People Question Chick-Fil-A’s Intentions For Requiring Job Applicants To Record A 30-Second Video Explaining Why They Want To Work There
"So you can profile me before I walk through the door!?"
refrina | Shutterstock While filling out an online job application to work at Chick-fil-A, an applicant was stunned by a bizarre prompt that required a video response.
The Chick-fil-A job application required applicants to record a 30-second video explaining why they wanted to work there.
The applicant posted a screenshot of the ludicrous question to the subreddit, r/antiwork. "Please upload a 30-second video explaining why you want to work a Chick-fil-A," it reads.
The Redditor suggested that the "Christian anti-gay chicken" restaurant wanted these videos so they could "profile" potential employees before they are even invited for an interview.
fizkes | Shutterstock
Others online agreed that the question was unusual and questioned the motives of Chick-fil-A.
“This is a way to circumvent profiling, whether, racist, ageist, or homophobic. They can't ask so they wanna have a looksies,” one Redditor theorized.
“This sounds suspiciously like they want to check for certain characteristics they want to avoid,” another commenter wrote.
A third user noted the question was likely the company's "sly way asking 'what color are you, how old are you, and do you look physically acceptable.'"
There are several ways employers use job application prompts to profile candidates. Even asking an applicant for their name opens the doors to profiling, where they can judge a candidate’s ethnicity, gender, background, and perceived language skills based on their name.
Asking for a photo or video allows recruiters to judge an applicant even further as they are able to see the candidate's appearance, race, age, and gender. Yet they disguise their intention to profile by requiring a video response to a job-related question, like the one the candidate was asked on the Chick-fil-A application.
Aside from the possibility of profiling, many people on Reddit found it strange that such a question would be asked on an application for a fast food job. Many commenters noted that the reason most people apply for a job at Chick-fil-A is simply to pay their bills — not out of a passion for selling chicken or a deep desire to work for the company.
Instead of doing what the prompt asked, Redditors encouraged the applicant to toy with the chicken chain in their response.
“Write on a piece of paper, 'I want to pay my bills’ and film it for 30 seconds with no skin showing,'" one user recommended.
“Do it Star Wars style with long scrolling text, in an annoying font. Start with the text zooming out, but replace ‘Star Wars’ with ‘Money,’” another user commented.
Another Redditor suggested Rickrolling the hiring manager by uploading the "first thirty seconds of Rick Astley's 'Never Gonna Give You Up.'"
If Chick-fil-A recruiters are truly looking for a heartfelt video from an applicant who claims that their lifelong dream is to serve chicken with no financial motives, they're likely out of luck.
And if they are using the video question as a way to discern what candidates physically look like, then they may be breaking the law. After all, it is illegal to discriminate against an employee based on race, gender, sexuality, disability, or age.
Megan Quinn is a writer at YourTango who covers entertainment and news, self, love, and relationships.