The Most RIDICULOUS Job Rejections You Will Ever Hear
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 15 ต.ค. 2024
- I’ve seen and heard of people getting rejected for all kinds of reasons over the years. Usually the reasoning sings something to the tune of being either underqualified, overqualified, or something in between.
But every now and then, you hear of reasons to outrageous, they’re almost laughable.
So in typical fashion, I thought it would be fun to take a look at all of the most ridiculous reasons, anyone has ever been rejected from a job application. Enjoy!
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Back in the early 90s, I was told that I lost a job because the person who interviewed me hadn't received a thank you letter-TWO days after the interview. They said I was the best candidate for the position, but I wasn't grateful enough to have immediately typed out a letter and mailed it to them. I dodged a bullet there.
This would have been a strong contender for the list...
Tha ts crazy
Oh yeah, they really did you a favor!
Oh my days 😮
Thank you for what? 😂
Hiring someone is not a favor to then. It’s a mutual exchange.
I used to work in a fish and chip takeaway shop with a restaurant attached upstairs. Sometimes the counter staff would go upstairs to help the person who ran the restaurant.
When one of the girls who worked as a waitress up there quit, I asked if I could be considered for the role, as I enjoyed the work.
I was told I would potentially be allowed if I "Straightened my hair and wore more makeup because then I might be considered pretty enough"".
My hair is naturally curly, but I tie it back to keep it tidy. Admittedly I wasn't wearing makeup, but bear in mind I worked at the counter of a fish and chip shop. It was hot and greasy and sweaty down there. Make up would have been not just unsanitary but also just gross feeling as it began to melt etc.
To this day I still think that was definitely a bad reason to not be allowed to apply for the position of waitress upstairs. Didn't know you had to be a natural beauty to serve fish and chips before that.
I once dodged a howitzer shot.
It was for a job in the international division of a consulting firm. A man walked into the interview and asked if I was related to one of my uncles; I said "yes, he's my uncle, why?" and he told the head of the international division "don't even think about it". "Hey, next time you'll reject someone for their lastname at least do it before they come, save them the trip!"
Asking my uncle: dude had been one of uncle's coworkers until he caught wind that uncle was investigating him and hoofed it (uncle was one of the internal auditors in their accounting team). The investigation eventually proved that several of dude's closest buddies had been stealing from the company. Dude was the head of the national division for this other company I'd been interviewing at.
I'm female, some 25 years younger than Uncle and not an accountant, but hey: "don't hire her, she's likely to be honest" is a compliment in my book.
Yeah, that guy is just a walking red flag at that place.
I am sure the thoughts he had were "Uncle SameSurname busted me last time, the kid won't ruin my pillaging here!"
Ah that old "you're not a good cultural fit" chestnut. By cultural fit we mean you don't like robbing the company and aren't a wrongun.
The real estate example here: I would have turned this back on the interviewer by saying that "A conflict between a viewing and my mother's funeral would never come up because that would be such an insensitive situation that it could never come up in a company that was run by any manager with an ounce of humanity. Don't you agree?" If they didn't immediately back track I would then tell them that they don't come up to my required standards as an employer and terminate the interview.
Reminds me of an I terrier a friend had. They wanted her to run a battery (gauntlet, really) of tests to see if she would be a good fit. She turned it back on them. She wanted to interview the person currently in the position to decide if she even wanted the job, and not waste both her own and the company's HR's time. She was hired that day.
That deaf interview deserves a discrimination lawsuit.
I got this feedback for a Design Leadership role:
“You came across as too polished, you interviewed really well, and your portfolio presentation really resonated with the hiring manager. They just thought you were too good for the role.”
In other words, the manager was scared of you. You were better than them and they were afraid you'd get their job. It happens quite often.
If I were the deaf actor, I'd have taught my replacement all the wrong words. The entire Deaf community would have eaten the movie producers for dinner! lol
Actually a great idea :D
Love it. Casually signing “I’m not actually deaf” throughout the film 😂👌
Maybe sneak in a few rude ones as well, or maybe ones that reveal the rejection, ie they rejected a girl for this part because she is deaf, and then cast me, rewrote it, and got her to train me in one day!
I was rejected for a job in another department with the same company I worked with. When I asked why, they said “you don’t have the right qualifications and experience.” Then they listed the requirements and I said “I have been doing all of those tasks for this company for 7 years! I also do..” and I listed all my other job duties. The HR person then asked “Well then why are you applying for this position?” To which I replied “Because it is 50% less work 30% more pay, no 24/7 on call, no nights and weekends. As opposed to my current position which is a lot more responsibility, a lot less pay, graveyard shift Thursday through Tuesday plus a daytime Tuesday staff meeting and the same job title.” The next day that other job listing was gone, nobody was hired for it, and I never heard from that HR rep again.
This reminds me of an interview I did where the interviewer asked, "If you were in a situation where you weren't prepared for something, but called on to do it, how would you proceed?"
I tried to give my best answer in the realm of "I'd do what I can, try to figure out what's possible, possibly ask for help, etc."
His reply was that I should NEVER be in a situation where I'm not prepared and ended the interview shortly afterwards. He GAVE me the scenario. Don't ask questions you don't want answers for.
Ooo this would have been a contender for the list. Might have to do a Part 2 from these comments alone
I've come to the conclusion to NOT take interviews personally anymore. You'll either get people who are incompetant interviewing you (I've seen it from within, where people who aren't technically interviewing people for technical roles) OR, as I've also witnessed this and had it happen to me twice, they already have someone they want for the job, but HR has made them have interviews anyway. So they fudge the interview so everyone else is rejected and their "mate" gets the job instead.
