This may not be as saucy as other stories on this sub, but it happened during my senior year of high school 8 years ago and i was just thinking about it.
My best friend and i often hung out after school, usually to get some food and hang out at her place with her family. One day we went out to a deli, and she decided to apply for a job because school was almost out and she had been applying all over town. I decided “what the heck” and applied with her, thinking it would be cool if we could work together!
Fast forward two weeks. I got a call for an interview, i went in the next day and the day after that for two rounds of interviews. I get the job, and all the while my best friend never got a call. “Oh well” she thought. She came to the conclusion that she probably would've taken the job if they offered it, and she would've hated the work. The actual job she ended up getting was as a lifeguard, which was perfect for her so no damage was done, and we both had jobs!
One day, while business was slow, i was talking to my manager because i thought he was pretty cool. I mentioned that the only reason i applied was because of my best friend, and after giving her name and a few small descriptions, he mentions that he remembers the application. The only reason that she didn't get an interview, he said, was because she was a girl, and girls often tend to want to work at the front of the deli (servers, cashiers) when what they needed was help in the back (cooks, dishwashers).
I didn't think anything of this at the time, and even when i told my friend she kind of laughed it off. But in hindsight that seems pretty messed up. My friend was able to laugh it off because she was able to find a job she really enjoyed, but for others who are desperately applying wherever they can, it seems so discouraging to know they never had a chance.
I ended up leaving for college a few weeks later and i never went back to the deli. The actual work was gross and tiring. Meanwhile, my friend ended up going back to her lifeguard gig every spring and summer break that she could, so I'd say she dodged a bullet!