As with most things, it depends. Though in this case, it mostly depends on two specific things: the person(s) that is/are interviewing you, and the type of company that you are applying to/for.
If the person is the deciding factor, than it depends on whether that person(s) is very modern (i.e. somewhat like 'liberal', in the US-sense) or very traditional, which pretty much amounts to their personal biases, be it good or bad. There's little anyone can do to prepare for this, aside from perhaps error on the side of traditionality (that's just how it is -- whether that's necessary a good thing, that's another question).
The other factor, and perhaps the more interesant factor, is the kind of company you are interviewing to/for, with the stereotypical lean and no-nonsense startups at the one end and traditional, big companies at the other end (think: financial sector).
There, you might be tempted to think that it's also a matter of modern vs traditionalist, but from my own experience it's a bit different. What matter more in big, established companies is whether the applicant makes the effort to dress up (aside from any job-relevant skills). With 'dressing up', I'm not only referring to which clothes you put on (i.e. not wearing leisurewear to your job interview), but also to your language (using cleaner language, with less swearwords), your manners (being more polite), your punctuality (arriving not to early, not to late), and even your personal hygiene (a shower and a shave, so to speak).
So, after that long introduction: I think piercings might count against you, if they are perceived as proverbial leisurewear, which could (though importantly: need not always be) interpreted as not taking the effort to 'dress up'.
A fairly relevant (part)talk of the ever so eloquent Stephen Fry:
That's what I thought. I personally always try to look clean, polite and etc. and I find my piercings more like accessories that make my look more sophisticated (I don't look like I just came from a EDM rave party, or at least I try not to). An other question would be if I could leave them out of the interview and with time try to understand what's the company stance on their employees look, if I ever get the job in the first place.
Yes, that's a good question. I deliberately left that out of my answer because things are complicated enough, but there's indeed a difference between (1) during the job interview and (2) while actually working for the company. The implicit need to dress up (when there is one) tends to be substantially higher for a job interview, simply because that's a singular opportunity for you to present yourself and for them to interpret what they see in light of what they expect from their applicants (whether that approach is at all efficient, that's yet another different question).
So depending on the company, it could entirely be possible to not wear piercings during your interview, but in the long run still wear (some of) them on the job. That's of course not a given, just like some companies expect their software developers to wear a suit at all times while others only require it for a job interview but have no issue with wearing t-shirts on the job. And the same goes for punctuality or e.g. the use of swearwords (I've yet to come across a company that bends on personal hygiene though :-) ).
Depending on how much it means to you to be able to wear your piercings, it might be good to find out in advance whether they would be open to it. It would however advise against asking that during the job interview, because that kind of question tends to take center stage.
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As with most things, it depends. Though in this case, it mostly depends on two specific things: the person(s) that is/are interviewing you, and the type of company that you are applying to/for.
If the person is the deciding factor, than it depends on whether that person(s) is very modern (i.e. somewhat like 'liberal', in the US-sense) or very traditional, which pretty much amounts to their personal biases, be it good or bad. There's little anyone can do to prepare for this, aside from perhaps error on the side of traditionality (that's just how it is -- whether that's necessary a good thing, that's another question).
The other factor, and perhaps the more interesant factor, is the kind of company you are interviewing to/for, with the stereotypical lean and no-nonsense startups at the one end and traditional, big companies at the other end (think: financial sector).
There, you might be tempted to think that it's also a matter of modern vs traditionalist, but from my own experience it's a bit different. What matter more in big, established companies is whether the applicant makes the effort to dress up (aside from any job-relevant skills). With 'dressing up', I'm not only referring to which clothes you put on (i.e. not wearing leisurewear to your job interview), but also to your language (using cleaner language, with less swearwords), your manners (being more polite), your punctuality (arriving not to early, not to late), and even your personal hygiene (a shower and a shave, so to speak).
So, after that long introduction: I think piercings might count against you, if they are perceived as proverbial leisurewear, which could (though importantly: need not always be) interpreted as not taking the effort to 'dress up'.
A fairly relevant (part)talk of the ever so eloquent Stephen Fry:
That's what I thought. I personally always try to look clean, polite and etc. and I find my piercings more like accessories that make my look more sophisticated (I don't look like I just came from a EDM rave party, or at least I try not to). An other question would be if I could leave them out of the interview and with time try to understand what's the company stance on their employees look, if I ever get the job in the first place.
Yes, that's a good question. I deliberately left that out of my answer because things are complicated enough, but there's indeed a difference between (1) during the job interview and (2) while actually working for the company. The implicit need to dress up (when there is one) tends to be substantially higher for a job interview, simply because that's a singular opportunity for you to present yourself and for them to interpret what they see in light of what they expect from their applicants (whether that approach is at all efficient, that's yet another different question).
So depending on the company, it could entirely be possible to not wear piercings during your interview, but in the long run still wear (some of) them on the job. That's of course not a given, just like some companies expect their software developers to wear a suit at all times while others only require it for a job interview but have no issue with wearing t-shirts on the job. And the same goes for punctuality or e.g. the use of swearwords (I've yet to come across a company that bends on personal hygiene though :-) ).
Depending on how much it means to you to be able to wear your piercings, it might be good to find out in advance whether they would be open to it. It would however advise against asking that during the job interview, because that kind of question tends to take center stage.