Young woman, made to moan and crawl at the job interview. The humiliating experiences endured by young people in the recruitment process

The job interview, already perceived as extremely stressful, can become an even more intimidating process for candidates, if they face humiliating situations or are discriminated against because of age, gender or physical appearance, according to the BBC.

By the Observator editorial team on 05.06.2024, 11:33

Lae arrived in time for an interview at a law firm in Bristol. He waited 20 minutes, but was told that the process was canceled and asked to come back the next day. She left upset, only to get a text later saying the “cancellation” was actually a test, which she failed. He did not receive the position for which he had applied.

The young woman says that the whole experience was “extremely bizarre” and that this led her to open her own business, where she ensures that the recruitment process is much fairer. Lae is not the only one who has gone through such an experience. According to recruitment agency Hays, more than half of candidates had a negative experience during the interview for a new job.

Aixin Fu had a similar experience. The young woman applied for a position at the university, with minimum salary. During the group interview, the candidates were asked to crawl on their knees and moan. “I did this for three or four minutes. At the time I was quite disturbed. It was extremely inappropriate. But there was also pressure from colleagues, because they were all doing the same thing,” the young woman recalls. The interviewer stated that he was trying to see if they had a sense of humor, but Aixin believes that he actually wanted to show them who held the power.

Humiliating experiences endured by young people during the recruitment process

Julie from Missouri said that during an interview for a part-time job as a copywriter, she was asked how old she was. Initially, everything went great, she says, but at one point the interviewer asked her: “How many years do you think you have left?”. Julie, aged 60, felt discriminated against.

Age discrimination is not the only bias that people can encounter during interviews. Pearl Kasirye, content marketing manager, says she was asked to talk about her background during a second interview for a remote PR role at a fashion house in Milan. Kasirye, originally from Uganda, moved to Europe as a child. The woman revealed that her employer insisted on paying her a Ugandan salary instead of a London salary. Following the experience, he withdrew from the recruitment process.