Condensed story: I was at the soft offer/salary discussion stage of a job in a research lab, I was asked to provide a peer reference from my former lab, said peer reference revealed that I had been a “dancer” prior to returning to grad school (my fault for not telling this person explicitly to not reveal this detail), no other references were contacted and my application was immediately closed according to the application website.
Am I wrong for thinking it’s 2023 and we’re beyond this or is my perspective totally warped in that I am too progressive to comprehend the depth of the stigma?
Relevant details: I am qualified for the position. The interviewer actually told me that I applied for a position that was beneath me and he instead had a higher title in mind given that I have worked in labs (neuroscience/AI) for the past two years and will finish my MS this fall.