Woman shares how she was denied a job for not wearing enough makeup, sparking debate

Everyone faces rejection when applying to workplaces. There can be various reasons for an employer not to hire a candidate. It can be some missing element on a resume, a lack of experience, or maybe something else. However, this woman was not hired for a job for a very peculiar reason. Melissa Weaver—who goes by @_melissaweaver on TikTok—shared an incident where she she was rejected from a job for not wearing enough make up.

"So I interviewed for a job earlier this week," she said. "The interview went so well. Every question she had, I had a great answer for. I used to work in recruitment, I know how to interview. My background and experience align perfectly with what the role entails." Even though Weaver was hopeful after the interview, she got a rejection email shortly after from the recruiter. This time, Weaver decided to ask for feedback from the recruiter, which she hardly does in cases of other interviews.

"She said that while my background was exactly what they were looking for, my experience lined up with what they needed for the position and my own goals and values aligned with the company's. She was concerned that for my interview, I hadn't put in enough effort in my appearance, given the level of role I was interviewing for," Weaver said. She further detailed that she had worn a blazer for the interview, had styled her hair and was wearing earrings but had no makeup on because she rarely wears them. She wondered if that ended up being the cause of her getting the rejection email or if not wearing makeup can mean an individual is unprofessional.

The comment section was flooded with countless opinions and suggestions, some even questioning if there is room to press a gender-discrimination lawsuit against the firm. @glutenfreeinnewyork wrote, "I wrote my Masters thesis on the impact of dress code on women in leadership and had a full section about this!" @kristinlewis7 commented, "I got a high stress 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." @sandyuhos argued, "Not reasonable. Do men get refused a job because they don’t wear makeup?"

@expertinterviewers noted, "You generated some great dialogue around hiring off appearance and women wearing makeup in the workplace. Thanks for sharing and good luck in your search!" @msspam380 remarked, "I believe it is discrimination, but maybe not in the legal sense. I think this is an opportunity for us to reflect and have conversations about these biases." @amyrcam73 added, "I’m one of those gals who won’t leave my house without makeup. But you look amazing without makeup. I wouldn’t even have thought you didn’t have any on. You will find the right job. Good luck."

Weaver made a follow-up video to shed more light on the situation. She revealed that the experience did not hamper her job search and she continued to look for the right role. "I don't want companies to come across my videos and think they shouldn't interview me for a job because if they feel like I'm not a good fit, then I'm going to slander them," Weaver mentioned, worried about her future with job hunting. Weaver decided not to file a lawsuit because she didn't have time or money for it. "The recruiter interpreted that as I wasn't excited about the opportunity, I didn't take the opportunity seriously or that I took the role seriously. I think that's very unfair and unfortunate because I was excited about it. That was just how she perceived it and she's allowed to, so I will not be suing them," she concluded.

You can follow Melissa Weaver (@_melissaweaver) on TikTok for more work-related content.