Hey there! I'm new to this subreddit and I have a story.
I (F23) am looking for a new job. I applied to an insurance company and got a phone call from the owner….only he didn't call my cell number, he called my job. He claims he didn't see my cell number on my indeed resume, so I gave him my cell number and said that's the best way to reach me. He asked what my work hours are, he said he'd call me later to schedule an interview. I didn't get a call back.
The next day, i hadn't heard anything. I was out with my husband and a few friends, when around 8pm, my phone starts ringing. It wasn't a number I recognized and I answered the call. Wouldn't ya know, it's the owner of the insurance company, calling to schedule an interview, he says “hey, is it a bad time? Did I call too late?”. (I cut him some slack, he is the owner, maybe he just works later.) “Tomorrow at 3:30pm? See you then!”
I showed up for my interview, and at first, it didn't seem too bad of a place. The insurance company owner started off asking small questions, like how he noticed my phone number has a Florida area code and asked if I moved up from Florida, how am I liking northern weather, etc.
Then I'm asked if I plan on having children, how soon do I plan on having kids, do I plan on coming back to work afterwards, and if so, how soon. He said “I know maternity leave is like 6 weeks or something like that” followed by an eye roll like he couldn't believe it was that long for maternity leave. He stressed how hesitant he is to hire someone who wants children and how the job takes a while to learn. Next question is how long do I plan on staying in the city I'm currently living in because he isn't one to just hire and fire and rehire people so if he hires me, he expects me to be there for a long time…like the office manager who has been there for 20 years, the two other employees who have been there for 15 years. He asked about weird little things, such as what do my current co-workers think of me, what kind of student was I in school, who are my family members in the small town. Next part, and by far the most ridiculous, he asks if I have a problem with Fox News. I don't watch the news, so I don't care. He let me know that he loves America, he is a conservative, and feels less government is better. He stated that if I am a left winged liberal, it will not work out and he wouldn't want to hire me because our morals and ways of thinking are not the same, plus he's worked too hard to get to where he's at and he isn't going to let some legal drama take away his business. He just “wanted to be transparent about that”. He then ended the interview by telling me what a pleasant young lady I seem to be, he's protective of his company, he isn't sure about hiring me but that we'd be in touch.
A few business days go by, and I'm at my current job. I was on the phone with a client, trying to schedule the next appointment when my cell phone starts ringing. Guess who! It's the insurance company owner. I didn't answer my phone for obvious reasons, and figured he'd leave a message or I'd call him back once I finished what I was doing. NOPE. The work phone starts ringing literally a minute later, I recognize the number. My co-worker picked up the phone, let him know I was busy, and asked if he wanted to leave a message or have me call him back. He chose to wait on a brief hold until I was done. I picked up the call after I was done scheduling my client and he was calling to offer me the position, I was his first choice for the position. I declined, I told him I don't feel I'm what his company needs right now, but thanks for the offer and explained why I felt the way I do.
Bring up politics and the reluctance to hire because of someone wanting children, I don't think you'll have much luck hiring and keeping people.