Does the way you appear affect your job application? Thoughts on how you dress, act and present yourself might be highly disputed, but the recruiting manager’s assessment of you as a person—and, more significantly, as a possible employee—is immediately influenced by these factors. However, there is still room for disagreement about what constitutes a ‘preferred appearance’ or ‘appropriate dress code’. Either way, the likelihood of getting hired has always been impacted by such corporate ethics. Ash Putnam, a TikToker, was recently displeased when T.J. Maxx rejected her application, and she believes her tattoos are the reason for it.
After applying for a job with the discount shop, Putnam received an automated email stating that she wouldn’t be considered for the job without an explanation from the firm. She then took her complaints to TikTok, where she shared them in a viral video.
Feeling that her apparent body art—such as the enormous silver ring septum piercing and the skull with horns on her neck—may have contributed, Putnam claimed she walked into the store to ask why she wasn’t given the job offer.
“I hate that my tattoos are such a defining factor for me getting a job or not,” she said in a recent TikTok cited by Business Insider.
“Just because I have tattoos doesn’t mean I’m not going to be a good worker.”
The California resident said that when she inquired about why she hadn’t been hired, the recruiting manager informed her that she lacked sufficient experience. The recruiting manager also disputed that her tattoos had anything to do with the decision to reject her.
The New York Post quoted her saying, “I asked her if it was about my tattoos, obviously because I know a lot of places don’t like tattoos.”
She continued by raising concerns about how a young person with no work experience is “supposed to get employed” in these entry-level positions. She said that some of the most “intelligent people” she had ever met had “piercings and tattoos” and that there was no connection between their physical appearance and intelligence.
“I just feel like this is something that needs to be talked about. It’s so annoying.”
Putnam works as an Uber Eats driver and makes extra money from her TikTok account and OnlyFans, she told the Daily Star.
She has many more visible tattoos that feature images associated with Satanism, such as a Leviathan Cross on the back of her hand and a goat on her breast with a pentagram on its forehead.
As per New York Post, her video received over 8 million views on TikTok.
A user was quoted by the news outlet commenting, “I worked at TJ Maxx and they will hire just about anyone that comes off the street it’s definitely the tattoos and piercings.”
Another user was quoted by Business Insider saying, “HR supervisor here. There is no way any company would put you in front of customers like T.J. Maxx.”
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