I do most of my current work through freelance and freelance sites. Today I got invited to interview for a short term data entry job. I had the availability and the skills that were being looked for so I inquired for more info.
Now a little backstory before this next part. I have some pretty serious back issues that make it so it’s hard for me to sit in an office chair for long periods of time, so I tend to do my work where I am the most comfortable. If I don’t have to be on camera, sometimes that’s my couch, my recliner, or my bed. During meetings and interviews, if I’m unable to get comfortable in the office chair, then at minimum I always do my best to sit with a neutral background behind me. View from shoulders up, looking professional even if I’m not sitting in an office chair necessarily. In this case, I was sitting with my back against the wall, nothing behind me, laptop on a lap desk and camera straight on with shoulders up. Pretty neutral, and nothing that would give any cause for concern.
Guy asks me a couple base questions, then wants to get on zoom. I hop in there, after some very awkward introductions he asked me a couple more questions about my experience.
Anyway. I’m in the middle of answering this guy’s question and I shit you not, mid sentence, he kicks me out of the zoom room, blocked me on the freelance site, and then I get a decline notice saying that “we prefer workers who sit at desks in chairs”.
Now, that in the and of itself is not what I have an issue with. If that’s what is preferred, than you do you. What baffles me is the total lack of professionalism on his part. He could have said “hey I don’t think this is a good fit” and left it at that. Technically, he could have asked if I had a more ergonomic set up, a desk and chair to work at, as it was rather tedious work. No. This dude had to literally kick me out of the room mid-sentence and block me. There’s a right way to go about things, and that certainly wasn’t it.
Dodged a bullet with that one, I think. But good grief. Maybe I’ll use a virtual background next time.
Edit for typos.