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Suitable has addressed many “soft wear” issues, from bras to belts. Graphics – otherwise known as tattoos – have also been covered (or, more appropriately, uncovered).

Which means that readers are now ready for what Toronto-based image consultant Sarah Collins calls “personal hardware.”

As counterintuitive as this seems, those contemplating a piercing should consider that a nipple ring may be a better bet than a nose stud.

Piercings below the neck are less objectionable than on the face because colleagues will likely never see them. When people flick their tongues to reveal a “barbell,” the action is not only distracting but disgusting. Brow bling can be a bigger bugaboo than a navel ring that's out of sight (everyone knows by now that midriffs never come out to play when working).

Last August, online career publisher Vault.com surveyed nearly 500 people and found 42 per cent admitted to having tattoos or piercings (not including pierced ears). Of the total group, 85 per cent believed that these can affect the job search.

Ms. Collins agrees. “If someone is staring at your nose, it might not augur well in an interview.”

She is sympathetic to individual expression but said that corporations still regard piercings as a way of defying the status quo. Cultural customs notwithstanding, they make prospective employers more aware of a candidate's personal motives.

“It's harder to relate to someone in that context,” Ms. Collins said. “It makes me question what people are trying to prove; there's a whole social nuance behind it.”

This can range from retaining a remnant of a person's rebellious past to wanting to embellish the face with something distinctive that requires more commitment than makeup.

But concealer is exactly what Ms. Collins recommends in an interview context. The piercing can come out and the hole can be covered up temporarily.

She said it's the type of thing that could be worn on a casual Friday, but candidates must consider the job before the piercing – in other words, the ring might have to go for good.

Some experts feel such measures are unnecessary despite the fact that piercings don't rank high on a company's list of favourite fashion accessories.

Bob Donald is an executive recruiter whose clients include many corporate power players. For him, piercings should have no bearing on performance, though he underscores that every posted position brings unique circumstances.

“I think in this world of common sense and non-bias,” he said, “you have to say, ‘Who is the person, what is [his or her] skill set and does [he or she] fit the organization's team?'”

What about a hypothetical candidate who looks fantastic on paper (an A-plus résumé) but walks into the office, the metal announcing itself before the handshake?

“I think instead of putting them on the spot, I would refer them to an image consultant,” Mr. Donald said.

And, as he pointed out, the issue is moot for people who work at call centres or who are not on the face-to-face front lines of business.

“I would be surprised if a corporation did not hire because of a nose stud,” he concluded after more reflection.

If that's the case, then having a stud in the office is not necessarily a bad thing.

Just bear in mind that colleagues will be divided on whether it's a small speck of acceptable sparkle or a cubic zirconia zit.