Earlier this week I interviewed for a relatively high level position in my agency, it would have been a very nice promotion for me. There were originally 40 candidates and it was narrowed down to 6. Of the 6 of us who interviewed, I found out I had the highest score on the interview and my experience speaks for itself. I'm well respected in my agency and superiors have encouraged me to try to move up. I also found out that I will not be offered the job because a female candidate, who was towards the bottom in scoring of the 6 (but passed the interview) will be getting the job because my agency follows affirmative action policies and was not willing to take the "missed opportunity" to hire a female. Its now standard practice. As a white male, me (and my coworkers) opportunities are capped and limited if a female, minority or disability is in the candidate pool. There is no need for us to even interview. I don't care what color, gender, religion, or whatever else you are, if you're the top candidate for the job, then you deserve to get the job. Is there any recourse for this? Its reverse discrimination to the nth degree, but I know if I make a stink and raise holy h*ll I'm just shooting myself in the foot for any future opportunities I may have. SO frustrating...
There is no recourse. I'd probably find a new place of employment if that was how my employer hired though...
Yes and yes. I agree with Hooker as well... If that is how they hirer, I would also look for another employer. I would also take this as a representation of how the company is managed. That is a clear indication of a company managed to be "politically correct" rather than to "have the best and be the best" product. In my opinion it's only a matter of time before that company fails.
Another "White Privilege" they keep telling us about. Ask for a raise in salary and benefits equal to what you would get if you were selected for that job. You do have some room to stand on if you graded highest in the interview process and have the experience to back it up.
At the very least I would ask them why they don't think your time is valuable. They obviously don't mind wasting it by asking you to an interview that you have no chance of getting. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Unfortunately, I've heard of other places doing hiring like that. Our city hires their firefighters in the same manner. A good friend of ours scored very high (both written and physical test). But, he was already out of possibility for employment because he is not a veteran, female, or a minority.
I cannot believe our country still behaves in this fashion. I also do not understand why it is not illegal.
Being a hiring manager myself I would have to say that someone is not giving you the whole story. Yes companies are different but I have also heard a manager tell a candidate one thing then behind close doors make a completely different recommendation. This is mainly because they don't want to upset or offend the candidate. But regardless of all that nonsense never give up on applying. Yes it sucks to not be selected but if you don't try you never will be selected. Somethings that we do have to consider is what position is the person currently in. Say if the candidate is applying for a level 4 job and is currently at level 3, then a level 2 applies for the same job rec. I have to chose the level 3 if they meet the qualifications even if the level 2 is more qualified. Frustrating I know but if you think about it from an HR perspective it kinda makes sense. Either way keep at it. Your day will come.
Agreed 100%. Didn't want to sound rude with the original poster and I'm not sure that's what happened here, but I can guarantee it happens a lot. Keep performing at the top of your peer set and your day will come. If not, find another company. Truly top performers in just about any industry are easy to hire, I wish I could find more right now that's for sure.
Nothing is going on behind closed doors. I hire a number of seasonal employees each season and if a particular opening happens to have a female, minority, or disability apply, HR forces me to hire the disparate candidate, even if they are not my candidate of choice. I've had to turn down a number of white males who've worked their butts off to get where they are but are the wrong gender. This is government work so I guess I should finally just accept it or move to the private sector
Sorry you have to deal with that but my opinion still stands. Keep at it and eventually you will break through. When you stop trying is when you fail.
It seems that most companies today incorporate lawsuit avoidance into their HR decisions to a much greater degree than past history. Hiring, workforce reductions, etc., those final decisions time and again come down to analyzing the impact of potential litigation. Sadly you are do not have any form of protected status as it relates to employment law.
Give it a few years and I am white males will be considered a minority group and reap the well earned benefits of affirmative action.......
You could go into the HR office tell them you've been working on your family geneology...turns out you're an Asian-African-American, with some Eskimo on your mother's side and you're now so distraught that you've been questioning your gender reassignment plans... But it's probably easier to update the resume and look around for other opportunities.
