After four months of job-hunting, a 26-year-old UK woman has been sent home from an interview after an employer deemed her outfit not conservative enough.
She was wearing a long-sleeved blouse, black skirt, stockings and boots.
“It’s not like I was wearing trainers and trackies,” Rosie Reilly told Buzzfeed UK after posting about the disastrous interview on Twitter.
Taking place on Monday, Reilly's interview with Boots - a major UK chain - consisted of a question and answer section, followed by a trial on the shop floor.
For the first part, at least, Reilly says things went well.
“I got there for my interview and I was told to take a seat and waited. The woman who was interviewing me called me in and told me to sit down. She told me to tell her more about myself. I told her about my previous employments,” Reilly said.
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Having worked at other major UK stores like River Island, Lush, Debenhams and BHS, Reilly believed she would be a suitable fit for Boots.
But when it came time for her trial on the shop floor, she was told to go home and return again later in the week.
“The woman said: ‘The second half of the interview takes place on the shop floor but you are not really dressed conservatively enough to be seen on the shop floor, so you can come back on Thursday if you like?’" Reilly told Buzzfeed UK.
When Reilly asked for clarification as to what the women meant, the woman simply pointed to her hair and clothes but provided no further information.
Given her outfit was what most of us would agree meets the standards of "conservative", Reilly believes the woman's comments may have been in reference to her partially shaved head, which she offered to style in a conspicuous way to appease the woman's concerns.
Frustrated and upset, Reilly said, “I was pretty much bawling my eyes out on the way home."
Understandably, Reilly decided to not return for a second interview on Thursday, and has shared her interview experience with Boots via a tweet that has now received over 1500 retweets and almost 4500 likes.
Top Comments
It's the heavy makeup and hair that killed it. When you go to interview, you should wear minimal makeup, especially around the eyes. As for the hair, it is quite clear it is died a darker shade, nothing wrong with that, but the fact that half of it is shaved and you can clearly see the color difference is what kills the whole thing. Not to mention the chunky earrings and the nose ring. The clothes are conservative enough, but the accessorizing pushes it over the line from conservative. If you get the job then you can gradually introduce your more individual styling; heavier eye makeup, chunky jewelry, non traditional hair style... But always, always, play down your individuality when interviewing, unless the company is some place like Hot Topic, where they would have hired her on the spot.
And another thing always check out what current employees are wearing when interviewing for a retail job, scout it first to get an idea of what is acceptable attire before going to the interview to make sure you pass muster. She probably would got the job if she had returned on Thursday like the lady suggested. It sounded like she passed the initial part or the interviewer would not have offered to continue the second part another day. She shot herself in the foot by not going back.
I don't understand the issue if she offered to put her hair down to cover the shaved parts. The rest of her outfit seems fine to me but I would assume that must be what she was judged on?