Can zoo volunteers have ****** piercings? What to wear? How does this work? How should I prepare?

Rox asked:


I would like to volunteer at my local zoo, as it is my dream to get into this field within the next few years. I saw a PDF file with a volunteer form on the zoo website that I have to fill out and mail in. My questions are:

1. How does the process work? Once they receive my application, what happens?

2. When I show up at the zoo, is there any chance they would turn me away because of my appearance? I am a 26 year old Asian female who is relatively tall, and I am a former makeup artist. I wouldn’t exactly blend in with the zoo staff, and I look somewhat high-maintenance due to my makeup, but I am not at all afraid of getting dirty. I dress fairly casually on a regular day. How does the typical process of hiring volunteers typically play out?

3. I have a septum (nose) piercing that I cannot flip up into my nose because of the way my nose is shaped (I have small nostrils). Are volunteers permitted to have ****** piercings such as these, or should I take it out when I am at the zoo? I am afraid of the piercing closing up.

Here is an example of my piercing, taken from Wikipedia:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6b/Septum_and_Earplug.jpg

I have an identical (to the girl in the picture above) septum ring in my nose.

4. How should I prepare? What will they ask me?

Thank you for any knowledgeable responses