Filed under: Beauty, News, Skin & Body
Hayley O'Neil was reportedly told to put a bag over her face to help find a job. Photo: Cavendish Press
Hayley O'Neil, 23, may not have exactly cornered the market on dressed-for-success polish, but what she says happened to her at a UK employment center won't help her job search.
O'Neil, who has more than 20 body piercings (including multiple studs in her face) and 30 tattoos, claims a career adviser at Job Center Plus in Blackburn Lanc, England, told her to put a bag on her head, the Telegraph reports.
Was it at least a Gucci bag?
O'Neil, who got her first tattoo as an 18th birthday present from her mom, says the adviser told her, "Who would hire you looking like that?" and lectured her on first impressions. "He said: 'Look at it this way, if you were standing behind a wall or put a bag over your face do you think you would have a better chance?'"
A discouraged O'Neil says she offered to remove her piercings, even though it would make her look worse. She claims she left the job center humiliated and in tears, with no interviews lined up.
"He talked to me as if I was going through a phase in my life," she says. "This is a lifestyle choice and this is who I am."
A spokesman for the UK's Department for Work and Pensions claims nothing inappropriate was said to O'Neil, adding that she was just given standard work-search advice, including tips on appropriate workplace attire. (Um, since when has a bag over one's face become recommended office wear?)
Speaking of inappropriate work looks, read what happened to singer Katy Perry when she showed up on the "Sesame Street" set showing off her ample bosom.
Job Center Tells Pierced, Tattooed Gal 'Put a Bag Over Your Face' originally appeared on StyleList on Fri, 24 Sep 2010 13:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Comments
No comments:
Post a Comment