Recently, we asked the BuzzFeed Community about the most offensive things they were told or asked in a job interview. Here are some of the worst comments and questions!
1. "I had lost my son months prior. He's the love of my life. I went for an interview at a hotel. I was working in childcare at the time, but I was at a point where I was too overwhelmed by it because of the loss of my son. I had mentioned this to the lady interviewing me because she'd asked me [why] I decided to leave my childcare position. Her next question: 'Are you gonna have another?'"
"Mind you, it has only been less than a year, and I don't [know] this lady from Adam. Yes, I brought up the loss, but ONLY because it connected to my reasoning for wanting to leave my current job at the time. I barely even answered the question, but I feel like she probably should've just not asked, ESPECIALLY 'cause I was there for a job and I was not comfortable going into a deep conversation like that with someone I just met. Also, I get asked that quite a lot, and it just makes me feel worse."
2. "Almost every interview I have been on, I've been asked about having a boyfriend/husband. When I was younger, I didn't know any better, but as I got older, I would shut it down, whether I got the job or not. It was nobody's damn business. The last place I interviewed for was for a second job in food service, and dude asked me this. I looked at him and said, 'With all due respect, why does it matter if I'm fucking people or not? Do you ask the men who interview that question?' Oh, the look he gave me... I walked out. He called back to apologize and asked me to come back, but I said nope. I still can't believe that women are being asked their relationship status for a JOB."
3. "A partner in a law firm asked me if I had a 'steady boyfriend.'"
4. "I got told at an interview for a retail job that I'd have to dumb down my vocabulary. The guy then asked me what 'wry' meant as my CV states that I have a wry sense of humor. I stared at him. He actually wanted the definition."
5. "I went for an interview at a boutique. On the job application it had asked for my availability, and [I] had answered it honestly. The interviewer, who owned the boutique, clearly hadn't looked at it because he asked me my availability, and I answered it was open except for Friday after sundown through sundown Saturday. I am an observant Jew and don't work on the Sabbath. He laughed in my face and said, 'This is retail, honey! You have to have total weekend availability!'"
"I said, 'Sir, all of my previous retail positions have accommodated this. It's a religious observance.' He said, 'It wouldn't make a difference to me if you were going to...church or whatever, or staying home eating bonbons on the couch. If you don't have open weekend availability, I won't hire you.' I left the interview in tears. If I were Christian, asking for Sunday mornings off to go to church, I really think it would not have been a problem."
6. "I had just moved to a new city and went to a temp agency for an interview. I graduated from a well-known school, and when he saw it on my resume the interviewer told me his cousin went there too. I said I had met many people in this city who seemed to have a connection to that school. He said it was because it was a very white city, and so was the school. 'It's not that white anymore,' I answered. 'They've made a big effort to recruit more diverse students.' He laughed and said: 'Yeah, but those are just show n*****s.' I made a weird face, and he tried to play it off as a joke, but come on, who makes a joke like that to someone they just met? Bonus: Later in the interview he mentioned there was a job opportunity that would involve working with people from the Caribbean, 'but don't worry, not the mangy kind.' In retrospect I wish I'd reported him. I just left and never responded to that agency's calls again."
7. "I was asked by an interviewer whether I planned to get married and start a family. I was engaged and said that at some point yes, I’d want to have kids. The interviewer smiled condescendingly and responded: 'Female employees stop being as reliable or committed to their jobs once they decide to settle down.' I could not walk out of that interview fast enough!"
8. "I applied for a Saturday job working for the library. I aced the competency tests so went through to interview. During the interview the interviewer made an offhanded comment about my size and whether I'd fit into the uniform (a green polo T-shirt, but none of the librarians there seemed to be wearing a uniform). ... Screw you, ya fatphobic fucks."
9. "I was asked about a book character I related to. I can't remember who I chose, but it was a woman. 'You some kind of she-male?' The job was being an elf at the mall. (Lenox Square Mall in Atlanta, to properly call them out.)"
10. "[I] tried to get a job (over Zoom) with a law office; I'm a certified paralegal and was still in school for that at the time. I'd aced the first interview with the first partner of the firm. Because my hair is alternatively colored, I make it a point to do all of my Zoom interviews with it down and visible as kind of a 'full disclosure' thing. First partner didn't seem to notice or care. Second interview with the other partner starts; he looks at my thumbnail photo, raises an eyebrow, and says, 'Is your hair really blue?' 'Right now it's more of a purple, actually.' 'Yeah, nice hair, not for law.'"
