A job hunter has claimed she was rejected for a position that she was perfectly suited to – all because she did not wear makeup for the interview.
Melissa Weaver, 30, from New York, revealed in a recent TikTok that she had applied for a role as vice-president of HR at a tech company, but says she was rejected after the recruiter deemed she ‘hadn’t put enough effort’ into her appearance.
The video prompted outrage from Ms Weaver’s followers, many of whom noted that her experience is clear evidence that ‘pretty privilege is real’.
Some even urged her to sue the unnamed company, however Ms Weaver noted in a follow-up video that, while it is illegal in the US to discriminate as a recruiter based on age, race, gender, religion or sexuality, employers can make a decision based on appearance.
In the clip which has now amassed over 700,000 views, the job-hunter said: ‘Does not wearing makeup, for women, to job interviews or to jobs make it seem like they aren’t putting as much effort or care into their job?’
She went on to explain that she was all the more flabbergasted by the decision because she had been told her ‘background was exactly what they were looking for’, she had the right level of experience and her personal goals aligned with the company’s.
After being laid off from her last job in December, Ms Weaver was delighted to secure this interview three months later, and said it went ‘so well’.
‘Every question she had, I had a great answer for,’ she explained.
She added: ‘I used to work in recruitment. I know how to interview.’
However, after being both ‘bummed’ and ‘very confused’ by not getting to the next stage, the 30-year-old asked for feedback.
With appearance given as the reason for her rejection, by process of elimination she deduced this meant she should have worn makeup.
‘I did a blowout for my hair, I had on a nice top, a blazer, some earrings, but I only put on Chapstick, I didn’t have any makeup,’ she revealed.
‘I don’t really wear a lot of makeup, not to be quirky, I just don’t.’
She revealed in her follow-up that wearing makeup irritates her eyes and skin, and so she avoids it if possible.
Those replying to the viral TikTok expressed their disbelief at the outcome, with some even sharing similar stories.
One asked: ‘Is that legal?!’
Others vented: ‘That honestly feels like discrimination. Not hiring you based on your looks…
‘Should it matter? No. Does it matter? Unfortunately, yes…
‘Not reasonable. Do men get refused a job because they don’t wear makeup?…
‘Absolutely ridiculous that we’re expected to literally PAINT OUR FACES to be considered “put together” or “professional”…
‘I can’t believe she put that in writing…
‘It’s wild she said that in an email to you – this would never be said to a man…
‘You dodged a bullet imo [in my opinion].’
Ms Weaver was actually fairly measured in her response, wondering if her being rejected based on not wearing makeup was similar to a man not being given a job because his beard was unkempt or he had a face tattoo.
However, one woman shared her experience as a vice-president saying: ‘I haven’t worn makeup in five-six years now. Not a good reason to not get a job.’
Others commented: ‘I’ve had something slightly similar happen before. I had about 4 interviews with this one place & they said they didn’t choose me because of my outfit choices. It felt like a waste of my time…
‘I got a high stress job and started wearing less makeup. It was mentioned I looked stressed. I started wearing more makeup again, suddenly I was a high performer again. I was doing the same level of work…
‘I was in college working as a receptionist and my boss talked to me about needing to put more time into my appearance since I’m the first person clients see. It was a pediatric clinic…
‘I was told almost the exact same thing several years ago except they said “not polished enough”. Turns out it was my curly hair. It was too wild. Insanity.’
In an essay published by Business Insider, Ms Weaver admitted that she found many of the responses to her video incredibly ‘disheartening’, while railing against the idea that makeup should be a ‘requirement’ for a job.
‘Reading that — in 2024 — our appearance somehow correlates to our ability to do our jobs is very disheartening,’ she said. ‘A lot of people use makeup to enhance their features. But the idea that that’s a requirement is kind of insane.’
She went on: ‘The fact is, makeup just applies to women. It’s not expected that men wear foundation or contour or whatever. But that something gender-specific can somehow impact a role is not good.’
A survey of over 500 hiring professionals in 2021 by Fairygodboss found appearance to be a strong predictor of judgements of professionalism in women.
Of a selection of hypothetical female candidates, the one most frequently selected as most likely to be hired was a young, thin, Caucasian brunette.
Robert Johnson is a UK-based business writer specializing in finance and entrepreneurship. With an eye for market trends and a keen interest in the corporate world, he offers readers valuable insights into business developments.
