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When I was a recruiter, I use to get calls all the time from candidates who were not hired and wanted to know "what they did wrong" in the interview. In most cases I told them they did great but the manager just hired someone else. This would frustrate them to no end because I would not tell them what they did wrong. I could not because of company policy but mostly because they were great applicants and had terrific interviewing skills. The reason they were not hired was they did not fulfill the image of the person they were looking for.
They were the wrong sex in a department or division dominated by men or women.
They were to old in a company dominated by younger workers
They were the wrong ethnic group. Many everyone in the department was asian, why would they want to bring in someone who was not like everyone else?
Maybe they did not look the part. I once worked at a drug company who only hire very attractive women in their 20s for administrative assistant roles. You could be the most qualified person in world but you would not be considered if you were to old or the wrong sex.
Of course hiring based on stereotypes in an unspoken thing but everyone knows it is being done.
Have you ever been hired in a job and everyone else is completely different than you?
From my many years of working (am now 58 yrs old), I believe you are very right in what you say. It wasn't "this" bad years ago, but it sure is now. A company can discriminate thru interviews all they want and don't get caught because there is really no way to catch them. If a company doesn't hire you, can you ever really find out the TRUE reasons why.......no way!! The nice/higher paying jobs usually go to the attractive, young people. That is just the way it is. Even if a heavy lady has all the qualifications and education a company is looking for in a Receiptionist position, due to her weight, she most likely will not be hired by a big/major company. Same goes for a heavy man. With all the ads, etc. about fitness/weight loss today, a lot of companys can/will choose a slendor person over a heavy person. Again, that is just the way society is today.
Great Post! I was hired into a senior position in my company with very, very limited experience (I don't even know how I was even called for the interview), although I did interview very well. There are some times I walk into my office and see one other African American male and wonder whether I was the best minority candidate or the best candidate. I feel that it worked out for me of course and I am well respected now and I learned quickly, but yes I agree with your assessment completely. The greatest companies are diverse in every way and they will attempt to even the numbers to their liking. I guess the major lesson here is never be afraid to apply to any job. It is just paper and you have nothing to lose. I also fill out any voluntary affirmative action information on applications because I don't care what anyone says that stuff is looked at and I know as a black man there is a limited pool of us applying for positions in most cases (sad, but true).
I work in a male-dominated industry and I'm the only woman on my team, so yes.
That's the exception to the rule.
Many bosses do not know how to discern a good candidate, so they pick someone younger or cheaper.
I don't know how younger got to be better than older...when I was younger, older workers were favored for their experience and maturity.
The only good payback is when these people who are doing the age discrimination get older, they will be at the mercy of their own games.
I was shocked a few months ago when a professor of mine told me about an internship opportunity with a small local accounting firm. I told him I was actually interested in another firm, but I thanked him for keeping me in mind. I then recommended an intelligent female friend of mine for the same position, and his rebuttal was "Oh no. They don't want women." This was my first brush with employment discrimination, but I'm sure it won't be my last. This is the reason why I act as "butch" as I can in interviews; I don't want someone to realize I'm gay and pass me over. It's sad that this occurs in the year 2008, but oh well!
Great Post! I was hired into a senior position in my company with very, very limited experience (I don't even know how I was even called for the interview), although I did interview very well. There are some times I walk into my office and see one other African American male and wonder whether I was the best minority candidate or the best candidate. I feel that it worked out for me of course and I am well respected now and I learned quickly, but yes I agree with your assessment completely. The greatest companies are diverse in every way and they will attempt to even the numbers to their liking. I guess the major lesson here is never be afraid to apply to any job. It is just paper and you have nothing to lose. I also fill out any voluntary affirmative action information on applications because I don't care what anyone says that stuff is looked at and I know as a black man there is a limited pool of us applying for positions in most cases (sad, but true).
I'm liking this actually. When I'm job hunting, I'm usually looking for the jobs that I'm almost qualified for. So it's kind of cool to know that all I might need, is me. If they want to snag me up because I'm the right stereotype for them, then I'll do my best to be trained.
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