tattooed and non-strangely pierced will always rise higher and faster in more serious companies no matter how many years go by), but not in the next 10-15. My generation will still be at the highest levels and setting the tone and cutesy foot tattoos would not win hiring executives I know over.

Just to answer a few questions, I go to Bama, and I think they have a separate quota for upperclass PNMs.

Thanks for your replies and suggestions. I really do appreciate your input.

Recruitment is a situation with a specific sort of dress code, and it makes you look socially unaware to deviate from it. That said, I highly doubt, that should she receive a bid, that her sisters would be shocked and disgusted that she has a tattoo. I'd be willing to bet that she would not be the first sorority woman to have a tattoo, even at a school as conservative as Bama.

For example, during recruitment, no PNM or active would wear sweats. But of course, almost everyone wears sweats at some point, for some occasion, be it sleeping, lounging around the house, to class, tailgaiting, outdoor activities, exercising, etc. Just because sweats aren't appropriate at recruitment doesn't mean they're never appropriate or that people who wear sweats are sloppy. I think the same can be said about tattoos, it's ok to have one, just don't show it at recruitment (or job interviews and other professional situations).

OP, depending on the size and exact location of your tattoo, you can experiment with different sandals and footwear to cover it. A slide with two medium-thick bands or one thick band might work, or a closed-toe mule with a high vamp. Plus, you could cover the tattoo with a band-aid and wear whatever you want and no one will ask questions.

Exactly.

Not really. :)

At least 10 girls in my chapter have small tattoos, many on their feet. Of course, I do go to school in Washington. That being said, I really do not think that a tasteful tattoo is going to prevent you from getting a good job or being successful--the OP didn't say that she had something tattooed on her entire back, or face, or anywhere particularly obvious, I'd say that the tattoo is a permanent part of you and that if you have to hide it to get into a chapter, then I'd question why you want to be in a sorority with girls who wouldn't have accepted you because of something small like that.

Said like a true Logger! Unfortunately, it's my understanding (not from personal experience) that the SEC is actually a parallel universe with different rules of propriety. Not better. Not worse. Just a different environment. To the OP: you know your situation, and if you're self conscious about it then cover it.

PS: would you PM me and tell me what it's of? I'm a mod enthusiast, and I have 5.5 hours in the chair of my own. Haha... says the other Puget Sound Logger!

What she said.

if you are questioning whether or not you should cover up the tattoo or not, and have labeled your thread "spring break mistake" then you have just answered your own question. cover it up.

I have a little tattoo on my foot, and I cover it with a bandaid when need be (during recruitment, if I'm wearing something at work that would show it, etc.). Not really a big deal...

Digressing, but I can't agree with you more. I remember one of my friends, who sports some sort of Gaelic band around her bicep, was told specifically to "cover it up". She was basically prohibited from wearing short-sleeve tops in a business casual environment. I do know that she is viewed as somewhat rough-around-the-edges by the directors of the company.

To tatoo or not! Just look at the sailors from WWII now in their 80's. Ugh!! Looked great on young bodies, now ???? on great-grandparents? In the long run it really doesn't matter. The group you are rushing will like you for who who are but I would recommend covering it just in case.

tats
 

My gen is still interviewing and hiring and I would say cover it up. What you do on your own time is great but don't show it in your professional life IMO.
ZTA 72

I'm kind of suprised at some of the answers. I think a better question is would you associate with a sorority who would judge you for having something as trivial as a small tattoo on your foot.

I don't think I could ever associate with a sorority, company, or significant other who would judge me (and other people) harshly because of a tattoo or any other form of self-expression, as long as it isn't too outlandish.

Tattoo Check is on open house day. COVER IT UP! I can name 5 houses off the top of my head that would drop you first day without speaking to you because you have a visible tattoo... If they don't notice it by Bid Day, they won't care once you are in (as long as it stays just a foot tattoo). You all can throw out your "self-expression" babble if you want, but that's just the way it is. Most people don't think that tattoos are okay. Also, when you have to cut hundreds of women in one day, you have to have something to cut them by.

So are you saying that actives will actually check for it? As in, if they saw a band-aid on a PNM's foot, they'd ask questions?

They probably wouldn't ask if she had band-aid on, but yes, they check.

Um, what the fuck???

And most people have sticks faaaaaaar up their twats.

That was classy! I sure hope you don't kiss your mama with that mouth!

<<settles deep in the cushions and looks around for the popcorn>>

And you know what you should do with YOUR mouth? Nevermind, I won't go there.

No, I don't. Why don't you inform me? Then I'm sure your point here will be proven, right? What was your point after all? That any sorority that might judge a person based on a form of "self-expression" is not worth joining?

Well what do you think about members of organizations that use hateful, disgusting and rude remarks to make themselves feel better? Any chapter that would put up with a member like that isn't worth joining either. So how about you stick with your trash-accepting organization. And I will stick with my chapter that holds its members and those members' representation of their organization up to a standard.

You can't uphold a standard without judging whether or not a person meets that standard.