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Started a new job 4 months ago but the early starts ( leave house at 0430 ) are starting to take their toll .
So , having looked at my financial position / age / family life expectancy etc I started looking for a part time role to potentially begin cutting back my working career.
In an interview for a part time sales counter position in a builders merchants I was asked straight out if i was 'Bent'
After the 90's put down the phone asking for their aged insults back I pretty much ended the interview. Abit of context / backstory to avoid drip feeding . He skim read my CV and picked up a couple of things . - Single, no wife , no kids . So then launched into homophobic mode. But to sit in with the BM who is basically saying that being gay meant it wouldn't be possible to work somewhere came as a bit of a surprise. I know the building trade is very 'blokey' but I kinda thought we'd moved on from playground insults.
Nowadays alot of companies send you a gender profiling questionaire when you apply to try to ensure they dont discriminate at the interview stage. I will keep looking , or stick with where im at for now . Think it might be easier in the winter to go to sleep at say 8pm as it seems so wrong on a glorious summer evening to be shutting out the light and going to bed the same time as a 6 yr old.
I'd complain. If they're a chain I'd definitely complain.
In an interview for a part time sales counter position in a builders merchants I was asked straight out if i was 'Bent'
After the 90's put down the phone asking for their aged insults back I pretty much ended the interview. Abit of context / backstory to avoid drip feeding . He skim read my CV and picked up a couple of things . - Single, no wife , no kids . So then launched into homophobic mode. But to sit in with the BM who is basically saying that being gay meant it wouldn't be possible to work somewhere came as a bit of a surprise. I know the building trade is very 'blokey' but I kinda thought we'd moved on from playground insults.
This is straight-up illegal. If it's any kind of chain I'd be reporting much higher up the line, I'd even think about reporting to the Police
That's shocking, 100% escalate that.
But also, as an aside, I don't have any of this stuff in my CV and I don;t think most people do nowadays:
He skim read my CV and picked up a couple of things . - Single, no wife , no kids .
A CV shouldn't include such personal info, but it flushed out the problem.
What you've described sounds like discrimination based on a protected characteristic. If it's a chain, I'd be raising hell, as I doubt it's their policy either.
If it's a small local business, you'll get more joy from the relevant authorities, though I fear it's not a top priority for them.
Agree, sounds like your CV needs an update. Not in any way excusing that behaviour though, that is shocking.
I would say you've dodged a bullet, image if this hadn't come up at interview and you ended up working there with people with attitudes like that.
Not as serious, but I was once interviewed for an account manager job, the territory covered most of Scotland and I was asked how I could be a credible account manager given that I am English.
This is straight-up illegal.
This.
There are "Protected Characteristics" which - by law, under the Equality Act - you are not allowed to ask in an interview. Sexual orientation is one of them.
He skim read my CV and picked up a couple of things . - Single, no wife , no kids
Why on earth is that stuff on your CV?
I'd echo of all of the above.
1. Escalate it and make sure people higher up the company know, if they have any kind of HR department they'd definitely like to know that kind of stuff is going on.
2. Sort your CV out.
Single
No Wife
No Kids
Had you put these under the heading Key Achievements?
Unbelievable, but this stuff still goes on - my wife has had discrimination in 'private' companies.
My employer is very much into EDI (Equality Diversity and Inclusion) but the 'powers that be' have told us that we can't put in job adverts that we expect employees to embrace EDI - it's an expectation as you just won't get on here unless you do embrace EDI.
Report them.
The world has to move on. My straight kids, friends and partners won’t work in places where it’s all phobic banter. I wouldn’t either of course. So report them
The answer to the question "are you bent?" of course is "yes." Then when you don't get the job the subsequent discrimination case should cover your salary for a few months. 😁
Why on earth is that stuff on your CV?
Having been skimming through CVs recently, it's amazing what people think is worth including. Exact dates of employment all the way back to an apprenticeship in 1972. Yes, I've not mistyped that - 1972!. The breeds of dogs that they own and 'normally walk every day'. Their obviously made up hobbies and pastimes including 'attending museums'. Six pages of a CV for a warehouse job. It's too easy to laugh at some of it.