I cannot roll my eyes enough to respond to that!😂
So...correct answer is "I'd quit because I'm not working for a company that puts me in that sort of situation"?
It's a gotcha question. He wanted to tank your interview for some reason.
I once overheard 2 people on a train talking about a woman who had come into their company for an interview. One of the people had interviewed her and thought she was great but needed the sign off from the CEO so she asked him to meet with the candidate. His feedback was that she was a lovely person with just the right skills but wouldn't fit in with the 'aesthetics' of the office as she was too 'big'!
I was rejected for a job in forestry managment by HR as the interviewer reported I didn't have the correct tickets for the role. When I pointed out that had presented all the correct licenses required, and another 6 or 7 not specified on the job description making me more qualified than ANY of their other current staff, many of which had worked with and trained in my previous job, I heard nothing back. I later found out that the lead foreman who conducted the interview didn't want someone more qualified than him on the team and had falsified the interview report.
If your prospective boss was that insecure, you probably dodged a bullet. People don't quit jobs nearly as often as they quit managers.
I had the interviewing manager spend 30 minutes critiquing my resume format. What he didn't know, apparently, was I'd been personally invited to interview by the HR director.
The HR director called me at home to get feedback. She was incredibly mad. I got an apology from the interviewing manager with the HR director on the call. Then was offered the job. I politely declined.
I think it might be because the Interviewing Manager was envious about all the stuff you have on their resume.
@deannal.newton9772 - I think he was annoyed he HAD to interview me. He hated the HR director. Probably because she was a woman, outranked him and was younger than he was. Cardinal sins... :-)
I applied for a job, was told I was a very good fit, discussed all the usual things, said I was looking forward to starting asap and the boss as a final casual throwaway remark asked what kind of motorbike I had... when I said I didn't own one and preferred to drive a car, interview over, thanks for coming, no job... I thought I was applying for a job, not asking to join a biker gang...
How oddly specific - was the job even related to motorbikes in any way or were they mentioned at all in the job description?
Was it a job at that garage from American chopper?
Nope, nothing even slightly automotive, it was a tech company making SMT circuit boards, lol...
@@nigelskinner8988 I guess the boss really fit the tech bro stereotype 😂
I hate makeup. You can't pay me enough to wear it. I like how it looks on other people when it's not overdone, but it doesn't blend in on my skin. I can feel it all day, and it drives me nuts. It also takes too much time to put on and take off. I have better things to do.
Same!
Same. And in addition, I can't help, I touch my face all day long, so it wouldn't even hold 10min
I can't wear makeup, have tried many different kinds but my skin reacts to everything. Years ago, I was told when I went for a job interview that I needed to wear makeup. I can't understand how me being able to do a job relies on me wearing make up.
This is also gender discrimination.
I find that being rejected for a position because she didn't wear makeup is incredibly offensive. How does the way you look affect your ability to do anything? Obviously taking into consideration that you should be clean, tidy and smart. It's like saying girls with specs can't be attractive. Dodged a bullet there - imagine the culture
The weird thing is I've seen other managers look down on girls who wear makeup. Its a gotcha in both directions.
I've previously worked in nursing for many years. I've known nurses who wore bare minimum makeup, some on night shift who wore no makeup, and then other nurses who came in full face done up like going to a pageant or modeling gig makeup. And while most nurses I knew went for hair worn up, either basic ponytail or pinned up in a bun, others came in with going g to church curl and comb out look or going to the club big hair. As someone who got down and dirty , working hand in hand with the CNAs to change linens, dress wounds, help patients to the toilet, etc I still can't see how they maintained their appearance throughout their shift. I came off some shifts looking like a sweaty, frazzled dandelion, with loose hair poofing out of my ponytail or bun at all angles.
And men don't wear makeup, but they still get jobs!
What gives them the right to reject the perfect candidate because she doesn't wear make up?
I have never worn makeup during any interviews. I dress smart. Black pencil skirt, white blouse. I'm clean and I've got nice perfume on. But I hate makeup with a passion. If someone told me I didn't have makeup on during an interview, and I didn't get the job because of it, I'd tell them to stick it where the sun doesn't shine. So shallow of a company to say crap like that.
That’s also discrimination on the basis of sex. A man would not be expected to wear makeup. (And might not get the job if they did!!)
This may be somewhat off-topic, but it's zany enough to mention. In the town where I live there is a center for in-coming calls. The employees have no direct contact with the public yet the office has a dress code that requires the phone workers to wear a certain kind of shoe.
I got offered a job managing a franchise after going through 3 interviews. When i finally got the call with the job offer i accepted immediately and was told i would be given my start date and papwrwork in the upcoming week, waited two weeks then called the company owner to be told sorry but he had decided to hire his friend instead
That could be classed as a breach of contract. Job offered and accepted = creation of employment contract.
I tried to move from part time to full time at Best Buy. First time I tried, I was told that I wasn’t knowledgeable enough in car electronics (the bane of everyone’s existence). Okay. I immersed myself in that section. Volunteered every time someone needed help. Managed to hold my own.
Second interview, I described how I took their advice and I’d worked hard to learn the department. They took my words as “admitting I wasn’t knowledgeable about car fi.”
The kicker? During the rejection meeting, the person who got the position over me got on the radio asking for help in car electronics because she couldn’t answer any questions.
I remember the worst interview experience I had - graduate recruitment out of university, big 4 accounting firm. Got flown up for the interview which was a panel interview, then psychometric testing, then a one on one, then knowledge testing, then another one on one, and finally a cocktail evening.
