Archived Feels Like Medical Condition Discrimination at Interview

[buliSBI]

OP: What was the specific position you interviewed for? What was your application availability? What was your stated availability during the interview? Were you questioned on any limitations, obligations, or scheduling reasons that prevent or limit you working for Target or certain hours?

Can you provide more clarity into your interview experience? I see no connection between a medical condition, your schooling, and the interview.

 

[NKG]

I think this thread needs the old thread lock.....

 

[OneArmedJesus]

Nah keep it open. It's rather interesting.


Look I've been turned down at other jobs due to availability but I didn't claim discrimination (I could've if I was salty enough)

Better luck next time

 

[SitSpotSit]

Four interviews shows me they were trying to make it work because that many is not typical. If you were honest about your limited availability on your application you are lucky they called you in for even one interview. It sounds like they tried but it didn't work out this time.

 

[On6]

Should have applied at store 1040.

 

[Fluttervale]

I'm not going to hire someone and give them full time hours for 3 months knowing they are going to be taking a LOA as soon as I need them for the holidays. I would rather spend that payroll on someone who is actually going to stick around.

Your wants are not in line with store needs. You would need to knock the rest of the interview out of the park if you wanted me to consider you.

It isn't discrimination. I don't see anything at all that violates discrimination law. Your insistence on speaking to the STL is going to get you blacklisted.

 

[samebutunique]

We can't wait. So excited. This thread is riveting.

Haters are going to hate.

It doesn't really matter what you plan or expect when you're studying full-time. In my experience, full time schooling/study often means you eventually (sooner or later) can't commit to full, open availability.

...which is probably what they're looking for. If there's anything that could potentially interfere with scheduling, it's their choice whether to give you the offer or not. Perhaps another candidate had the same availability, but wasn't enrolled in school at all (or has finished school), etc. Just based on your answers in your own post, it seems like you're not exactly sure how much you'll be working and how much you'll be studying.

I honestly don't see any discrimination here at all.

Maybe don't read too much into things.

EDIT: and maybe I missed it, but I don't see how a medical condition fits in here? Nobody is required or forced to hire you just because you need health insurance for a medical condition.

My questions is... What positions were open that you were applying to?

If it was not for a team lead position, then stating that you require full time hours probably was another reason for you to be turned down. There are very few positions outside of a TL that give full time hours.

For everyone else that was as clueless as me when it comes to what medical condition was discriminated against, I believe OP is referring to the fact that they need health insurance (as stated in paragraph 3).

OP the reason why you were not offered a job wasn't due to any potential medical conditions you have, the main reason is your availability. If your not available to work any hours while you are in school then they will not hire you. There are many other candidates that have totally open availability and can push freight just as good as you can. As a company, why would you want to juggle figuring out 40 people's different schedules when you can just hire someone that is open all the time and you can plug them in whenever? I would suggest you re-apply after you finish school or open up your availability so that you arent on a LOA (ie, working fri, sat and sunday) or apply elsewhere.

I'm not going to hire someone and give them full time hours for 3 months knowing they are going to be taking a LOA as soon as I need them for the holidays. I would rather spend that payroll on someone who is actually going to stick around.

Your wants are not in line with store needs. You would need to knock the rest of the interview out of the park if you wanted me to consider you.

It isn't discrimination. I don't see anything at all that violates discrimination law. Your insistence on speaking to the STL is going to get you blacklisted.

Thank you guys for playing devil's advocate. Originally I had agreed with the store team leader that my availability for any non-team lead position is good for as long as necessary (edit: mean to say "I had agreed with the store team leader that my availability is for any non-team lead position). The idea is to do whatever is necessary to work at Target. The store team lead initially told me to work for 12-18 months before having a chance to apply for a team lead position, otherwise they must've changed their mind. Thank you wiredharpoon that you don't doubt me.

Me either. I don't see the discrimination here. And I specifically don't see how this is a medical situation. I vote for annoying.

