Hi, this may be a hot take and my intent is not to offend anyone on this forum.
Two weeks ago I met a senior director at one of the top tier firms over coffee, we developed a good relationship/hit off well and he started giving me valuable information about what was going on with the hiring process for an entry level financial analyst position.
He said I was definitely qualified and he even said he was already pushing my resume to HR and the higher ups within the office (we connected also a month prior). They came back to him and said it was good that I was female but they're strictly looking for an African American for the position and won't consider any other applicants.
I just got the automatic email today saying I was rejected even though on LinkedIn for the position I was considered the 'top applicant' (don't know how accurate that is). The senior director shared my frustration that I was more than qualified but because I'm white, I won't be hired. Sounds messed up, but I was seriously considering putting 'two or more races' on the application but decided not to because that's dishonest.
Is there any way I can navigate this or should I just let it go and move on?
Did you apply for a diversity program? This almost sounds like bait to start a big conservative vs progressive argument but you have a ton of post history so I don’t think it is.
I feel like most firms that have diversity programs lump women in with, LGBTQ and underrepresented races. So surprising on multiple fronts.
I would just keep trucking. I think I did 75 networking calls before I landed my first job in RE. I was rejected for every reason under the sun before landing something
Definitely not a bait, just dealing with this as a person about to finish UG and land a solid role at one of these firms. I often avoid the politics dialogue but this is now directly affecting me. I agree that in the past it has helped me get looked at due to my sex, however with this office there's 100 people there but only 4 African Americans there in a city that's predominantly African American, so I sympathize a little bit with their logic.
The internship right now is 1099 and I rather be a W-2 for awhile to cover my basic expenses each month. Sucks but I guess I'll keep at it...
It sounds like you aren't getting the full story here, or at least a fully accurate one. No one is going to go on record and say they're looking "strictly" for a candidate of a particular ethnicity - despite what the conservative trolls in the Off Topic Forum might tell you when not posting under their alts on Stormfront, this doesn't happen. It might very well be that this company is giving additional weight to a minority candidate, but you wouldn't be interviewed in the first place if this was the explicit policy.
It's far more likely that this senior director doesn't like the diversity hiring policy, or really preferred you and your skillset to that of whoever they're hiring, and thus is venting his frustration a bit. But I can almost guarantee that their hiring dept didn't say "blacks only."
That's a good point, you're probably right. It did come off as a red flag to me when he told me that, because I was thinking in the back of my head 'can't they get in serious trouble if they say that on the record?'. I could tell this broker was right leaning and we did hit it off so he just may have been biased towards my skillset.
A couple of years ago I went to a hiring presentation where the person presenting (a mid-level manager at a US multinational) said explicitly that she wasn't interested in hiring white males of above a certain age. Illegal but true.
I mean, I guess I can see an individual employee stating their preference, especially in an off the cuff remark, but I have a very hard time envisioning the HR department of that company getting up to say something next and it being "our company policy at this time is to only hire African Americans." As I said before, what the individual manager wants (and relays to applicants) and what the official policies are, are very different things. Even if the former informs the latter to a huge degree.
I don't think you can navigate this without fucking over your contact there who is really sharing more than he should. Better to divert your energy to other roles and pursuits (ask him for help doing this).
Know it feels shitty (and it is) so I won't sugar coat that, but at the end of the day you can only try move forward in a positive manner and keep pounding pavement until you find the right thing.
You're right, and I don't want to get him accidentally in trouble/screw him if I drop a hint that I knew about their motive because I literally put his name down on my cover-letter. On the bright side, he's trying to push my resume to the major city I actually prefer a little more that's an hour from this one (think they finished their hiring process for now though)
I would delete this. Would be very easy to track back to you/your contact from the information. Unfortunately it's just a case of it is what it is at this point, keep your head up and keep moving along. You're recruiting during unprecedented times so dont kick yourself if you aren't finding as many opps as you thought.
Why delete this. The firm she got dinged with is by definition racist. They need to be exposed hard.
Yeah of course they are. I was only really trying to look out for OPs contact who seems solid, even the fact that they were willing to divulge this information. Would be a PR disaster if this comes to light (and if its true). Of course things like this need to come to light, but ultimately its on OP's contact for telling an outsider this. Basically confirming the fact and could easily see the contact being thrown under the bus.
I'm surprised that your contact would be that forthright about it but it is what it is at this point. I agree with Count_Chocula that there's not a good way to move forward. Try to leverage the relationship with other shops. Best of luck moving forward.
Unfortunately, this happens all the time in commercial real estate. Just continue to leverage that contact as everyone has stated above. Keep knocking. You’ll find the right opportunity in no time!
Thank you, will do!
My goodness, a white person didn't get a job because of an african american!! OMG OMG OMG! Do you know the african american you are competing against you knuckle head? get over yourself. I am sure there are other companies with jobs in the industry, go to another firm and stop being a little b**tch! You should sue the company that's doing this, maybe that will help you get a job you souless brat!
Lmao why are you so mad? It doesn’t even sound like there was another specific applicant chosen over her. The company only said OP is not an option because she’s white.
OP also didn’t complain, she asked for advice on how to move forward. She couldn’t have posed the question more politely. Where is the anger coming from?
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