Cocktail evening started at 630, the flight they'd booked me on home was at 8. I went for half an hour, then called a taxi to get to the airport.
Got rejected the following week, because I left the cocktail early, despite them booking the flight. When I explained that, they said that I should've stayed for the cocktail and rebooked onto a later flight at my own expense.
Hahahahaha, they dodged a bullet, what idiots!
Before COVID, I got turned down for a software developer job because they thought I lived too far away. What was really ridiculous is that I went through three in-person interviews with them. They knew where I lived from my resume. Why have me come in three times when they already decided I lived too far away? They actually asked the recruiter I was working with if I was willing to move closer to the office.
I believe that commute times are factored in, because they want to know how fast you can be at the office if you are called in unexpectedly.
One of my clients was decently sized company. And they encouraged their new employees (who often moved from out of town) to rent close to the business, just so employees wouldn't have to travel far. Some employees even had such a short commute that could spend their lunch hour at home.
@@finris1Lots of software roles don't have any support requirements. They want you to move because they want you to work long hours.
Edited to say: I was turned down for a project because I refused to move to the town. I had previously done two projects in that town with different companies from where I live which is an hour's commute. In all my software roles there is no out of hours or rota of support required. Looking at Glassdoor and other sites it appeared that company often made people work longer hours though to be fair in software roles it's expected.
I am not an employment lawyer, but that second one is a lawsuit. You can't discriminate on a disability
LOL yup - normally they keep that sort of thing to themselves rather than open it - although that said, acting is different ....!
In the US it’s definitely a lawsuit it won’t even make it to court they’ll settle before court
I'm guessing the rejected deaf actress knows one bit of sign language that even the casting director will understand.
The makeup one is ridiculous I haven't worn makeup for decades and I've never had anyone turn me down for a job because I'm not wearing makeup. I also refused to wear high heels they're bad for your ankles and your feet and I've had surgery on my left ankle. Even though I can wear heels I already have arthritis in that ankle so it would cause major damage.
I would say if women have to wear makeup and heels, men should as well.
mmmmh, a lot of people here seem to underestimate that the reason given is quite often different from the reason why. And petty or stupid as the reason given may seem, you can be sure that the reason why is something they can't outright tell you without incurring in a lawsuit. For instance, "You don't wear enough makeup" easily translates to "You are prettier than me without any makeup, no way in hell I'll let you get this job"
Jonathan Chang story.
Knew a cop, let's call him Andy Brown, had a wife and kids and lived in a police house. He had taken and passed his promotion exams. He was called up for a promotion ceremony and given his stripes. Then they told him where he was going, to a post with another police house, and he said, but that house isn't big enough for my family! They replied, but you didn't say anything about that before? He says, I've never seen that house before. They had promoted the wrong Andy Brown, but couldn't take it back!
I work at a university here in the U.S. that understandably will do in-house hiring for a position that opens up. However there is a requirement that jobs have to be advertised to the public on the university website. Even if someone already working in the office or department is going to get the job, the job has been advertised and people are applying for it even though there's no chance they will get the job. A total waste of time and a cruel thing to do to people who are looking for work.
Seems to happen a lot with government departments and similar in Australia as well. I had two unique skill & experience sets combined, in a rural area. Even though I chased up the recruiting company a couple of times (being fobbed off effectively) I think I was ghosted in the end. It was all very strange.
@@andrewbrendan1579 Yeah, that's a typical bureaucratic cover your ass move. That way they can claim they did everything by the book and above board. It's utter BS.
@@andrewbrendan1579 Same with my University but only because we’re a state uni and that’s the law. However, laws like this get passed because there has been some past incident.
Yes, my alma mater and former employer does this all the time. It is the law that they have to post the positions. My advice is ...get a temporary job and do well. You have a leg up in that case. BTW, I am in Florida, USA.
@@pamelafiske55799
Appearance... get this. I recommended a suit and tie to a friend of mine, who was interviewing for a manager position in a company, where I had a mole. That mole then informed me, that he was rejected, because he came in a suit... not even kidding. The same friend tried to become a tram driver a while back. He got rejected for quote: "achieving too good a result in psyche tests" Not joking.
It just seems like those people tried to have every excuse in the book to not have your friend get the job, which I don't know if there's a hidden agenda against him or the fact that a lot of people hate him for no reason.
@@deannal.newton9772 Unlikely to be hidden agenda. My friend never had any interaction with either of those companies at the time
I am suspicious that "too good a result in the psych test" was not a positive thing... No company wants to tell you that you are too unstable to drive a tram!
@@minorcadence1 Well, he did become a tram driver in a different city, so no. This was not a "him" problem.
That was probably management scared the candidate was way better than them.
If I should choose between my mothers funeral and work and I chose wrong, then I would be happy not to work there
Agreed, and I would like to think most people are with us on this one
I truly hope you read this one.
My best friend was working for a publishing company. I would normally try a tactful way to explain this but I'll just say that she definitely inherited her mother's ample chest and THEN SOME.
Soon after being hired she was called into HR for dressing inappropriately.
Now please understand. My best friend is modest and doesn't show off her body even when she is dressed up to go out. It's just her personal preference. So I know for a fact that she didn't (and still DOESN'T) own terribly revealing pieces of clothing.
Nevertheless, she spent a bunch of money on clothing that the sales people agreed would be excellent for work. Among the new clothes was even a shirt that another woman in the office owned and wore to work.
She was dragged into HR *again* where they told her she needed to be more modest.
At this point she had already sunk hundreds of dollars into new clothes and wasn't about to go shopping a second time - it's not like the company was going to reimburse her for these new items and she didn't feel comfortable spending even more money just because of her large chest.
