A potential employer will never tell you this

Why didn’t you get that job? You were qualified. You were prepared. The young interviewer seemed to like you. Why?

Answer: You have a facial piercing.

Complain all you want. Rail against the man. But, the fact is, a facial piercing might prevent you from getting the job.

Is it just an outmoded prejudice common to old people?

Yes and no.

Yes, it is a prejudice of older people. Fifty years ago, it was not entirely accepted for a woman to have pierced ears.

Today, 83 percent of the population have an earlobe piercing, according to statisticsbrain.com.

The same research, conducted in 2015 by Northwestern University, showed that 14 percent have a piercing other than an earlobe. The most popular is a navel piercing. Next is a nose piercing.

Still, it isn’t just older people who look down on facial piercings.

A 2014 study by researchers at Iowa State University found that college students harshly judged pictures of people with lip or eyebrow piercings. The students judged the piercings much more harshly than older working adults. The students ranked the pierced people lower in every category including trustworthiness, sociability, competence and morality.

Best advice: lose the facial jewelry.