It's too easy to laugh at some of it.
I think I'm wired the other way. My heart goes out and my empathy receptors go into overdrive for people who really need a job enough to run on to 6 pages and don't have the support or advice to hand to make a better hash of applying. Going to work sucks. 'Needing' to get a new job and having to fawn and grovel to some arse who's judging you and condensing your who life and experience into a few lines for a job which will probably suck when you start it, sucks even more.
As for the OP...
Bullet dodged. Can you imagine their other views and what they'd be like to work with if they felt able to say that in an interview to a total stranger. I'm sure you could report it either within the company if large enough or whoever you report such things. You could also write something on glassdoor reviews.
Sad thing is....to some people, and depressingly I fear more and more people as the populist Trump/Brexit/Farage movement empowers life's bigots to come out of their nasty little dark corners and voice their discriminatory views with confidence, knowing that this builder's merchants have 'got the balls to say it as it is' will be a marketing positive.
Money talks as they say - I'd probably put my efforts into spreading the story far and wide in the local community (local Facebook groups etc) and encourage the more enlightened people not to take on builders for work in their homes who get their supplies from them. Be a local version of Stop Funding Hate.
I'd probably put my efforts into spreading the story far and wide in the local community (local Facebook groups etc)
That sounds like a terrible idea.
I'd just move on and be thankful I didn't find out after starting work there.
Ok
Good to get some conformation bias that its totally unacceptable in todays world to even suggest that you wouldnt fit in if you were a homosexual within their working culture.
Having seen and spoken to a couple of other members of staff , plus a few other interview points .- I've never been quizzed as to which football team I support in an interview before as well I was never going to work there.
Will update CV accordingly and scrub the family history part of it. I thought it was normal to include some background to your home life , but obviuosly not.
As for a course of action , I think leave it for a week or 2 then a quick email to the company that owns this branch as to the reasons why you really shouldnt be asking homophobic questions in a job interview.
I hope you didn't tell them you were a bloody cyclist, always jumping lights etc. etc.
I got asked if I was a "confirmed bachelor" ie gay, in an interview for a job in a foundry 35 years ago.
Turned the job down. The company went bust 12 months later.
I'm gobsmacked this shit is still going on and so blatantly
Will update CV accordingly and scrub the family history part of it. I thought it was normal to include some background to your home life , but obviuosly not.
Take as much personal information out as you can. Keep it strictly business related, work history, your work related skills and any relevant qualifications. By all means put a bit about you in a hobbies and interests section but even then, angle it towards the job you are going for.
Don’t put in anything about your age, race/ethnicity, family, sexuality, or religion.
Six pages of a CV for a warehouse job. It's too easy to laugh at some of it.
Lordy. Six pages of CV for a medical job is usually regarded as too much.
My hobbies section may or may not include ‘wasting time on what purports to be a mountain bike forum’…
Will update CV accordingly and scrub the family history part of it. I thought it was normal to include some background to your home life , but obviously not.
CV format and what's expected seems to have changed pretty much every time I've applied for a job. Each job should have a tailored CV anyway but as you get older, all the stuff about school, even A-levels is increasingly irrelevant.
And certainly no personal stuff at all - any half decent place would anonymise most of it anyway but I've seen job applications where you can't even put the name of your school / university because of fears of bias if the interviewer sees that you went to Oxbridge or Hull Polytechnic. Age - not allowed to discriminate on that so, although it's fairly easy to work out an approx age from the dates of employment, there should be nothing in there that says DoB or "I am a [age] year old..."
Absolutely no family history, where you've lived, where you grew up; that's irrelevant to the point of "can you do this job?"
As for a course of action , I think leave it for a week or 2 then a quick email to the company that owns this branch as to the reasons why you really shouldnt be asking homophobic questions in a job interview.
I'd be sending that email immediately. If there's some overall union / trade body for that industry, I'd be copying them in too, it's blatantly illegal and inappropriate, even if it's dressed up as 'banter'.
