A job seeker claimed she was rejected for a position she was perfect for, all because she didn’t wear makeup to the interview.
Melissa Weaver, 30, from New York, revealed in a recent Tik Tok who had applied for a position as vice president of human resources at a technology company, but says she was rejected after the recruiter felt she “hadn’t put enough effort” into her appearance.
The video sparked outrage from Weaver’s followers, many of whom noted that her experience is clear proof that “privilege is real.”
Some even urged her to sue the unnamed company, however, Ms. Weaver noted in a follow-up video that while it is illegal in the US to discriminate as a recruiter based on age, race, gender, religion or sexuality, employers may make a decision based on appearance.
In the clip, which has already racked up more than 700,000 views, the job seeker said: ‘Does wearing makeup, in the case of women, in job interviews or at jobs not make it look like they are not putting on so much effort or attention in your work? ‘
Melissa Weaver (pictured), 30, claimed she was turned down from a job she was a perfect fit for because she didn’t wear makeup to the interview.
The New York City job applicant was told her appearance didn’t show she cared enough about the role, despite wearing a jacket and earrings, as well as having her hair specially combed.
She went on to explain that she was even more amazed by the decision because she had been told that “her background was exactly what they were looking for,” that she had the right level of experience, and that her personal goals were aligned with those of the company.
Having been made redundant from her last job in December, Ms Weaver was delighted to land this interview three months later and said everything went “very well”.
“For every question I had, I had a great answer,” he explained.
He added: ‘I used to work in recruitment. I know how to interview.’
However, after being “disheartened” and “very confused” about not progressing to the next stage, the 30-year-old asked for feedback.
Since appearance was the reason for her rejection, through the process of elimination she deduced that this meant she should have worn makeup.
“I had a blowout in my hair, I had a nice jacket and some earrings, but I just put Chapstick on, I didn’t have any makeup on,” she revealed.
“I don’t really wear a lot of makeup, not to be extravagant, I just don’t.”
People who responded were shocked and said she ‘dodged a bullet’ by not getting the job, as she revealed she avoids makeup because it irritates her eyes.
She revealed in her follow-up that wearing makeup irritates her eyes and skin, so she avoids it if possible.
Those who responded to the viral TikTok expressed their disbelief at the outcome, and some even shared similar stories.
One asked: ‘Is that legal?’
Others expressed: ‘Honestly, that feels like discrimination. Not hiring you for your appearance…
‘Should it matter? It doesn’t matter? Unfortunately yes…
‘It’s not reasonable. Are men denied jobs because they don’t wear makeup?…
‘It is absolutely ridiculous that we are expected to literally PAINT OUR FACE to be considered “complete” or “professional”…
“I can’t believe I put that in writing…
“It’s crazy that I said that to you in an email; I would never say this to a man…
‘You dodged a bullet in my opinion [in my opinion].’
Ms. Weaver was actually quite measured in her response, wondering if being rejected for not wearing makeup was similar to a man not being given a job because he had an unkempt beard or a tattoo on his face. expensive.
However, one woman shared her experience as vice president saying: ‘I haven’t put on makeup in five or six years. It’s not a good reason not to get a job.
Other women shared their experiences of feeling judged for not wearing makeup, even though it did not impact their work.
Others commented: ‘Something slightly similar has happened to me before. I had about 4 interviews with this place and they said they didn’t choose me because of my clothing choice. I felt like a waste of time…
‘I got a very stressful job and started wearing less makeup. It was mentioned that he seemed stressed. I started wearing more makeup again and suddenly I was high functioning again. I was doing the same level of work…
‘I was at university working as a receptionist and my boss told me about the need to spend more time on my appearance, as I am the first person clients see. It was a pediatric clinic…
‘I was told almost exactly the same thing several years ago, except they said “it’s not polished enough.” Turns out it was my curly hair. It was too wild. Craziness.’
A survey of over 500 recruiting professionals in 2021 by fairygodboss found that appearance is a strong predictor of professionalism judgments in women.
Of a selection of hypothetical candidates, the one most frequently selected as most likely to be hired was a young, thin, dark-skinned Caucasian.