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Old 22nd May 2018, 21:09
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Father Dick Byrne
 
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Rugged Island
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Notwithstanding that this thread may be in the wrong place, because it relates to CPL training... May I offer some thoughts, as a recruiter:

It's hard enough now to find good candidates. Standards are lower than ever before and heading south.

Give me a hundred competent ex-NCO-aircrew candidates inked from torso to toe bar hands, face, and neck, and they’ll do very well. Public acceptance generally (and probably unlawfully) disbars the areas of the body mentioned.

I can comfortably accept a little self-expression when competence and professional standards are the upside.

I am also a fan of good tattoos. At their best, they can be amazingly artistic, deeply resonant, hugely significant, and seriously affirming. I often chat to people about their visible tattoos, and have never had a disappointing conversation (that said, I wouldn't enquire about ACAB across the knuckles). My last such conversation, with a young man serving me in a mobile phone store, led to my hearing a deeply touching story of father and son, war and service, and loss. I was left with a profound respect for the young man concerned. To those expressing a contrary view above, I recommend a much more open-minded approach to life in 2018.

Regarding cargosales’ post above, I’m not sure that the tattoos defined the outcome. I’ve flown with eminent single-seat FJ QFIs and QWIs with tattoos, who would have sailed through your processes, I’ve no doubt. That’s not to say they’re the crème de la crème but I hope you get my point.

So, if you’re in front of me, and inked, but your ink is not visible in business attire, you have nothing to fear. For the OP, you may wish to revise the location you have in mind for your own artwork.

Finally, I don't recruit for a sandpit airline; if you want to play in their sandpit, you play by their own daft rules. I wouldn't do that. The money is nothing like worth the misery, and I enjoy respecting my colleagues and employer too much.

Last edited by Father Dick Byrne; 22nd May 2018 at 21:19.
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