The day she was wearing *the very same shirt* as her coworker, she was fired. My friend literally *lost her job because she has large breasts.* Apparently people can't look at them without making her into a sex object. What was she meant to wear? Was she supposed to tape them down (wouldn't have worked) or pay out of pocket for a reduction? A reduction is not covered by insurance until you back begins to be injured. She would have been out of pocket $10,000 at least just to be able to wear perfectly normal and professional clothing.
So yeah, there are undoubtedly different rules for man and women regarding not only their dress codes but their bodies as well.
If I had been that young woman who lost a job opportunity because of wearing no makeup I likely would have asked how many of the men showed up without wearing it. For all they knew this woman could have an allergy to silicone (something in a LOT of makeup) or other ingredients. If her only crime was not augmenting her appearance to someone else's standard the company frankly doesn't deserve her the same way that publisher certainly didn't deserve my best friend.
I just got a reduction this year. I have very good insurance. Just the hospital portion was around $30,000. After in-network discounts, my out-of-pocket will be about $1200. I forget how much the total was for the pre-discounts were for the anesthesiologist, surgeon, and , easily $40,000-$50,000, with all 4 items.
@@amethystanne4586 Wow. I had a medically necessary reconstruction that wasn't covered by insurance. I'm just now realizing how wonderful my surgeon is regarding his rates! And considering he managed everything I was hoping for and more just makes me feel blessed.
30-odd year ago I was rejected for a farm manager role because I didn’t have young children as they were trying to keep the local primary school open.
Right out of highschool i walked into a daycare center with a help wanted sign in the window and asked for an application. Was given a runaround and finally told, without ever receiving said application, that they couldnt hire me without experience, but got the impression that i was rejected for being a man not for lack of experience.
As a stay at home dad for many years I found that being male was a huge disadvantage when applying for work in that sector. My kids school did not have a single man on their staff and jobs frequently went to friends of those in charge.
I once drove over 4 hours to Oxford for a developers role with a nano tech company. I did my presentation in the board room with an overhead projector and answered all the questions thrown at me. At the end my interviewer told me that I was the best candidate and my presentation was the best that HE HAD EVER SEEN!!!!!!! Half an hour after leaving I was informed that I had been rejected because they wanted someone local. They knew I was not local as my address was on my CV.
As I was driving home (4 hours min( I was asked by an agency if I could get to the Lake District (UK), a 4 hour drive for an interview the following day. I turned round and headed north, braved a 2 hour traffic jam around Birmingham and arrived very late. At the interview I was given some code. It was awful. I commented that the code was not fit for purpose as it was just one long chunk without comments, documentation and explanations. Variables did not reflect their purpose. It had been written by the guy interviewing me. I did not get the job, they refused to pay my hotel bill after saying they would, and it was a mere 6 hour drive home. A really crap 2 days!!!!!
Misogyny. Being rejected for not wearing makeup is like being rejected for not having a moustache. Being rejected for straightened hair is like being rejected for plucking your unibrow.
I completely agree with you
Not a makeup wearer either just a touch of gloss. However if you give me a couple of weeks or so I might be able to manage a mustache 😂🙈
I wonder if this could be considered gender discrimination, depending on jurisdiction.
@@silverhawkflash Well the person interviewing her is also a woman, so I don't know if she's just an idiot or that she's just hates women who don't wear makeup (You'd be suprised how many those types of women are there).
@@carbine090909 actually, sounds potentially like racism. It’s common for black women’s appearance to be scrutinised
I went on a job interview and the two people interviewing me asked why I had applied, since I had no experience in construction. I was baffled, since I have several years of experience in construction. I looked over at the paper they were looking at AND IT WASN'T MY RESUME! They apparently had another person with my first name also applying and just grabbed the paper with that name on it. I had a copy of my resume and handed it to them and they took a minute to look it over. That ended my interest in the company right there.
I went for an admin role, which would have been my second job after graduating, the first being teaching which is a whole other awful story. But anyway, I was 24. I got told by one of the two MDs at a radiator company, "Hey we really liked you, and are thinking of offering you the job, but would it be okay if you came and spoke to my partner? I'm sure it will just be a formality. You seem like a really good fit." No problem. Wore my hair up, a little scarf, my "weather girl" suit. I looked nice and presentable. My make-up game has never been particularly strong, but then again, I'm not a supermodel. Just a little short lass with mousy brown hair and a great CV.
MD No. 2 did not smile when I went into the room. He did not say hello. He said as soon as I'd sat down with a big exhalation of air, "Look, I don't think this job is for you. We're looking for a graduate."
"Oh, well, that's lucky," I said, keeping a smile on my face. "I have a dual honour degree, 2:1, plus subsidiary subjects. And the PGCE. But anyway, I am definitely a graduate."
"I meant recent graduate," he said, with an even deeper frown.
"Well, that's lucky again," I said. "I graduated less than 2 years ago, which means I am definitely a recent graduate."
"No, no, no. It's not going to work. Just go."
Flipping heck.
As I walked out, the PA was looking at me with absolute horror on her face, and I affirmed what had just happened, and she mouthed, "So sorry," at me.
I mean, like I said, I am no supermodel, but it couldn't be clearer, that for a crappy little admin entry role on an industrial estate in the middle of Willenhall, that fella was expecting one.
2 years ago i got rejected from a job that was a 20 min commute because the company found someone who lived closer. a week later the job was advertised again (automotive parts delivery driver)
I once applied for a job and got no feedback. A year later, they wrote to me that they were inviting me for an interview. By that time, I had already forgotten that I applied to that company and was already in a new position.😅
If it takes a YEAR for them to get back to you, I can only imagine how unorganized and chaotic that workplace must be if you actually worked there.