In fact if any interviewer at my place of work asked anything of that nature, it'd be a near-instant dismissal.
Although very wrong, it appears it gave you the ability to dodge a bullet working for a terrible company
Sounds like I would have failed the interview too as I don’t have a liking for football
Sounds like you need advice on CV writing though !
I think leave it for a week or 2 then a quick email to the company that owns this branch as to the reasons
Why wait?
I think I'm more shocked they were stupid enough to ask a question like that, even if they are homophobic - it's not the 1970's any more...
Perhaps the interviewer was trying (very badly) to ask you out on a date 😉 Bless 🤣 😘
My hobbies section may or may not include ‘wasting time on what purports to be a mountain bike forum’…
That's the key skill on my CV
IMHO the benefit to waiting is if you want to distance yourself from the complaint being connected to you
It's too easy to laugh at some of it.
I think I'm wired the other way. My heart goes out and my empathy receptors go into overdrive for people who really need a job enough to run on to 6 pages and don't have the support or advice to hand to make a better hash of applying.
I actually don't know why CVs are even a thing. Why have this stupid guessing game. Why have your paid time and their unpaid effort wasted like this. You're an employer offering a position - ask potential candidates to provide the specific information you require from them in a format that makes it clear how much and how detailed that information needs to be. Don't give six pages worth of space if you don't want 6 pages worth of info, don't ask questions about dog walking and museums visits and you won't have to read that information.
A CV really just needs to be a way for someone to catalogue their own work history - an aid memoir - as a resource for themselves to use to provide pertinent information quick and easily when asked for by your concise and clearly formatted application form.
Good to get some conformation bias that its totally unacceptable in todays world to even suggest that you wouldnt fit in if you were a homosexual within their working culture.
It's not bias, it's the law.
Will update CV accordingly and scrub the family history part of it. I thought it was normal to include some background to your home life , but obviuosly not.
I mean this sincerely: Have you considered having a second pair of eyes run over your CV? If you were under the impression that this was the norm then I'll bet there's other tweaks to be had.
I actually don't know why CVs are even a thing. Why have this stupid guessing game. Why have your paid time and their unpaid effort wasted like this. You're an employer offering a position - ask potential candidates to provide the specific information you require from them in a format that makes it clear how much and how detailed that information needs to be. Don't give six pages worth of space if you don't want 6 pages worth of info, don't ask questions about dog walking and museums visits and you won't have to read that information.
A CV really just needs to be a way for someone to catalogue their own work history - an aid memoir - as a resource for themselves to use to provide pertinent information quick and easily when asked for by your concise and clearly formatted application form.
A CV is an initial sales pitch, its purpose is to land you an interview. An interview isn't a history test, once you're sat in the chair a CV's purpose has been fulfilled.
As for the rest here: you might well have been correct back in the days where recruitment meant that you'd apply for a couple of jobs, beat off a couple of other candidates (though not in the manner insinuated by the OP's interviewer) and land an offer from one of them, see you on Monday. The world is just not like that any more. Filling in an application form when you have a perfectly good CV already containing all that information is an inconvenience; filling in a hundred near-identical application forms is a monumental pain in the cods.
Six pages of a CV for a warehouse job. It's too easy to laugh at some of it.
Lordy. Six pages of CV for a medical job is usually regarded as too much.
My hobbies section may or may not include ‘wasting time on what purports to be a mountain bike forum’…
"So Sheridan, how are you getting on with that new eccentric bottom bracket?"
"Well Charles, at first I wasn't sure ... but you know, I really rather like it now."
I got asked if I was a "confirmed bachelor" ie gay, in an interview for a job in a foundry 35 years ago
I need to work on my “code words”, if someone said that to me I’d have assumed it just meant shagging around with no commitments. Although it’s so long since I heard “bent” used as in the OP that I’d have initially thought it was a question about nicking stuff and selling on the side!
I would tell the organisation management now, the longer you leave it the easier for them to deny/pretend it’s a vexaciois complaint because they didn’t hire you/suggest it’s some woke person blowing out of proportion.
if they are a good place to work - there’s a manager job coming up soon. If not you’ve dodged a bullet even if you shouldn’t have to.
