An Australian applying for a customer service position at an insurance company was surprised when the hiring manager opened the interview with Welcome to the country.
The applicant shared the “bizarre” experience on Reddit, saying the Brisbane-based company’s hiring manager “took it upon himself” to perform a welcome to the country at the beginning of a “very small” group interview with fewer than five candidates .
“I wanted to get other people’s opinions on this because I thought it was Australian corporate culture at its peak,” the candidate wrote on Friday.
“At the time I didn’t think twice about it, but in hindsight it’s quite strange and unnecessary.
“I understand that companies do this for large/important meetings with senior management, but in a job interview it just seemed useless to me.”
A candidate for a customer service role at a Brisbane insurance company was left confused after the hiring manager opened the meeting with a welcome to the country greeting (file image)
A welcome to country can only be delivered by traditional owners or custodians of the land on which the event is taking place.
It is usually performed by a local Aboriginal elder to acknowledge and consent to events taking place on their traditional lands.
If a Traditional Owner is not available to give the Welcome to Country, an Acknowledgment of Country can be delivered instead.
Australians were quick to share their thoughts, with many agreeing that the welcome to the country had been unnecessary in the job interview.
“I’d say I’m a pretty progressive guy in terms of Aboriginal rights, I don’t mind welcoming country at a formal or sporting event,” one man wrote.
“However, I think country recognition in the workplace for anyone below the CEO (and even then) is the most embarrassing nonsense of all time.”
‘Cringe. Did she also stand up and sing the National Anthem? Reeks of virtue signaling,” a second commented.
“Do that shit and I’ll be back out the door,” said a third.
—Damn the interview. I’m not going to work in a place full of woke leftist virtue-signalling dolls.
A fourth shared: “I find every meeting pointless.”
Aunty Joy Murphy Wandin is seen performing a welcome to country at the A-League Women’s Grand Final match between Melbourne and Sydney on May 4.
Others shared their own experiences of the Aboriginal ceremony.
“I went to a function the Labor Party organized for small businesses to meet a number of federal MPs,” one person wrote.
‘Not only was there a 20-minute Welcome to Country, but literally each speaker spent a few minutes doing a Country Acknowledgment before speaking.
“It’s reaching a fucking weird level of quasi-religious performative theater.”
“I had a photography awards night with my local council. EVERY person who spoke acknowledged and welcomed… it made me never want to participate again, just say it once and move on,” said a second.
A third shared: ‘My experience has been that any meeting I’ve had involving HR or similar, will almost always include a Country Acknowledgment. They seem to take it very seriously, often more than the “purpose” of the meeting.
An Acknowledgment of Country is a way to show awareness and respect for the Traditional Custodians of the land where a meeting or event is taking place.
Its purpose is to recognize Aboriginal people’s continued connection to country and can be taught by both Indigenous and non-Indigenous people.