This is hilarious (though very annoying they didn't come back to you)
There is an email somewhere on twitter where someone was offered a job and Panda Express two years after applying
I once got a call saying they were calling me about the job. "Which one?" "The one you applied for!" "I apply to about 5 jobs per week, ma'am, you'll need to provide more detail."
It was for a job I'd applied to three months before. Apparently she expected people to just hold their breath while their company finished scratching its collective butt.
I've had this on Indeed before. Like, thanks for the thought, but I've given up on employment and have been working for myself for 18 months now!
I once was given the full tour treatment (the interview with the HR went well, so she called in the head of the department, it went well enough to call my would-be future boss. This
went so well that we went to meet the team. Then like 2 minutes in, the boss got a phone call, then 2 minutes after, he told me they gonna call me back. Then I got ghosted.
But the absolute worst was with a big engineering company preparing a billon-sized tender bid concerning an 100 year old engineering feat that I am interested enough to have done an extensive website about. I got called to meat a very nice woman engineer who ushered me in a meeting with 6 or 7 engineer, plus the VP of a big local engineering firm. We talk for at least two hours, then I was invited for lunch. Each time I got invited for lunch, I got the job, usually...
Then nothing. Totally ghosted.
Oh, I once interviewed at UPS. Programming. Was given sample code and asked to spot/fix the error. I did. Also spotted an "extra" error in the question (2 arguments to a function were reversed). Never got the job. Heard from a bud on the inside that the topic came up, and that I showed Bad Form in correcting the interviewer. I didn't, just pointed out the question as-written had an "extra" mistake, and I had no idea *whose* mistake that was. Could've just as easily been deliberate, as a "trick question", and that they would've *wanted* me to find/fix the *TWO* errors in the code, not just one.
Someone's ego was bruised.
Employers want wage slaves who never say no to any request and don’t need any benefits
Most employees would be those wage slaves happily, just not for peanuts.
For the majority of workers, that is a budget-dictated answer. Mum is dead. She had to skip Da's funeral or lose her position. She'll understand.
Mine was more frustrating. Had been out of work for a few months (GFC and all that). Interview went really well, had very good experience in the sector, even answered some tricky questions to his satisfaction. When asked why I had been out of work 'so long' I replied that I had been the front runner on a couple of positions, but they went with internal promotions, which was disappointing (all true btw). A day or two later I got the call back that "sorry, you were not successful, we went with an internal promotion". Picture the cartoon steam from ears.
When I was a teenager I went for a job interview at a local fast food chain. We had the interview sitting on milk crates in the smoking area while he caught a butt. (This was some years ago). When it was done and I stood to go he noticed dog hair on my one pant leg. I had a German Shedder at home and thought I had managed to get it all off but had probably rubbed against something on the way out. I thought he might point out that needed to be addressed before working in a kitchen but instead he asked if it was from a cat or a dog. I told him a dog and he simply said he'd call me in a couple days.
Fast forward a couple days and he called to tell me they'd given the job to a cat person. My mom was angry enough about the comment she complained to his boss and was told to get a sense of humour.
That's when I applied and got a position with the competition. They were dog people too.
That is completely bonkers!
@@davinasquirrel7672 Welcome to small town life. I ran for a reason.
Notice the two sides of the women-can't-win coin. A woman is rejected because she's not artificial enough--her natural face without makeup is deemed unprofessional--or she's too artificial, because, god forbid, she straightened her hair.
It's time to get rid of these arbitrary sexist "standards" for women.
Men have standards to.
Must wear suit, nice hair, groomed face.
It's business both sexes have to deal with looking the part.
Edit: there's literally a comment I just came across any how a man was rejected because he wore a suit, proving is both sexes that have to deal with standards.
@@Robert-cu9bm Oh my GOD, you LITERALLY have to wear a suit for men if you're wearing business formal attire. Especially if they require you to wear business formal attire for the interview, I mean these have to be the dumbest people on the face of the Earth.
What about those that can't wear makeup due to allergies? People can be allergic to makeup too. The makeup thing is just stupid.
@@marymasavage8986 EXACTLY, this is one of the reasons Business Schools never once said that you had to wear makeup on interviews.
@@Robert-cu9bm Come on bro, to act like the appearance standards for men are anything like the appearance standards for women is a joke.
I was rejected from a job I was already doing because and I quote "my future looked too uncertain". I really wish that I was kidding. The worst part was that the candidate they eventually chose was the same age as me and had less work experience....
So they were probably cheaper, then...
@@EmperorsTeeth not even... it was an entry level civil service job. The pay is based on a national scale in my country. You earn exactly the same regardless of your experience or age.
@@lydiaolsen98 ouch. That doubly sucks, then!
Got ghosted after doing an unpaid trial shift with someone. Was told by the assistant manager she wanted me but the manager 'was useless at making decisions'. Think I dodged a bullet.
The one who got the tour then ghosted smacks of some exec’s kid needing a job.
Makeup and hair are ridiculous reasons. Sure, if you have mud on your face and bits of hoover dust in your hair, that's one thing, but that is bonkers
Agreed
Mud on your face? Big disgrace!
I recently got rejected from a role for not being vastly overqualified. They have an unwritten job spec they want filled, but are advertising a lower job spec. The company has been trying to fill this role for over a year.
I interviewed at a University department business office. When i sat down in front of the department head's desk, she could barely see me for all the stacks of file folders on her desk. Flipping through a few of them, then taking a big bite out of her deli sandwich, she said, "Who are you again?" Ended up offering me the job but i declined.