I’m not surprised there’s recruitment discrimination on sexuality, I’m amazed that they asked the question. Even more amazed they used that language.
Sad thing is....to some people, and depressingly I fear more and more people as the populist Trump/Brexit/Farage movement empowers life's bigots to come out of their nasty little dark corners and voice their discriminatory views with confidence, knowing that this builder's merchants have 'got the balls to say it as it is' will be a marketing positive.
This. If you take a look at our local Facebook group it's a good example of that kind of open and thinly veiled unpleasantness rising. Thinly veiled xenophobia, racism, homophobia are all more apparent now than they were a few years ago. The only people they might have more dislike for are speed camera operators and cyclists.
Moderate voices get drowned out and abused and you'll never win a reasoned argument with such fanatics anyway.
I'd be complaining and to head office if it's a multi-site. Although if they feel confident talking like that in an interview what is their line management like?
Unfortunately, like getting a speeding ticket or close pass reprimand from the Police, attempting to educate is (imo) less likely to lead to more tolerance than it will to refreshing their prejudices and feeling that the woke / lefties are out to get them. After all a "cyclist"* got them in trouble so they're all ****s.
* I've deliberately used cyclist there as a parallel/non-derogatory substitute for whatever distasteful slur the individual might choose as I don't want to propagate those terms.
A CV is an initial sales pitch, its purpose is to land you an interview. An interview isn't a history test, once you're sat in the chair a CV's purpose has been fulfilled.
As for the rest here: you might well have been correct back in the days where recruitment meant that you'd apply for a couple of jobs, beat off a couple of other candidates (though not in the manner insinuated by the OP's interviewer) and land an offer from one of them, see you on Monday. The world is just not like that any more. Filling in an application form when you have a perfectly good CV already containing all that information is an inconvenience; filling in a hundred near-identical application forms is a monumental pain in the cods.
I read somewhere recently that some companies are going back to application forms, as it cuts the number of applications down from 100s of people sending in CVs to the 10s of people who want the job enough to spend time filling out a form.
If you think it's inconvenient filling out a form, do you really want the job?
A CV is an initial sales pitch, its purpose is to land you an interview. An interview isn't a history test, once you're sat in the chair a CV's purpose has been fulfilled.
As for the rest here: you might well have been correct back in the days where recruitment meant that you'd apply for a couple of jobs, beat off a couple of other candidates (though not in the manner insinuated by the OP's interviewer) and land an offer from one of them, see you on Monday. The world is just not like that any more. Filling in an application form when you have a perfectly good CV already containing all that information is an inconvenience; filling in a hundred near-identical application forms is a monumental pain in the cods.
It's a double edged sword and TBH I'm surprised CV's are still required for precisely that reason. It's too easy to apply for 100,200, 600 jobs now, which inherently means there are also 599 other applicants for each one. No one is reading the CV, and frankly the worse it gets the less "you should tailor your CV to the role" is practical anymore.
If I find a role I'm really interested in then I'll polish my CV for it, but TBH I would say I still have as much luck on "one click apply". My "CV" is about8 pages long, I expect no one other than an oracle database to read beyond halfway on page 1, the rest is just employment SEO.
Take as much personal information out as you can.
The only thing worth keeping is either a physical address if you're applying locally, or name drop the town (grew up in ...... previously worked at ........... , have links to the ......... area) if it's a relocation. A lot of roles will be getting applications from all over the world, so if the job is in Towncity make it clear you either live in Towncity, or are specifically planning to move there and can start without a delay.
I read somewhere recently that some companies are going back to application forms, as it cuts the number of applications down from 100s of people sending in CVs to the 10s of people who want the job enough to spend time filling out a form.If you think it's inconvenient filling out a form, do you really want the job?
It flips and flops with supply/demand of candidates/jobs. When we were fighting between companies just to get someone to apply take away all the barriers and make it as easy as possible. When every job gets hundreds of applicants - put in some self selection barriers to make your selection process easier.
