Yahoo News "I Was Denied A Sales Job At Circuit City For Being Too Short." Job Applicants Are Revealing The Bizarre Reasons Why They Were Turned Down From A Job
Some employers can be totally heinous when it comes to rejecting people from working for their company. From ghosting to poor and horrible excuses, I'm sure anyone who has applied for a job can think of at least one...memorable experience.
A while back, I shared some outrageous job rejection stories that inspired even more people to share their experiences, which inspired even more people to tell their story. Here's what they had to say:
1."I applied for a safety officer job and was rejected because, although I had plenty of experience, I didn’t have the necessary qualifications, so I went and got the 'necessary qualifications,' and the next time I applied, I was also rejected, but this time because I lacked experience."
2."In my field, I have a thousand of these stories. My favorite is when a candidate was declined because they brought their résumé in a Jonas Brothers folder."
3."My husband got hired as a plant manager for a company that liked that he had a background in safety because they didn’t have anyone in a safety position...and it showed. The only thing they had that was right was that all the exit signs were lit."
"Everything else was a violation (and they worked with hazardous materials), so my husband quickly told them that if they didn’t fix these dangerous things, if a safety organization ever came, they’d be fined a ton and most likely shut down. They let my husband go the next day. I guess instead of fixing the issues, they wanted someone to just walk around and look pretty while they did what they wanted. I wonder to this day if a safety auditor ever showed up."
4."I got rejected from an office job because I wasn't doodling in my sketchbook at the interview. They said, 'Your CV says that you enjoy drawing; why aren't you doing that right now?' (Not as in 'at this point in your life,' but 'right here in this interview room.')"
5."I was working as an apprentice mechanic for a mechanic shop that happened to be a franchise. After three weeks of doing my own work, unsupervised, the corporate office workers showed up to 'check in' because they found out that I was a woman."
"They decided to go through these ridiculous, demeaning 'tests' to see if I could 'handle' the job. I did all of them with ease, and then, for the very last one, they did up the wheel nuts with the rattle gun, then told me that I needed to be able to undo them by hand without a breaker bar; otherwise, I’m not strong enough for the job. Obviously, I couldn’t do that, because even a massive man wouldn’t be able to do that. I was fired on the spot."
6."As a fresh grad then, I applied to a lot of companies and had a hard time getting a job, even if I'd been on a ton of interviews. Most of them wouldn’t hire me because I had no experience. How will you get experience when no one will hire you? Fast-forward a few months, and my mom referred me to a friend who worked in a bank under loans. I was interviewed by the immediate boss and the VP of the team."
"Since they liked me, I proceeded to HR and had the entrance test as a formality, and after that, I had my medical exam. I waited for a month, canceling other interviews I had lined up because I seriously thought I had the job. When I asked my aunt why the company hadn't called me back yet, she found out they hired someone else because I studied at a private school and may be bored with the job. I found out later on that the person they hired, who happened to have the same name and who also studied in a private school, left after just three months."
7."My previous manager didn’t hire someone because she let it drop that she had a burnout years ago. I guess I don’t have to tell you how she treats her employees and how many people get burned out while working for her. It’s never her fault, though."
8."I was denied a sales job at Circuit City for being too short. Never mind that I came in as a 15-year expert on pretty much everything electronic and spent three years being the highest-commissioned salesperson at my former job."
"The manager literally said, 'Sorry, we don't hire any guys for sales unless they're six feet tall.' He even refused to give me a job as a janitor because he didn't think I could reach all the shelves. As it turns out, that was an open policy at quite a few of those stores. I'm glad they went bankrupt."
9."I was told by a fabric store in the late '90s that they wouldn’t hire me because I was pregnant. I was asked during the interview, and I stupidly answered affirmatively (I was only six weeks along)."
10."I interviewed at two different banks, and they asked if I had anything that I would need time off for. I answered honestly and said that my dad had stage IV cancer at the time. I'm pretty sure that’s why I didn’t get either job, even though at that point I had four years of relevant teller/banking experience."
11."My first job ever was at a law firm, and I had no prior experience or knowledge, but they provided training. It was a temporary job but a great experience, so I decided to continue in the field of law and look for other legal assistant positions. I had no luck for a few months and decided to start studying to hopefully increase my chances."
"I applied for a job at firm A and quickly got an interview that I thought went pretty well. Two days later, I was rejected because I didn’t have enough education or experience (despite the job asking for a high school diploma and no experience, sharing my prior knowledge during the interview, and not to mention I was studying at the time!). Needless to say, that crushed my self-esteem, and I felt pretty demotivated for a while. I then applied to firm B for the same position and the same type of law, and I got the job. Almost a year has passed since then, and firm A still routinely advertises the vacancy, so 🤷🏽♀️."
12."I applied to a bus boy/cashier job at a local music hall, where I'd be a bus boy first and cashier as needed, and that was fine. I was applying with at least 10 years of customer service experience as a cashier at a grocery store. They told me I didn't have enough experience, and when I said that I have 10 years of experience as a cashier, they said that it was the wrong kind of experience."
13."Years ago, I applied to work in a clothes shop selling alternative clothing, punk, goth, and similar. I was offered the job on the condition that I take my nose ring out and wear tops that cover my tattoos. I walked out laughing."
14."I worked for a vet office where the manager would not hire or even bother to interview anyone who was overweight for any position ('we only have so much room') and would not hire anyone he deemed to be unattractive for receptionists ('we want to welcome clients with something pleasant when they walk in'). We lost out on hiring a lot of qualified people."
And finally, here's a totally unfair experience that anyone with an uncommon name can totally relate to:
15."I adopted an English feminine name and my mum's maiden name as my professional name because my 'foreign' name or the gender people assumed I was based on my name put some potential employers off. Some went through the motions after I arrived, with some making it clear they were disappointed that I wasn't a guy like they assumed I was based on my apparently 'masculine' name."
"Two employers admitted years later that they decided to reject me when they saw my name because they didn't want to deal with the hassle of pronouncing or spelling it right. Anyhow, I was advised to adopt a professional name, and it unfortunately worked, as I've gotten work fairly easily since. I regret doing that, though."
Note: Submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.
Have a totally ridiculous reason why you were rejected from a job? Let me know in the comments!
