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With unemployment and a competitive job market, some candidates are rushing to get bad, noticeable tattoos removed.

Do tats keep you from landing your dream job? Maybe, maybe not. But many job seekers aren't risking it. Even the biggest inkheads will admit: getting a tattoo hurts.

So why are so many people flocking to get them removed?

"It may not be fair, but I do believe that appearance is extremely important to employers looking for employees to work in their organization," says Melanie Holmes, V.P. of Manpower Group.

That means many people are getting their tats zapped.

22-year-old Adrian Vasquez wants to be a Marine.

"There's a lot of reasons why I wanna join," says Vasquez. But there's one thing holding him back: a homemade tattoo he got when he was 13.

"It was kinda one of those [things where I] hung out with a bad crowd."

Marines can't have visible tattoos while wearing their dress uniform. Laser technician Renee Walters sees many cases like Adrian's at the Laser Centers of Wisconsin, where she has removed thousands of tattoos.

From eagles to roses to, yes, the dreaded "significant other" tattoo, she's seen it all.

"Ankles, necks, behind the ear," Walters says: visible places that many employers look down on.

"The majority of them I do get is someone changing careers, or maybe someone trying to better themself in a career."

Whether for personal or professional reasons, tattoo removal is big business.

"Getting tattoos is on the rise, so only makes sense tattoo removal is on the rise as well," says plastic surgeon Dr. Mark Blake.

Holmes does have some good news for ink-lovers.

"If I were a jobseeker, and had visible tattoos, I would do some research and find companies accepting of tattoos in the workplace. There are companies that are."

Tattoo removal isn't cheap. The laser procedure we showed you runs about 200 bucks a pop, and usually takes about six to seven sessions.