Interviewee with tattoo and eyebrow piercing

ngaskins

I recently interviewed a young lady for a bank teller position.   She has a very large tattoo across her neck  and a barbell ring on her eyebrow. Our policy states not tattoos are to be visible.  If you have one, it must be covered by makeup or clothing during work hours.  And piercings other than ears are not allowed.   My co-interviewer stated that all she saw was the tattoo during the interview...she couldn't remember what her skills or qualifications were.  Kinda of like the commercial with the stain on the shirt.

 My question is: When I write her "rejection" letter  should I mention that part of the reason she was not hired because of the tattoo and eyebrow ring? 

ivycross

Rejection letters in my opinion should be left generic...the less said the less problems that you can have.  If you tell her why and what the company policy is the young lady may tell you that she can remove the earring and cover the tattoo...so then the question is, what are her skills to perform the job.

efeldman

I agree.  A simple, generic "thank you for interviewing, we enjoyed meeting you...we chose a candidate who better met our qualifications...etc." will suffice.

You do not want to open yourself up to any potential liabilities by mentioning her neck art and facial jewelry.

 

 

HRforME

I totally agree with others on the generic reasoning.  If you get too specific, then you are opening your company up to an argument.  And bad publicity/community relations even if it isn't illegal.

 

 

ngaskins

Thanks to all of you that responded! I appreciate the input....I will keep the letter generic.