I need to work on my “code words”, if someone said that to me I’d have assumed it just meant shagging around with no commitments.
The only thing worth keeping is either a physical address if you're applying locally, or name drop the town (grew up in ...... previously worked at ........... , have links to the ......... area) if it's a relocation. A lot of roles will be getting applications from all over the world, so if the job is in Towncity make it clear you either live in Towncity, or are specifically planning to move there and can start without a delay.
I'd agree with that and I would just caution about overly sanitising CVs to remove all sense of personality / personal details etc. When you have 50 CVs on your desk that all have a lot of very similar content, your memory of who's who quickly drains, especially if the CVs trickly in over days or you are hiring a lot of roles - get something in there that shows the human being behind the amazing education and professional track record. I work with humans not skills lists and prior achievements. A local connection, some volunteering, a passion etc... its fine to say you coach a kids football team, etc.
The weirdest question I've ever been asked in a job interview was what my parents did for a living. At the time, I naively thought that he was impressed that I had made it so far from such breeding, but actually, I'm pretty sure that had I said Lawyer, Accountant, or Doctor I might have got further, having been from good breeding, than HGV mechanic and Childminder. I was also asked in the same interview to explain the rules of cricket as though the person I was talking to was an alien who had never seen it before (for the role in questions explaining complex ideas was a key skill) this also seemed a bit unfair for a boy from glasgow who only knew cricket from the BBC news and had never seen or played it in his life - my suggestion that I didn't know anything about cricket didn't go down well, and whilst they lost out on clearly an excellent candidate 😉 I vowed never to use that firm if I had a choice going forward - over the last 20 years I've given over £0.5M worth of business to two of their competitors... I've never even asked them to quote for it. Interviewers beware - you are the face of the business!
It's a double edged sword and TBH I'm surprised CV's are still required for precisely that reason. It's too easy to apply for 100,200, 600 jobs now, which inherently means there are also 599 other applicants for each one.
Almost exactly the situation we are in. Thankfully I'm not involved in actually recruiting, just gave a quick bit of help in narrowing down the several hundred CVs that Indeed (or whoever) had sent over for a warehouse job, where the only important skills are a) will you turn up reliably b) are you tall enough to lift this item into this box c) are you strong enough to repeatedly do that. Unfortunately none of the CVs gave an idea on any of that! 🤣
The weirdest question I've ever been asked in a job interview was what my parents did for a living.
I had that for a development job in a food factory decades ago. (A store manager and factory worker, I probably said. Not too impressive, but I was in Abertillery, so who knows the reasoning.) However, I did hear our accountant say that his twenties son was asked the same recently.
Builders merchants, Bent = "are you okay dealing in cash and loosing the paperwork?"
Add a covering letter to your CV highlighting how your experience and skills meet the criteria in the job specification and also why you want the job.
I hate application forms - filled one in on Tuesday this week which was for a senior role for a small charity, which due to the appalling formatting of the original Word document, meant it also took part of yesterday morning as well as had to reformat most of it so it at least looked professional. My CV and a short covering letter would have given them a much better flavour of the relevant skills, experience and knowledge I could offer them, and would have taken an hour at most.
For the OP I agree contact the HQ - discrimination against someone because of their sexual orientation illegal under the Equality Act 2010, and asking whether someone is 'bent' may not strictly be against the law as there is no evidence that you are, but is certainly a practice that would be deemed as misconduct and should therefore be referred to the organisation's disciplinary process.
Thankfully I'm not involved in actually recruiting, just gave a quick bit of help in narrowing down the several hundred CVs that Indeed (or whoever) had sent over for a warehouse job,
Pull a dozen at random, throw the rest in the bin.
Add a covering letter to your CV highlighting how your experience and skills meet the criteria in the job specification and also why you want the job.
Your CV should cover the first half of that - tailor it to match if it doesn't - and the interview the second.
Builders merchants, Bent = "are you okay dealing in cash and loosing the paperwork?"
OOhh! now that's an intersting take on it.. !!!
I know a guy in Gibraltar, if your underwares a bit dirty, if you know what I mean? wink wink!
When can you start?
