Woman walks out mid-interview after being asked about her relationship status and the internet's applauding

Job interviews are usually expected to be formal interactions to discuss a candidate’s skills and qualifications. But, some employers knowingly or unknowingly get personal while trying to learn more about their potential employees on a much deeper level. A widely circulating video showed a woman, who goes by @Sashandlady on TikTok, expressing her outrage over a CEO’s inappropriate line of questioning. The job seeker from Australia accused a small-scale business of breaching workplace ethics by attempting to dig into her relationship status. She even shared the screengrab of the email exchange between herself and the manager, while advising other female candidates to distance themselves from such job providers.

It all began with the woman opening up about her recent experience of going through a contentious and unsettling job interview. The candidate was asked by the CEO to fill out a survey for the role she had applied to. While going through what was described as a “weird” assessment form, she came across some bizarre questions, including one about her relationship status. Calling it the “mother of all red flags,” the questionnaire had multiple options to choose from, including married, single, in a long-term relationship, married with children, in a new relationship, and, surprisingly, “I don’t know what I am in, I am confused.” “Obviously, straight away I knew that this was highly inappropriate and I'm absolutely not answering that. It’s got nothing to do with the role or my ability to complete the role,” the woman remarked, slamming the questionnaire.

The woman further decided to confront her potential employer. As she raised her concern over email, the candidate was expecting some form of apology or a possible retraction from the manager. However, it turned out that the man “doubled down” by essentially blaming mental health checks. “I'll still ask it anyway because, from our cultural perspective, it's important for me to know what kind of mental stability someone is in when they are planning to join our team, and knowing their ability to manage a relationship says a lot to me,” read an excerpt from the CEO’s email made public by the woman.

Referring to his response as a “deal breaker,” she said, “If anybody ever asks you a question that is inappropriate and has nothing to do with the role, absolutely run for the hills because this kind of individual clearly has absolutely no boundaries. If they've got no boundaries when it comes to your personal professional life, they're going to continue to push those boundaries within a workplace.” She was shocked to learn that such managers exist even in the 21st century. Her nearly two-minute explainer drew massive attention on social media, garnering around 135.7K views within a span of two weeks. Among the countless reactions to it, @prophe_tess suggested, “Hi, this is illegal, and I’ll be reporting you to the Fair Work Ombudsman. That would be my 100% response—what an insane thing to ask.” “I'm equally concerned by his nonsensical response,” @miss_random__ wrote, echoing similar sentiments.

You can follow “Sasha and Lady” (@Sashandlady) on TikTok for more lifestyle content.