I‘m an electronis technician. I once got rejected because „the team you‘d be joining consists only of women. Adding a man to the mix would disrupt the social dynamics of the team.“
Thats is sexual discrimination
I was once rejected for an internal promotion at a company I’d been at for years because the manager “felt like he would struggle to manage me” despite working together for three years and I believed we had a good working relationship. Turned out he was just two faced. I am very outspoken, if I think something is wrong I will vocalise it and offer alternatives. This manager used to always listen to my objections and ideas and actually implemented a lot of them. He later moved on and I ended up with his position anyway, but after he left I found out I had my career held back by 18 months or so because my manager was insecure and slightly scared of me 😂😂
I’m in a small workshop. As part of my interview I was taken into the shop and introduced to the technicians. The next time they interviewed someone, after they finished their interview, the boss came through and asked what we thought about them. Very nice, too bad they stopped doing that because we called the candidates right.
Like the first lady, I also do not really wear makeup. I have only been unsuccessful at three interviews. All three interviewers that rejected me were other women and all of them had made a comment about my appearance in one form or another, though I never asked why they rejected me so they may have had other reasons. All my successful interviews were conducted by men and they never said a word about the way I looked. Whether right or wrong, I have been left with the impression that women bosses/recruiters are more about style over substance.
Yeah, at first I thought that other woman was an idiot but you might be onto something.
When my son was still at school, I kept telling him to work hard, go the extra mile, ask questions because learning was a good discipline and would show potential employers that he was keen to progress etc.
I wanted to set him up for life as an adult, so he would always be able to have work.
So we moved back to this area when he was 17 and he applied for a manual agricultural job near where we lived.
He was told that he didn't get the job because he was too intelligent and they wanted someone who'd stay with them for years and not look for something better or more challenging.
He's now middle aged, in a responsible IT job and is *still* educating himself. He's just got *another* degree, letters after his name and everything. I am so proud of him.
I wonder how many of these were "What are you doing interviewing people for that job? It was only created to give the CFO's nephew a job."
That’s what I immediately thought regarding the one where the candidate was given a tour and introduced to everyone.
Employers in general don't have the decency to communicate with prospective employees. It seems to be that they don't get any benefit from even just sending a stock 'thanks but no thanks' letter/email, so they don't bother. It gets so frustrating as a job seeker.
Infuriating. I haven't been seeking a job in a long time, and I still remember how much that bothered me.
I've been ghosted more times than I care to remember. And for one job (as a gravedigger) it took them over a year after the interview they finally told me I didn't get the job (No s🤬, Sherlock; I'd long since figured that out by then). Another gravedigger job I was told the job was being put on "indefinite hold," which is just a way of saying the position was already filled via nepotism and they were just covering themselves. That's just the tip of the iceberg of stories I could tell.
The ghosting thing is a huge problem at the moment especially in the construction sector been experiencing this a lot lately and when its direct with companies
Usually it's the other way around - construction workers ghost them.
My husband once lost a job because the HR woman thought he was brusque when he went into to discuss the terms. She had kept him waiting an hour, on his lunch break, when he had not yet given his notice at his old place. Lesson, suck up to HR, some companies actually let them them make decisions.
Starbucks - help desk
Candidate is too nice and because of that we don’t think he will be able to finish tickets on time
I remember going to a design tech firm in North London for a job interview. I sent my CV and I did mention that I have a stammer that I have a history of stammering. They rejected me even though they said that I was perfect for the job.
President Biden is a stammerer. So were Aristotle, Charles Darwin, Marilyn Monroe, Virgil, Winston Churchill, Demosthenes, King George VI of England, Emperor Claudius I...............
I remember being introduced to everyone on the team. Shown my desk. Invited to join them on break. Did I get the job? Not hardly.
I wonder if the team later 'voted' upon a candidate? Very bizarre though.
experienced all of these (except the make up). Taken on a full tour of companies to be ghosted. Weird
Sorry to hear that mate!
I remember reading about the first one somewhere online. If I recall, that guy got absolutely roasted and hoisted by his own tiny petard in the comments.
A friend of mine was denied a promotion because, despite she had excelled in the role, her male colleague was moping, and needed a promotion to motivate him to do better. Tech in the late 80s.
I only apply to companies that are part of the Circle Back Initiative, where employers commit to responding to every job applicant. It saves a lot of issues.
I remember years ago when I lived in the UK that women were getting fired for not wearing stilettos. What brought it to attention was a lady who’d hurt her foot wore flats to work and she was told to go home and get “proper” shoes that met the official dress code. She tried to explain the issue and I think they fired her. Once that was made public, women came out of the woodwork saying they’d had similar issues with their companies’ dress codes. This was before social media so for it to go viral was a real thing. Lots of companies shamed for their horrible dress codes.
I remember that happening, there was an huge outcry about it.
At 16 and trying to find my feet in the working world I went for an apprenticeship in a hairdressers. Walked an hour in the rain to get there. I did a full 8 hour trial day for free, to be told I wasn’t pretty enough and wasn’t ’made-up’ enough to work for them, but they did want me to come back for a second trial day for free the next day 🙃. I did not return.
What? So they said "we are not gonna hire you, but you can make work another day here for free" or...?
But I understand your pain, years and years ago I applied to position of busboy in one hotel and I was first ghosted and then told that I'm not qualified enough. I still don't know what qualification is needed for picking up dirty dishes and loading them in dishwasher (except hands).
