The reasons for not being chosen in a job interview are very varied. From some technical aspect or your work history, to a bad impression that may be caused on the person in charge with whom the meeting takes place. However, what happened to María Manuela Fernández, an Argentinean Human Resources analyst, is unprecedented.
That’s right, according to the protagonist on LinkedIn, after the job interview, they told her that one of the reasons why she was not selected was “because she smiled too much.”
“I applied a month ago to be a selector in a consulting firm, I had the job interview, but then they told me ‘we prefer to continue with another person’. That was very understandable, it is not the first time that has happened to me. Then I applied for another vacancy, and it turns out it was the same company, this time, the interview was conducted by someone else. And today I got this email: ‘You smiled too much, you laughed, you were too nice’ and that is the reason why I was chosen for the position ”, the young woman told her on her LinkedIn account.
The post, unsurprisingly, went viral. It exceeded 10,000 reactions in a few hours after it was published.
The text did not end there. The young woman later wrote: “At first I was angry, but now I am laughing, I understand that laughter is louder than me. I like to be positive to always see a full glass, to see the good in situations and in people. (…) A graduate who laughs, what a thing, I thought she smiles for life and not just for the photo ”.
María Fernández also published a screenshot of the email with the very strange explanation for not hiring her.
This said: “I remind you of the feedback: we found your CV interesting and what you have to contribute to a company. But you smiled too much, you laughed, you were very nice and we don’t think a person who smiles at each other the entire interview is very professional. It is nothing personal, we just believe that it can affect the performance of your career in the future. It’s just advice, sometimes being outgoing denotes a lack of commitment and seriousness, “they told him.
At LinkedIn profile, María introduces herself like this: “Hello, I introduce myself! My name is Manuela, I am 26 years old, I have a Degree in Labor Relations, an HR Analyst and an IT Selector. I love learning and helping. I am responsible, charismatic, empathetic. I have an intermediate level of English (both oral and written). I found it back to various design pages and creating social media content became a hobby that I was able to relate to my career. Social media management and marketing always catch my eye. That is why I am constantly learning ”.