Have you experienced discrimination during interviews?

CPT Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 08 Dec 2015 09:52:00 -0500

I have had some interesting situations during interviews and this past interview was "rather interesting"

1) I interviewed with a company called Tekno Telecom and the manager asked me: "So how do you feel working in an all white environment" ?

MY ANSWER: "I have been doing it all my life".

Which is very true, not lying or being confrontational, just the truth.

The owner had an issue I guess with people with "extracurricular activities" like skydiving, this was from a past employer. The manager and recruiter both mentioned it. Unfortunately I went to airborne school....doooh.

I didn't get the job, I felt with the manager I had a good feel but with the owner not as much. Nothing technical, oriented why they said no. They simply changed the requirements of what they wanted and said I wasn't a fit.

2) I interviewed with Motorola Solutions in 2012 and one interviewer was constantly asking about my deployments. I told her a year out, she woudl know but mentioned a couple of times the possibility of me deploying was very slight. I'm in the National Guard BTW. I didn't get the job.

3) In 2003 I interviewed for a DSP (Digital Signal Processing) job at Motorola Mobility, and noticed the entire office was speaking mandarin Chinese and the group just hired an engineer from the University of China. I answered all the questions correct. But didn't get the job.

Truth is you SUCK IT UP AND DRIVE ON.

Response by Capt Brandon Charters made Dec 8 at 2015 10:01 AM

Capt Brandon Charters — Tue, 08 Dec 2015 10:01:05 -0500

Great attitude CPT Private RallyPoint Member. These are some interesting case studies for everyone to see. Item #1 seems completely out of line to me. To bring up race in an interview, is a no-go.
Many employers do weigh 'company cultural fit' and this can be very objective and unfair at times. Your advice is right, DRIVE ON brother. They're missing out.

Response by MSG Tim Gray made Dec 8 at 2015 10:05 AM

MSG Tim Gray — Tue, 08 Dec 2015 10:05:30 -0500

I can't believe you were asked this question "all white environment" good on you to maintain your bearing. You need to work where they don't ask that question, like a veteran owned business.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 8 at 2015 10:05 AM

SSG Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 08 Dec 2015 10:05:36 -0500

I've been afraid a few times when getting hired on to mention my involvement in the guard for that reason. Many companies that aren't hiring entry level positions frown on the fact that they have to "share" their employees with the state government. But they also fear what might happen in the clerical side if I were to deploy and they lose track of my paperwork.
For an example. I joined the Army NG. I gave my employer ample time and information that I'd be coming back and that my slot should stay reserved.
I came back from AIT, found the slot closed and my ex employer scrambling to find a way to let me back in.
So in a nutshell, big employers don't want guardsmen in their ranks because it is more of a hassle than they think it's worth to keep them on than to just hire someone out of college.
Obviously this is just a personal opinion and experience. So, don't take my word for it.

Response by MAJ Jim Steven made Dec 8 at 2015 1:15 PM

MAJ Jim Steven — Tue, 08 Dec 2015 13:15:43 -0500

in regards to "all white environment..."
my first thought that comes to mind..."I can deal with white people, is the jackasses that get to me!"

Response by SN Greg Wright made Dec 8 at 2015 2:16 PM

SN Greg Wright — Tue, 08 Dec 2015 14:16:36 -0500

CPT Private RallyPoint Member I think I understand, at least as much as anyone can who isn't subjected to it, your frustration. I'm sorry you're experiencing this.

An officer with 10 years in uniform? Their loss.

Response by PO3 Sherry Thornburg made Dec 8 at 2015 6:01 PM

PO3 Sherry Thornburg — Tue, 08 Dec 2015 18:01:28 -0500

Yeah, I've been on interviews where the writing was on the wall within 10 minutes and I just stood up and said I don't think this is going to be a good fit. Have a nice day. Was I happy about it. No.

Response by PO1 John Miller made Dec 8 at 2015 9:28 PM

PO1 John Miller — Tue, 08 Dec 2015 21:28:55 -0500

While I don't necessarily think you experience racial discrimination, I do think you experienced military discrimination. Every civilian job I've ever interviewed for since retiring from the Navy I was not ultimately offered. Personally I have always had better luck with veteran-owned defense contractors.

Response by PO1 John Miller made Dec 8 at 2015 9:31 PM

PO1 John Miller — Tue, 08 Dec 2015 21:31:31 -0500

I was asked during one interview why a person with my experience was applying for an entry level help desk position. I said "Well, I don't think this is going to be a good fit for either of us, have a great day."

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Dec 8 at 2015 9:38 PM

MAJ Ken Landgren — Tue, 08 Dec 2015 21:38:25 -0500

You want a company that wants you!

Response by LTC Jeffrey Strickland made Dec 8 at 2015 9:43 PM

LTC Jeffrey Strickland — Tue, 08 Dec 2015 21:43:53 -0500

CPT Private RallyPoint Member there are many companies that claim to be military friendly. The fact is there a few. Most of them check the block by interviewing veterans and then not hiring them.

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 21 at 2015 4:00 PM

LTC Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 21 Dec 2015 16:00:55 -0500

I was asked how I felt about working in a "diverse environment" during an interview once.

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 30 at 2016 9:35 AM

CPT Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 30 Jan 2016 09:35:52 -0500

JUST TO UPDATE, if people are following, I found a job and started in January. It just tok a matter of time and learning from every experience. I also am getting paid 5000/yr more on this job than my last one.

I am attaching a URL of text file that lists learned lessons from many of the interviews I did. Now granted this was for Software Engineering but I also have issues that dealt with "Soft Skills" so if your not a software engineer you will still find this Question and Answer section useful.

http://rbaz.tripod.com/resumes/interview_questions_and_answers.txt

---------------------------------------- INTERVIEW WITH DERRICO SOFTWARE LIMITED ---------------------------------------- 1) What is a class ? - A class in C++ is a user defined type or data structure declared with the keyword class that has data and functions (also called methods) as its members whose access is governed by the three access specifiers private, protected or public (by default access to members of a class are private). 2) What...

Response by PO3 Michael Peterson made Feb 10 at 2016 5:23 AM

PO3 Michael Peterson — Wed, 10 Feb 2016 05:23:08 -0500

I believe I have. Simply because I am old.

Response by Donald E Gleason Jr made Feb 7 at 2020 10:09 PM

Donald E Gleason Jr — Fri, 07 Feb 2020 22:09:27 -0500

A couple of years ago I had a couple of interviews with Cancer Treatment Centers of America for a VP position... it was clear in my research that being white was going to make me an exception. In the interview, it was clearly confirmed: how do you think you will feel being a minority (position was in USVI)... I shared that my teams reflect significant diversity & inclusion - she didn’t care, she even slipped up and said she wished I wasn’t white. Reversed discrimination, yes.... quite an experience!