Know what you are choosing when you switch to visible ink
Q. I am a 23-year-old professional working for a pharmaceutical company based in the Boston area. My job includes the Southern New England area, and I have been ranked as a very high performer in the company. My current challenge is that I am very fond of tattoos. Although I have a few tattoos, they are not readily visible, especially if I try to conceal them with clothing. I believe that my tattoos are an artistic expression of things that I feel deeply about. My situation now is that I am anxious to have more of them done, and I want them to be on visible parts of my body such as my neck, my wrist, and my calves. I am aware of the way most of the corporate world might have viewed tattoos, but I believe that things have changed and that most people are used to them by now. Do you think that I will encounter too much difficulty or prejudice if I get additional tattoos?
A. The growth of the tattoo business is one of the strong indications of its increased popularity. Another indication is that we are seeing tattoos on more and more people of all ages. Although we see them with much greater frequency these days and in highly visible places, they still send a particular message in the work world. Years ago, when we saw a tattoo it was probably on a man who had possibly served in the military and wanted to show his patriotism on his muscular arms.
Today is a very different story. Now it is considered more a selection of artwork and of personal expression and both men and women equally love them.
A lot depends on what type of company you work for. Some industries are out there on the edge, and a tattoo anywhere would hardly get a glance. The nature of your work also should be considered when making this choice.
If you are designer of video games for
In your situation, only you know what message you want to send with your visible tattoos. Keep in mind that the permanent nature of tattoos makes this an important decision for your future as well. Tattoo removal can be very expensive and time consuming and doesn't always work completely. The
An associate of mine, who is knowledgeable in these matters, suggests that young people such as you seriously consider what your tattoos might look like when you age. As skin wrinkles, bodies sag, weight is lost and gained tattoos may be distorted and become less attractive.
The bottom line is that this decision may limit your options because you can't predict the audience reactions or the views of the person who holds the keys to your next job opportunity. More tattoos can truly be an acceptable choice as long as you are aware of the possible consequences.
Even if you do get the next job that you apply for, the one after that might be lost to you. The real problem for you is that you'll never really know why. You'll be told one thing but it might be simply due to concern about your tattoos. These are life choices that affect what we do later.
You have control of what you do with your body and the choices you make. People are very successful with or without tattoos so take the time now to consider the personal choice and what it means to you.
Ask your employees how you can improve
Q. Each year I spend a lot of time writing the performance evaluations for each of the employees who work for me and then meet with them privately to discuss their work, performance, and growth opportunities. All department managers in our company have been trained to do these reviews. My question is about my desire to know how my employees think I am doing as their manager. My boss gives me the standard performance review from his point of view but not from those I manage. I want to improve as a manager by learning what those who report to me really think. Any suggestions?
A. In order to learn what your employees think about how you manage them and your department there has to be a level of trust that you can handle information that may not be flattering and that you will not retaliate against them in direct or subtle ways.
Start the conversation with the employee with whom you have the best relation ship and be as reassuring as possible that he or she will be assisting you in ways that you value greatly and that you appreciate their openness with you.
I have five suggestions for you to consider using:
Ask your boss directly if he has any advice for you on ways you can improve your management skills or style. You may even ask if he has gotten feedback from any of your employees that may be helpful to you. If he responds, do not ask which employee said what because you will cut off valuable information.
At the completion of the performance evaluation that you do for your employees, ask the employee: If there is one thing that I could do differently in order to work more effectively with you, what would that be? If you don't get a response or you get an off the cuff answer, ask the employee to give it some thought and you will check in with him again in a couple of days. Often the answer is revealing about what bothers the employee most or what support they need from you that they feel is lacking.
Have the employee fill out the same form that you use for them but they do it on you as the department manager. Encourage them to complete the section on opportunities for development because you really want to become a better manager.
Develop a new short form with just three or four questions that you would especially like to have your employees answer for you. These questions should address any areas of possible concern or prior feedback that you have received regarding your management abilities or topics that you are already working on improving.
Ask to participate in 360 Feedback opportunities that your company may offer. The 360 Feedback tools will give you a confidential and broad view of what others in the company, including your subordinates, think about your performance in many areas. The tool is referred to as 360 Feedback because those people who work above, below, and around you such as your peers, your superiors, and your employees, all have the chance to give this feedback to you.
Assuming you do manage to get some valuable information and feedback from one or a combination of these ideas, then the real test will be how open and effective you are in addressing them.
Be honest about your goals in an interview
Q. How do I handle the following interview questions that I am asked a lot in job interviews? They usually ask about my goals for the next five years and sometimes they ask about the next 10 years. The truth is that I am really unsure and I don't usually plan that way. I do realize that is not the right way to answer their questions. Should I lie? What are the interviewers looking for?
A. The person interviewing you is wondering whether or not you are thinking about your future and if you are, how do those thoughts fit with the nature of the work that you are applying for. Some applicants say that they want to be president of the company in 10 years, but in reality they are applying for a teller job at a bank. Applying for an entry level job opening with little or no upside career potential but thinking that this job will get you to be sales manager in five years demonstrates a naive view of the corporate world.
On the other end of the spectrum is the person who answers that what they want in five years is to be in the same job. That, in fact, is an acceptable answer if the position fits the work pattern of the person. For example, an experienced electrician who is applying for a senior electrician's job at a company closer to his home because he wants to reduce his commuting time.
Don't answer that what you want in five years is to have the interviewer's job. This answer is so old that it no longer even gets a smile out of the seasoned interviewer, unless of course you are applying for a beginning recruiter's job.
The theme of your answer should be more. In five or 10 years you want more responsibility, if you're applying to be a manager, you want to develop more effective teams, more direct reports, more growth opportunities, more training, more challenging assignments, and the like. The exception to this is to say that more money is your primary goal. Wanting more money is generally understood and acceptable but as your main goal it can make you appear quite shallow.
It is very helpful to demonstrate how your goals have grown and changed over time and how, as you have matured, so have your goals.
Interviewers appreciate hearing about how recent experiences may have caused you to change your goals. I interviewed a woman once who said that her goal had been to be the supervisor of her customer service department until her boss went on maternity leave and she was the supervisor for three months. Now she has learned first hand that she no longer wants to manage people.
Avoid answering with statements about your personal wish list or dreams that you might have such as winning the lottery or becoming the next American Idol.
Whatever you decide to share with the interviewer about your hopes for the future, keep the answer focused on the goals you truly have and believe are possible within the context of the work you are applying for and the type of industry it is in.
Linda J. Lerner is a coach and a human resources consultant to small businesses and to individuals. She can be reached at Linda@Lernerconsulting.com. E-mail questions to jobdoc@globe.com or mail to Job Doc, Boston Globe, Box 55819, Boston, 02205-5819. 