I'm inclined to view this as a lucky escape. We all know that people like this exist - but it is extraordinary that this particular example is put in charge of interviewing people - with absolutely no training by the sounds of it. At the very least, you would think the business owner would have made sure he didn't say stupid shit like this - if only to make sure they didn't get sued every 5 minutes.
From a practical perspective - write an email to head office, then move on with your life. Something like this would really get under my skin and piss me off for days. Don't let it do that.
I've been unemployed for the past 4 months - and in that time have applied for over 40 jobs, and have had about 25 interviews (of varying type). The recruitment industry/function of organisation is completely broken at the moment - and if you haven't been immersed in it within the last couple of years: your understanding of how it used to work just isn't relevant anymore.
Your CV is more important than ever - as it's your chance to present yourself in the way that YOU want to be considered as an applicant. Every job advert is getting absolutely spammed with hundreds of applicants, 80% or more of which are completely unqualified. There are lots of reasons for this IMO, but thats a conversation for annother day.
After 4 months, I had 2 job offers last week, accepted one, and start next week. I'm allowing the other applications I made to keep running though..... in fact I have another interview in 30 mins 🙂
After 4 months, I had 2 job offers last week, accepted one, and start next week. I'm allowing the other applications I made to keep running though..... in fact I have another interview in 30 mins 🙂
Congratulations - that must be a weight of your shoulders.
Congratulations - that must be a weight of your shoulders.
Yes - thank you, it is.
I’ll update my other thread about job hunting with what I’ve learned. I’ve managed to stay sane - but mostly because I got a decent payout after 12 years at my previous place. This experience now has me looking at my job/career completely differently.
OOhh! now that's an intersting take on it.. !!!
It is, because it's a get-out clause.
"Are you bent?" == "we don't want any poofters here." One tribunal later, "sorry m'lud, I was merely enquiring somewhat directly as to whether the candidate was likely to undercut me by working dishonestly."
I'd probably put my efforts into spreading the story far and wide in the local community (local Facebook groups etc) and encourage the more enlightened people not to take on builders for work in their homes who get their supplies from them. Be a local version of Stop Funding Hate.
I can sense the outrage
Their obviously made up hobbies and pastimes including 'attending museums'.
Why would you think this is made up?
Whenever I go up to London I usually visit one of the major museums or galleries, I made a specific trip to Bath last week to see an exhibition in the Victoria Gallery, I often pop into the museum in town to check out new exhibitions.
Why anyone would assume that’s ‘made up’ is frankly beyond my comprehension.
*rollseyes*
The weirdest question I've ever been asked in a job interview was what my parents did for a living
Toolmaker, obvs.
Attending a museum is when you visit one, but don't look at the exhibits... Just kind of hang around.
Did you call it in then OP?
Sorry if I missed an update or something.
The weirdest question I've ever been asked in a job interview was what my parents did for a living
Toolmaker, obvs.
Ah, SKS hadn't told the whole world at that point, in fact he was just KS then so didn't need everyone to believe he was from an ordinary working class background! Indeed a cynic might suggest that in the late 1990's appearing the opposite may have helped his ascendency to DPP and becoming Sir!
That's just absolutely shocking
I realise that there are some folks who are racist/homophobic etc, but it still shocks me that they are so brazen with their views
I remember being in a taxi when the driver started going on some racist rant when a black gentleman cut him up at a roundabout. Told him to pull over, and just walked away without paying.
Slightly more awkward was a barber who thought it was OK to inform me of his dislike for asians (he obviously didnt use this word) mid way through my trim. Spent 20 min listening to him spew racist drivel before he finished, at which point I told him my other half was Asian and he was a xxxxing bellend.
He quickly backtracked by pointing put he didn't mean 'all asians'...
Well that's OK then..
My mum and her partner plan entire holidays around "visiting museums". Both of them have done this since their teens/20's.
I used to hate it, my mum dragging me round the bloody places telling me to be quiet.
Attending does rather suggest you have been summoned.
Or maybe the meant attending to museums, you know, making sure they are fed an watered and any additional needs are met?