"The quote was so scarring, I actually have a jar with 'Nice hair, not for law' written on it where I toss papers with the names of firms I've very obviously lost out on a job at because of my hair, which obviously started with THAT firm. If I hit 50 notes/firms, I'm taking the LSAT to hire my damn self. I'm at three."
11. "I was told I would need to wear makeup, and it had to be done well. The job was working with young children. When I stated I don't wear makeup (for several reasons), I was told it was something that just needed to be done. I didn't feel like I needed makeup to chase toddlers around, and refused the job offer. They couldn't understand why."
12. "We know we posted the wage at $26/hr., but to be completely honest, there's no way we're hiring you at anything over $16. You've just got to recognize you're not as desirable an employee as 'others' in the field." When I applied to a job I was OVER qualified for in a predominantly white male field."
13. "I was in an interview for a server, and the chef insinuated i wasn’t suitable because he expects them to look 'elegant' and well dressed/kept. It was winter and I travelled by bus, so I had my winter coat on still. Mind you, it was in a two-star hotel, and now I work in fine dining. It was a blow to my confidence, though."
14. "I was interviewing for a housekeeping position, and the maintenance director, who would be my main boss, was showing me around, and we went into locker rooms in the fitness center. His sentence started off badly because the first words out of his mouth were: 'This probably sounds sexist, but…' If you have to start a sentence with that, especially when talking to a woman, maybe you just shouldn’t say it all. He said it with an eyerolling attitude, too, which made it worse. Then he said whenever he opens the door to ask if anyone is in the locker room, he always says, 'It’s maintenance,' instead of, 'It’s housekeeping,' because 'housekeeping' sounds 'too feminine.'"
"The layers of misogyny in that one sentence just astounded me. Basically implying that housekeepers can only be women, that it’s a lowly position, and he would never want someone to think that he’s in a 'feminine' profession. He’s not even there to do maintenance; he is there TO CLEAN, but refuses to say housekeeping."
15. "At my first interview out of college, in finance, I was asked what my parents do. The interviewer was a classic old boys club type of guy. I didn’t get the job."
16. "2016. Had a bank manager at a trust bank that was being bought by a bigger national chain. They needed someone for at least the next 11 months before the official rebrand. My recruiter knew I was perfect for the job: I had 6 years experience and came from a large bank (bigger than the chain buying this branch) where I trained their employees. ... [The interviewer] grilled me in the interview after getting all my qualifications from the recruiter. She told me the position would include travel to other branches that were converting on my own dime, that I may find myself as the only operator in the branch at peak times often, and other unfavorable situations that didn't seem worth the minimal pay. I simply agreed with her and provided experiences I had managed under much worse conditions; it didn't quite register she was crafting carefully worded microaggressions, but I could feel something was up as none of those things were listed on the referral for the position."
"She finally came from behind her desk and sat on it, in front of me, and said something like, 'Our clientele is used to a higher level of service. They likely wouldn't take well to someone who, for example, looked like they may have worked at Walmart.' It hit me, this woman was looking at me, past my formal dress and overqualified credentials, and just seeing a Black woman, and saying she didn't think I belonged there. I left that interview and called the recruiter as soon as I got home, and I was shaking. I told him I had never been so insulted in all my life, told him what she had said about me and about the job (he refuted her job claims; none of it was true, and none of it had been told to the two other white people he recommended). She didn't think I fit the 'affluent' nature of the branch."
17. "I was interviewing for one of 'North America's largest and most respected engineering and construction organizations' as a recent geology graduate. The interviewer asked why I was interested in the position, and I answered that I was keen to get into the field and do some hands-on work. He responded flat out that I wouldn't get any field time at any of their project sites and I would only work in the office because I was a woman."
18. "I interviewed for a job in college (so about 12 years ago now). When the interviewer was looking over my resume she saw my college extracurriculars and asked, 'President of the Gay/Straight Alliance? Are you gay?' When I said I was, she told me the interview was over and kicked me out. To make matters worse, the interview took place in an open cubicle. Other interviewees both heard and got to watch me walk out crying."
19. “'Are you married? Any prospects? Why are you single? What happened in your last relationship?' Like sir, this is a Wendy’s..."
"I actually got the job (which wasn’t at a Wendy’s, LOL), but the weird invasive personal questions were just the first of many red flags. It was for an LDS-owned company, which [was the reason for] all the questions about if I was married/seeing anyone and if I had kids or when I would(!)."
20. "I used to write a beer blog. I went to an interview, and the people interviewing me accused me of being an alcoholic because of my interest in beer and told me that I really need to seek help. Needless to say, I walked out."
21. And finally....any lowball pay offers like, "This job pays $2.12 per hour plus tips."
22.
Note: Responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.