Posted on Jul 31, 2017
During an interview for a job, is the person conducting the interview allowed to hold your military service against you as a disqualifier?
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I recently retired after 27 yrs of service and applied for a job posting I knew I was fully qualified for. However during the job interview, the company co-owner stated they did not know if they were willing to take a chance on me with zero civilian experience. Two weeks later I was called and told I did not get the job because of this fact. Is this legal and was I discriminated against?
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Interview
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Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 12
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Legally, it would depend on what was said. If it is as you reported above, it was legal. The reason you didn't get the job was because the employer didn't feel you had relevant experience. You can argue whether or not that is TRUE, but whether it is TRUE isn't really relevant - what is relevant is the determination of the employer. As stated it was your lack of relevant experience (in their assessment), not your military service.
If I were to guess, based on just what I have seen, I believe that the company owner read your resume and said "Hmmm, maybe..." and gave you an interview. During/After the interview, he thought "what he's saying isn't relevant to what I need."
Had they said "We don't think a military people work out", that would have been an entirely different matter.
You will never really know if you were discriminated against. It is legal as formulated. I note that you got the interview, which means your resume hooked them at least a little. So I think the take away would be to ensure that you can explain how your military experience is directly relatable to what an EMPLOYER BELIEVES their needs are.
It might be worthwhile to ask for a debriefing from the owner, if you make clear that you are looking for feedback and not wanting to argue about the decision.
If I were to guess, based on just what I have seen, I believe that the company owner read your resume and said "Hmmm, maybe..." and gave you an interview. During/After the interview, he thought "what he's saying isn't relevant to what I need."
Had they said "We don't think a military people work out", that would have been an entirely different matter.
You will never really know if you were discriminated against. It is legal as formulated. I note that you got the interview, which means your resume hooked them at least a little. So I think the take away would be to ensure that you can explain how your military experience is directly relatable to what an EMPLOYER BELIEVES their needs are.
It might be worthwhile to ask for a debriefing from the owner, if you make clear that you are looking for feedback and not wanting to argue about the decision.
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SFC Michael Sanderson
LTC Stoneking,
She said to me the last person they hired for the position was right out of the military and he didn't work out so that's why they are reluctant to do the same thing. She told me that they prefer someone to have both a military and civilian background because the last person did not workout for them.
She said to me the last person they hired for the position was right out of the military and he didn't work out so that's why they are reluctant to do the same thing. She told me that they prefer someone to have both a military and civilian background because the last person did not workout for them.
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Discriminated against yes you were. But it go`s on every day. You probably would not have keep the job, with there attitude towards the military ...
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