An Ohio woman went viral after revealing the horrendous question a potential employer asked her, while describing it as a “new level of job application hell.”
Salem Pierce, 30, graphic designer, flabbergasted Twitter last month, when he posted a screenshot of the inappropriate question while applying for an online visual design lead position at an unnamed company.
The job application asked: ‘How do you feel your life has been so far? Record a short video response of approximately 2-5 minutes and paste the link here.’
“Just dropped a new job application level,” he tweeted along with the photo, which has been viewed more than 2.2 million times.
Salem Pierce, a 30-year-old graphic designer, stunned Twitter when she shared a screenshot of a job application question that asked her to share how she feels “life has been good so far.”
Many Twitter users were horrified by both the intrusive question and the request for a video response, calling it “appalling” and a “literal nightmare.”
Many commenters were appalled by the intrusive question, calling it “appalling” and a “literal nightmare.”
“Both the question and the requirement for a video response are causing internal screaming. If I tried to do it, it would probably be 2-5 minutes of outside screaming,” one person wrote.
‘HUUH? Coming from a recruiter. I never. What kind of job is? asked another.
“Unfortunately, sometimes the job application process itself is a red flag that says ‘don’t continue, this will not be a good place to work,'” another person noted.
Several Twitter users were concerned that the video response was being used to discriminate against applicants.
‘I don’t know what part of the interview process this is from, but I don’t like this. I could see so many ways this is a seemingly innocuous way to remove people from a protected class under the guise of “aptitude” or “attitude” or “charisma,” one Twitter user responded.
‘I don’t trust this. Absolutely. Seems like a way of weeding out people who aren’t neurotypical or white/cishet/thin before they get a chance to interview them,” someone else agreed.
Commenters worried that the video response was being used to discriminate against applicants, while others shared the outrageous questions they were asked for a job.
Another added: “I can’t think of a way this couldn’t be used to discriminate.”
The job application also inspired people to share the outrageous and unethical things they’ve been asked during interviews.
“I was once asked in a job interview: ‘Most of my team is Jewish, are you Jewish?'” one woman commented.
‘I once applied for a job at Target, one of the questions was what percentage of politicians do I think are honest. I didn’t get the job,’ another person shared.
‘Ha! My 48-year-old (Land Development) husband was asked if he had any reservations about working with younger co-workers “since the whole office is made up of young, hip people,” recalled another.
Some couldn’t resist sharing how they would answer the ridiculous question.
“He would turn the camera all the way on and record me crying for a full 2 minutes and then say ‘thank you’ and end the recording,” one Twitter user shared.
“I’d just drop off my therapist’s email and tell them I’ll give them the Reader’s Digest version,” another quipped.
There were also many commenters who insisted they wouldn’t respond at all, with one woman saying she “would rather have a coloscopy.”
Some couldn’t resist sharing how they would respond to the ridiculous question, but others insisted it was a red flag that led them to rescind their application.
However, despite the backlash, there were some people who saw the question as an opportunity to discuss how their lives have impacted their careers.
‘This is interesting. Sometimes I wish I had the chance to amplify my obstacles in life instead of trying to make sense of things on my resume. For me, I think I would use this time to explain why my career path looks like this. But I don’t know what his ultimate goal is here,” one person said.
“I like this because it would give me a chance to explain circumstances that may seem less than desirable and contrast them with my general attitudes toward things that might increase my chances of being selected,” another person explained.
After Pierce’s tweet went viral, he opened up about his job search in an interview with BuzzFeedsaying he has been unemployed for the past two years after leaving a ‘toxic job’.
She has been sharing her search journey on Twitter, including her frustrations with the process. She noted that she did not film a video or complete the application because there were other “minor red flags” that she had noticed.
‘Many people are concerned about the [question’s] possibility of discrimination based on race, gender or ability. Others, myself included, don’t like how intrusive it feels to people with past trauma or from disadvantaged backgrounds,” he said of the app question.
‘Several people with HR experience said they’ve seen questions like this used to detect ‘victim mentality’, which is really gross.