With the rise in popularity of tattoos, more and more people are becoming accepting of them in a social setting. However, the world of jobs and interviews is not as forgiving in terms of inked skin. One mother, who is a tattoo addict, and covered in ink, has opened up about her struggles to find employment. She says no one will hire her because of her many tattoos.

Tattoo addict mom struggles to find work

45-year-old Melissa Sloan is covered from head to toe in tattoos. She is a mother, and she is now struggling to find employment so she can support her family. Melissa says it is her tattoos that stand between her and securing a job. The tattoo addict started inking her skin at the young age of 20. She revealed to the Daily Star in an exclusive interview that her boyfriend is the artist of most of her tattoos. They are done in a “prison style” at home.

There are many intricate and extremely bold designs she has tattooed on her face, including playboy bunnies on her cheeks, marijuana leaves on her scalp, and hearts covering her eyebrows. Furthermore, she reportedly has spider webs on her breasts.

“It’s like when you have a cigarette or a drink, you get addicted,” said Melissa. “I can’t stop it now, it’s addictive, for me anyway, I just can’t stop it. I carry the [tattoo] gun around with me in the boot, I’ll get one in the car or anywhere.” She added, “My boyfriend does them, he does my tattoos prison style.”

Read: Mom is criticized for piercing her daughter’s ears at just one day old

The employment struggle

Melissa, the tattoo addict, opened up about her struggles to find employment. She mentioned how she has not managed to maintain a job for a long period of time. “I can’t get a job,” says Melissa. “They won’t have me. I applied for a job cleaning toilets where I live and they won’t have me because of my tattoos.”

This has led people to think she has never had a job. however, she told the reporter she was once a toilet cleaner, but it did not last long. “The first job I had was cleaning ages ago, cleaning toilets,” informed Melissa. “People have said I have never have had a job in my life, I have had one once and it didn’t last long.”

Melissa confirmed that she is very willing to work, if only someone would hire her. She said she would take any offer and start the next day. This shows her dedication is present. “If someone offered me a job tomorrow I would go and work – I would take that offer,” she said.

How tattoos affect your ability to get a job

Seeing as modern-day society has progressed so much, how is it that tattoos are still frowned upon in the world of work? According to a study done by Workopolis.com, it seems that tattoos are still a problem on the employment front. They asked various businesses and employers what their views on hiring people with tattoos is. Bearing in mind, this would depend on the type of job they were applying for. In other words, a tattoo parlor is bound to be more accepting of inked skin.

Workopolis got 300 employers involved in the study. 14% said tattoos would definitely affect their decision to hire someone, in that they would rather not. 23% of the employer said it did not matter whether or not the candidate had tattoos, and it will not affect their decision. About 35% of the employers said it depends on what job they are hiring for, while 28% said it depends on how many tattoos they have, and where they are placed.