Photo: AFP
An accountant from Cleveland, Ohio, is getting lots of attention after changing her LinkedIn photo.Jessica Leonardis challenging the idea that tattoos are unprofessional by posting a new company headshot showing off her full sleeves of arm tattoos. In one image, her arms are covered by a blazer, but in the other, she’s wearing the same office attire without the blazer and her body art is on full display.
Last September, the 36-year-old left the traditional firm she worked for, where she felt like she couldn’t reveal her tattoos in team meetings or to clients without risking future promotions or opportunities. Leonard took a position as a partner at Evolution Capital Partners, a small business private equity firm and when it was time for new headshots, she did some wearing the jacket for the company website and then some without the jacket for herself.
She says she was nervous about posting the tattoo picture on LinkedIn, but her boss gave her the confidence boost she needed by telling her to be “loud and proud” about her ink. “It is the content of one's character that is most important to us," saysJeffrey Kadlic, founding partner of Evolution Capital Partners. "We see Jess for who she is and embrace all of her because she shares our core values and is a tremendous talent. At the end of the day, that is all that really matters.”
- And it seems a lot of people agree with him. Leonard has received over 30-thousand reactions and thousands of comments on herLinkedIn postand she says the feedback has been mainly positive, but some folks feel the need to warn her to be careful about tattoos.
- “I think everyone needs to go where they feel comfortable in their own skin,” Leonard says. “They shouldn’t feel like they work in an environment where it’s hindering them as an individual.”
Source:Good Morning America