I was reminded of this this morning and thought I should share. While this was in the before time, it wasn't too long before: I had this one recruiting agency that just could not understand that I was a biology student no mater how many times I told them. I grasp chemistry and can perform it just fine with instructions and an explanation of the reaction but manufacturers who rely on it want someone who have the hundred rules and formulas down by rote (and modern companies don't want to have to explain a damn thing since training was already on the way out back then). I graduated with a degree molecular biology because I get how atoms fit together, but only when there's an instruction set like DNA or a biochemical reaction guiding it! I can't pull that out of my ass to be the instruction set. So after they pulled me into two simply described to me as “lab” interviews for chemical benchwork/manufacturing I fucking told off the recruiter who sat in on it and ghosted the company.
A year later a recruiter from the same company but a different office spent a week begging to meet. I told her I wasn't interested, the story of the last time I listened to her shitty company, and I currently worked (at a state park as maintenance) through every damn time she gave me. Finally I broke down and agreed to meet (so she'd stop fucking bugging me) just after my shift with the prearranged knowledge that I could change my shirt in the car, but not have the time or ability to shower after working outside in the summer heat because of how late I had to stay at the park and how early her cut off time was. We agree to meet at a Dunkin Doughnuts halfway between both and I show up a minute or two early because punctuality is important to me and I drive fast. Place is empty. I get a tea, sit down right on time, and stare between my phone and the lobby for 15 minutes. Then I get up and leave as no one showed up to stick around. As I'm getting into my car another car pulls in and the woman getting out and I make eye contact. I don't stop though. I'm pissed and my face is saying it. As I'm driving away I get a call asking where I am. And I tell her “If I showed up 15 minutes late with no call or warning like inclimate weather I would not be getting that job and wouldn't bother showing up. It's disrespectful to other people's time especially when you're the one who asked for this interview.”
And she did what I thought at the time was apologize (really just excuses) and I foolishly turned back and sat down. And the first thing she said to me was “I thought you were going to change before you came.” And I was furious. “I said arranging this I would have time to change out of my possibly mud and sweat covered shirt but not pants, not get dressed up in order to meet like you wanted. Which I remind you, you were then late for. This was the best I could do.” I wish I could say I stormed off then but I wanted out of the maintenance shack. The work was fine save the heat, but my co-workers were nearly all openly racist, dirty talking, “good ol boy” types. And I just can't stand that sort of thing even if they tried to make me welcome in spite of it. The rest of the interview I was glaring at her and I never heard back from them. So at least I got what I originally wanted. I hope it's because they realized they'd fucked up, but her attitude and how they treated me before tells me it's because I wouldn't play ball with being a square peg they could sell into just any round hole. And had too much pride in myself to be carved into fitting. As many companies since have tried. Fuck recruiting companies like this.