@@simonspacek3670 I still love how companies want so much experience for such a job 🤦♀️ that’s ridiculous, ahh yes totally have my level 3 and 5 years experience in sponge handling 🙄😂.
And they did exactly that! I think I was just so young and new they were trying to take the mick and have me do another day of rolling towels and sweeping for free, ‘we’re willing to let you come back and try again tomorrow!’ As if they were doing me a favour, whilst I was trying to hold back tears. I’m so glad they showed their colours early on now though. Truly knocked my confidence for a while at the start.
An internal manager role at the same level as I was already in. So essentially an internal transfer to another team doing the same job. I got turned down because I had too much experience.
I got put onto a college course pacifically dedicated to training me for the position. At the end of the 5 month course I was told that the position has been filled and was no longer available three days in.
The "hair straightening" one immediately made me wonder if it was perhaps an interview for a modelling gig: I could imagine, and I'm by no means an expert on such things, that it would be useful for a hair and make-up professional to see someone *before* they've spent an indeterminate amount of time on their hair, to gauge how easy their hair is to work with.
My first thought was "diversity hire not 'ethnic' enough in appearance?"
A reason why the entire process of getting a job is so infuriating is that you can do everything right up to the judgment, taking all the tests, studying the role, practicing responses, but be still at the mercy of someone's whims and biases.
I was asked during an interview how I would estimate how many airplanes there are in the world if I didn’t have access to the Internet or any other resources. I’m guessing this is one of those questions where they just want to see how you think. But I considered it a waste of my time and said so and ended the interview. This was after being given wrong directions on where to park and how to get into the building, the interview started late, and then it was 45 minutes of this guy acting like the job opening was God’s gift to humanity. That question was the breaking point.
I was lucky that I worked in "mom and pop" print shops and was able to wear casual clothing and never wore makeup. Also, I mostly worked on my own and was not a face to the public. But the times I did, I was always clean, neat and presentable. It saved me spending money on makeup and fancy clothes!
You can tell that the realtor who asked that either/or question had an employee choose "wrong" as well. I had someone ask me during an interview for an administrative assistant position (small office, basically asst. and the main guy) if I had planned on getting pregnant. Illegal question? 100% but his last person had went out on maternity leave and didn't come back. Wonder why lol.
With the third story I had to rewind just to check whether the job she was applying for was at a department store makeup counter because that would be a legitimate reason.
Did happen to me that i got negative feedback that i was ''not representing the company well enough'' as I was not in a 3 piece suit or at least a full shirt'n tie. I was not working with client nor working with people outside of the company. I wanted to tell them ''the 30 min i prep my suit is 30 minutes that I am not putting in my work, so you want to pay me too look good and not do good work, got it'' but I stayed silent and move on.
I sometimes interview for my firm. My fellow interviewer, a male, did not want to put a candidate through because she was ‘too fat’. I told him to go look in a mirror and the candidate got the job. He then reported me to HR for being rude, I told them to look at the interview notes that he had signed!
Some of these I can barely believe! Ghosting someone after an interview is terrible practice but unfortunately very common.
That us why my country has a law that you must be informed in writing within 2 weeks if the process is ending.
80% of the very many interviews I went to looking for my first job didn’t reply
And over 90% of applications get ghosted. For a while there, I thought all applications were being sucked into a black hole.
@@chrisdonnellyofficial So true. It's happened to me many times.
I interviewed & received a job. I relocated to the town and went in for handover only to be told that they offered the job to someone else. The reasoning being that he and his family couldn’t relocate until they found her replacement as a Kindy Teacher. I had the qualifications also as a teacher so they offered me a part-time teaching position over a Managerial full-time position!
I was very disheartened over the integrity of the Environmental company. The new Manager didn’t even last long and the company approached me afterwards to offer me the role!
To say I was utterly disgusted is an understatement!
I know this doesn't compare but I lost a job because they wanted a specific number of references and I didn't have enough. They talked to two but my third didn't answer. I couldn't find anyone else at short notice.
I got rejected for a job, I was highly qualified for, but one of my masters had the wrong title.... it qualified me to do that job, i had been doing the job but my masters title did not have a specific word in it.
Apologies in advance for the long essay, but this is a bit of a story.
I work for a government department where office politics are on an entirely different level of their own. Being good at one’s job is very rarely enough to get a higher position. In fact it can be worse for one’s career as they need someone to make them look good, and they never want someone to outshine them.
I got rejected for an interview, not because I didn’t have the necessary experience or qualifications, I had been acting in the role ever since the former person in the role had put in a year’s long service prior to retiring, and had been filling in for them for the years leading up to it as they were cutting out their leave entitlements. The reason I was rejected was for a very silly criterion HR had put on the essential criteria. All applicants had to be a certain level within the organisation. Unfortunately I was just below it.
Prior to the interview, they had the applicants acting in the role, each for a period of two weeks so it was “fair for everyone”. They actually had the audacity to ask (although it wasn’t a request, they just expected me to be a “team player”) to train each applicant.
This put me in an awkward position because refusal would put the kibosh on me for any other roles that I was applying for at the time. So I reluctantly agreed. On the surface I acted like it didn’t bother me, but in reality I was seething so when it came to it I gave them the bare minimum, and I also just happened to have a few “scheduling conflicts” with study leave that I coincidentally applied for.
After that insult I had put in a transfer to another department. The successful applicant was panicking and a series of emails to coordinators, managers, and even HR, begging to keep me on the team. Finally they “very generously” allowed me to choose where I went and I opted to leave to a different team within the same section so I was close by but not in that team.
