I’ve been negged on jobs for both not being qualified enough and being too qualified. I’ve been discouraged from interviewing due to my GPA, but yesterday marked a new low:
After receiving a very enthusiastic invitation to do an on-site interview at Sandia, for a post-doctoral position that would have been a near perfect fit, the invitation was retracted because the policy (set by the bean counters in HR) now specifically forbids on-site invitations to candidates who don’t meet the GPA minimum requirement.
Never mind that I have the desired skill set (as I was told by the would-be hiring manager).
Never mind that I have a competitive record of successful, published research (as I was told by the would-be hiring manager).
Never mind that I have actually earned a Ph.D. from the 5th ranked institution in my field. Apparently, the grades I got as an undergrad can smite that record.
I was devastated when I learned this. I then did something that was considered a little bit gauche and earned me a further slap in the face: I emailed this person back to ask if there are any exceptions to the rule, or if the GPA policy was an impenetrable fortress of red tape. I figured this would be a last-ditch effort because it really did seem like I was being told that I stood no hope of ever getting an interview due to this ridiculous policy. And, because it seemed that we had really clicked on our earlier phone interview, which was followed by her calling my boss to express her enthusiasm at interviewing me (this was according to my boss, after having spoken with her), I thought perhaps, because it seemed like such a good potential fit, if there was anything to be done, it wouldn’t hurt to ask. So I thought there might be one last glimmer of hope when she suggested I call her and we might talk about it.
Oops, and boy was I wrong about that. She was offended at my audacity. This woman went from hot “you look like a perfect candidate” to very cold and delivered a heaping pile of venom in the guise of “mentorship” advice:
-Tough shit, kid, it’s a strict policy. HR sets the rules and we can’t do anything about it, and you should have known from your previous experience interviewing here that this was the case and checked ahead instead of wasting my time, you trickster.
- You’re probably not cut out for the National Labs and should pursue a different career path.
- Unemployment is 9% and there are a lot of other nanoparticle scientists, so you’re just one fish in a big pond.
- Oh, and by the way, you might find it helpful advice to get a different interview suit. Apparently people remembered that you wore a short skirt to your last interview. You should keep in mind that it’s the whole package down to every last detail.
She didn’t say it as snidely as it reads, but still. Too short? Too short? I wore a f***ing J.Crew business-formal Navy blue dress suit, and the skirt covered my knees and wasn’t even tight, was not low cut, and was picked out for me by the most conservatively dressed members of my Jewish relatives! I looked like freaking Nancy Pelosi’s clone! I could have blended in seamlessly at an all girls boarding school from the early 20th century! I didn’t even wear a single spec of makeup! Wha…how??????!!!!
For the first time, I’m experiencing the burden of being an attractive female in a competitive field: no matter what you wear, or how good your presentations skills and ability to communicate technical expertise in answering questions, you run the risk of being perceived as “sexy” first and foremost, before “professional”. And apart from bashing my face in with a hammer, there’s nothing I can do except sit back and wait for someone to invent the business-formal burka. Srsly, I’m not completely joking there. 5 years in a male-dominated enterprise, at a high level, leading teams in the field, and I’ve never felt that my looks or my gender have hurt me….until now.
This barely covers how badly this stings and how shitty I feel about myself and my profession right now. It’s depressing that the supposed leaders in our prestigious National Laboratory system seem to care more about looks and GPA than the fact that I hold a Ph.D. from a high ranking institution and have a competitive track record of research publications – which is widely considered a superior metric of scientific aptitude at the doctoral level (yeah, this isn’t exactly baby’s first job out of college. A Ph.D. means 5 or so years of professional training, independent work and publication. My GPA represents the coursework from my first 2 years of “school”, all the while I was employed – “employed” – a paid employee of the university – as a research assistant). You’d think that mounting pile of proof that I can run with the big boys would matter more. Except it doesn’t matter to the government bureaucrats in HR, of course. Funny, only the government has cared what my grades were. The private companies I’ve interviewed with don’t give a shit about grades, they just want a productive worker.
And Alex left for a conference in Belgium just hours before all this broke. I cried myself to sleep with the aid of a bottle of wine, feeling like a loser and failure for the first time in my professional life, and woke up pissed off, bitter, and slightly puffy-eyed. All I want to do is continue to practice science. I was told that grades don’t matter and your research and references are what really count. If I’m not good enough for the National Labs, then f*** them and their idiotic bureaucracy. I don’t think I’d enjoy having my hands tied with that much red tape anyways.
*Virtual hug*
In a perfect world, you would be judged by your abilities not your appearance. I’m getting a sense that person was insecure and felt threatened by you. Hang in there.
When one door closes, other doors open.
This too shall pass. It stinks until it does, but it *will* pass.
Almost makes you want to march with the feminists, doesn’t it? ……. Nah.
HI Em! I am so sorry that happened. Keep searching. That GPA thing doesn’t pass the smell test to me. Ok to lick your wounds, rest a bit, but please don’t give up – we need you.
Yeah, unfortunately, the GPA thing is true. It stinks a great load, but it is the new reality. Even my boss was shocked, because the ‘old’ way of thinking was that GPA doesn’t really matter, as long as you do alright, and by his standards, there’s nothing wrong with a 3.1. But the new reality is that, in the recession, because many labs and even some companies are becoming swamped with applications for relatively few openings, they’ve decided to delegate the power of the screening process to HR (human resources), and in the more stringent bureaucracies (the National Labs), there’s no way around what has become a mandate. The consensus amongst nearly everyone is that this is terrible.
I’ve already said my piece to you. *Hugs* Drink some wine, reminisce on the good ol days of studying P Chem with me, and keep your head up.