Jobseeker Claims She's 'Never Been So Disrespected' After Potential Employer Asks Her To In-Person Interview
Interview gone wrong: is Gen Z finally holding corporate America accountable for their mistreatment of employees?
Gutesa / Shutterstock Natalya Haddix is a TikToker and freelance social media marketing consultant who works out of Miami, FL. A recent TikTok of hers where she reflects on a bad experience with an in-person job interview has recently gone viral.
In her video, Haddix explained that she was browsing Indeed filling out multiple job applications, as one does in this day and age. She then received a call back from a company called Brand IQ to come in for an interview.
Haddix described feeling 'disrespected' by the in-person interview.
Haddix said, “Their mission, vision, brand voice, values, all of those, they’re not there.” in regard to the company’s website. This was red flag number one.
Companies should be transparent with their customers about their values and missions so people can make an informed decision on whether or not to support them. She explained that they asked her to come to their location for an in-person interview, which she viewed as an inconvenience to her because she thought they should have done a phone interview or a Zoom call for the first one.
Haddix did receive backlash on this comment. One TikTok user commented “What? People in their 30s and 40s have to do exactly the same thing and we didn’t have Zoom calls so stop complaining it’s ridiculous.”
Haddix noted multiple red flags during the interview.
She claimed that the job listing stated that two or more years of experience were required to be considered, which means it was not an entry-level job. The salary that was posted was $36,000-$38,000. The average entry-level salary for sales workers in Miami, FL is $33,910, so she had a right to question the pay.
If experience is required for the job, the company should compensate their employees properly for having said experience. Haddix remarked, “There is no clearer way to tell people that you are interviewing that we don’t give a sh-t about our employees.”
When Haddix arrived at the office to do the interview, she was asked to fill out a paper application although she had already filled out one online and they had a copy of her resume. She said it was as if she was filling out an application for “a summer job or something.”
One TikTok user commented on this stating “I would’ve left after the paper application.” This was red flag number three for Haddix. Experts have noted that companies that use paper applications significantly reduce their chances of hiring highly skilled employees and keep their hiring process sluggish and out of date.
Despite this, Haddix filled out the application surrounded by other applicants and overhearing another interview being conducted — red flag number four.
This is highly unprofessional because the other interviewees could have heard personal information about the other applicants. It is an invasion of privacy. Her interview time had come and gone when the interviewer came out to grab the next group for their interview, and she was not a part of it. This was red flag number five, as a company that does not respect the time of those they are interviewing will likely not respect the time of the employees that they have hired. After this, she asked the receptionist what was going on. They replied to her and said, “this is an interview.”
Haddix decided that the job was not for her and walked out of the interview at that point as she claimed, “I have not been slaving away in my professional career to be applying for a job like this.”
Haddix received a lot of backlash on TikTok with people saying that she is "entitled" or that "she will never get a job with that attitude." One user came to her defense in the comments by writing “a lot of millennials won’t admit it, but gen z setting boundaries has taught us how silly we look for not setting them ourselves.”
Haddix refused to settle for a job where she felt like she was not going to be treated properly and received backlash for it.
She set proper boundaries for herself and the rest of the working world should follow suit.
Haddix created another TikTok in response to the hate she received. She stated that she is doing well for herself in a job that she got after that experience. In her decision to set boundaries, to not take the job she felt was going to mistreat her, she has a job that she loves and is passionate about.
There is a call to action she makes at the end of the video for everyone younger and older than her to set their own boundaries against corporate America to avoid getting mistreated in the workplace.
Tarah Hickel is a Washington-based writer and frequent contributor to YourTango who focuses on entertainment and news.