I found out that the fix was in for this particular applicant because they themselves had to be a particular level to obtain an interview for a higher position. So they pulled some strings and got them the position. Before the position was posted they acted in the role so they needed someone to run that team. Who did they ask to run it? Not the other applicants, but me. I ended up getting the job after all. They had nobody competent for that position so the next job listing there was a notable absence in the essential criteria.
My sister got rejected for a job as a care home manager for the disabled cos she’s “over qualified”
Got rejected from a job at Burger King as i had no experience working at Burger King, I did however have experience at Burger King... i was wanting to transfer jobs during uni termtimes.
This really made me laugh
@@Ben-Askins Yeah I was really confused about it, it was even done through the internal email system between management. I got an email 2 weeks later saying "On further consideration we'd like to extend you an offer."
What kind of job was it that they wanted a potential employee to have experience at Burger King? Seems really weird and specific.
@@reginabillotti I was transfering jobs between burger kings. I had emailed them on the internal emailing system using my BK email.
That last one could be racial. "Natural hair" is a term (in the US at least) often used for Afro textured hair.
I also don't wear makeup and haven't for decades! I have not ever experienced an issue with that during an interview. However, I work in IT and I've never interviewed for a VP position. Might make a difference since they interact with customers and higher ups a lot and need to have that 'extra' bit of bling to them.
The first story. If Ben wasn't so obviously English. I would still know. Just from his range of small talk options
Yeh guilty on that one for sure
I interviewed at a boat and marine place. They loved my experience, resume, etc. During interview they asked why i wanted to leave job currently at where had been for five years. I told them, honestly , that i don't like to speak ill of places, but in the last year they had shifted away from customer service and into a more commercial sales role. I was not as enthusiastic about that, so was looking for a place focused on customer service.
When i failed to get the job, i asked for input. They said felt i bashed my current employer so didn't want me.
Rejections are shit but at least if you get something special like these, they become funny. I think it's way worse when after interviewing 2-3 rounds, they just get back to you "not being senior enough" or "we went with another candidate". Especially funny when they still search for months and months for the same position, expecting the unicorn for medior wages.
I was applying to jobs straight out of college. I had gotten my first job offer from a school and I was really excited but it would have required me to move to a different state. I said “can I have a day or a week to think about it?” (I remember this explicitly.) The principal says she can’t give me a week but I could have 3 days. So I talk to my parents and decide to accept. I call the next morning and the principal tells me she can no longer offer me the job because her assistant superintendent said she couldn’t. I call to speak with him and he said that by asking for a week to think about it, I was showing I wasn’t truly dedicated to the students. (🙄)He went on to say they hired someone else who was also graduating with me from my college. I knew she wasn’t as good of a teacher as me and HE ALSO ADMITTED THIS but decided to go with her. Later that summer, I landed a different job in a great building but that whole situation was horrible.
For one job opportunity I had, it was between one other person and myself. The other person got the job. OK. The team was very nice, but the reason they chose the other person was always a little odd: "[The other person] is who we need right now, you're who we need 6 months from now." Mmmmmkaaaay...
I was refused an interview as I didn’t have a car, although I was happy to buy one once I had a new job (was being made redundant). Also had job refused, most likely as I would need to apply for Access to work assistance for the disabled but can’t apply for that until I had a job… chicken & egg.
Eventually set up as self employed, no joy for ladies over a certain age yet the retirement age moved off into the far distance.
Have a 1st class law degree from a top uni and lots of diverse work experience and was on the committee for the debate society and yet I still keep getting rejections from GRADUATE schemes saying they're going with people more suited, more suited how ? And that's if I dont get blanked 💀 giving up on the job market.
My son got offered a job as a 4th yr apprentice diesel fitter. Asked his size for his uniform etc. All his paperwork. Did his medical which he passed. Had to declare he has bipolar due to his medication. He is fully functioning. You would never know. After his medical got a call to say they had withdraw tge offer as they didnt have enough tradesman for ratio of TM and apprentices.
I went through 5 rounds of interviews at IBM Corp Counsel/Law group in 1980. I was top ten per cent at a top ten law school, Law Rev editor, Moot Court championship team member. Summa cum laude. The last guy, the top guy, turned me down because I did not wear a white, button-down shirt. Hugo Boss suit. Joseph Aboud tie. Paul Stuart pale pale blue shirt. Allen Edmonds shoes. Cuff links. No job. Bwahahahaha….
Looking like you know he job is obviously more important than knowing the job...
I once got an interview for a management position in a company I worked for for about 5 years at the time and got denied the job because of what they felt were my radical views such as being pro union and once taking a picture of a BLM protest in support of it so therefore I must be a radical person with wacky ideas. It was for a Burger King management position. They only knew my views because they saw it on my social media page
I had something similar to the deaf role one. I worked as a substitute teachers aid. One year, I worked 6 weeks for someone who was out having surgery. 2 weeks later, a job opening came up. When I interviewed and was asked about experience related to the position, I brought up the 6 weeks I had worked at the school. I was told they weren’t allowed to give preferential treatment to people because they worked at the school. Someone else was hired. During the new hire’s first week, I was subbing for someone else, and was asked to help the newbie figure out something she was supposed to be doing. Um, no, if I’m not qualified for the job, then I’m not qualified to train the person who actually got the job.
The appearance thing has a lawsuit waiting thats blatant sexism
It's even worse since it's a woman telling ANOTHER WOMAN that she needed to wear make up to appear more "professional" for the job. Look, I don't know what Business School she went to but I'm pretty sure they didn't tell us that make up was required for job interviews. Its' just that we had to wear either black or navy blue pants/skirts and a suit if they want us to wear business formal attire, not wear makeup.