Sorry, but I can't see someone wanting you on their team with this mindset. "They gave me the freezer POG and my boss knows I don't like the cold."

I'm sorry to be harsh, but any company needs to see you as an asset not a liability. By going at it from this angle, you seem like the type of person who will always have an issue.

I wish the best of luck at school and in your further job hunting.

Thank you for being honest.

EDIT for the sake of not bumping up the thread:

I'm willing to close the thread that I've learned from this experience that food service is a position that I'm not willing to apply for.

I'll continue reading the posts but keep responses to a minimum for the sake of letting the community decide what to do with the thread.

 

[NKG]

Haters are going to hate.

 

[YoNanas]

Hey maybe by paying for health insurance meant the Affordable Healthcare Act and the individual mandate and maybe it was sending a message to everyone. That shit takes a shitload out of my pay.

 

[samebutunique]

Hey maybe by paying for health insurance meant the Affordable Healthcare Act and the individual mandate and maybe it was sending a message to everyone. That shit takes a shitload out of my pay.

Nothing I can do about this, other than to not bring up health insurance during the interview.

 

[NPC]

Nothing I can do about this, other than to not bring up health insurance during the interview.

That's irrelevant. It's more logical to assume that concerns about your availability were the problem.

 

[phibot]

To be honest though, the deductibles aren't exactly pretty even if you do qualify lol unless something catastrophic happens, Target provided healthcare isn't going to help much

 

[tellmeaboutatime]

When I conduct an interview, I pay close attention what is said during the 3 questions. Are you a team player? Are you a negative person? I want people who don't mind a "change of plans" right in the middle of a shift, and the answers can certainly give me some insight into that. No matter how much we plan, our days can turn on a dime. Also no matter where you work in the store, if someone tells me they don't want to really deal with guests, I will not hire them. Our business depends on guests no matter what your position you impact the guest in some respect. If the person comes across as argumentative, doesn't answer the question given or blames others I won't think twice about turning them down. Sure its retail not rocket science but you still want someone that has an approachable personality. I don't know you, and sometimes things get misconstrued however you have been asked point blank how they discriminated against you and you haven't answered that simple question. This store and you just don't sound like a good fit. Learn from this interview and move on

 

[IWishIKnew]

I'm reading it as concerns about availability, particularly long-term. If it sounds like you're taking a job at Target for now and then going back to school, I could that scaring interviewers off, particularly if you stressed the need for FT hours. Hardly anyone gets FT hours.

I don't think there was any discrimination, as pretty much everyone needs health insurance and everyone knows it ain't cheap, but aside from asking about benefits as part of the interview (totally legit thing to ask about if you plan on working there long-term), it's not necessary to mention you need to work full time for insurance purposes.

 

[HRLady]

I realized some of the questions they had asked me were discriminatory to my medical condition regarding my previous studies at university.

Because I wrote in the application that either I have some college done or that I have attended college, I was asked if I am done with school at a 4 year university, to which I responded to with "no, I've got 2 more years left."

At some point I mentioned that I've learned that I have to either study full-time or work full-time, but not both at the same time. I also did mention that I need to work full-time for health insurance, even if it means working in leadership (that I'm willing to do anything to work full-time when school is not in session and take a leave of absence for when school is session until I receive my degree. This is regardless of if benefits apply when on leave).

Then I was asked if I study full-time or part-time, in that order. I responded with "I study full-time, but with the minimal amount of units required for full-time," finding out that the interviewer both works and studies full-time.

Then I was asked how many units I take, telling them "13 units." Next, if 13 units is 4 classes, responding with "no. It is 3 classes."

Based on what you wrote, there doesn't seem to be any discrimination.

I think that you got turned down because some of your responses were not the best things to say during the interview.

You told them that "[you] 'need' to work full-time." However, the store can't guarantee a set number of hours since payroll is not constant. If you were not okay with hours fluctuating from week to week, then you wouldn't get the job. Unfortunately, that is the way that it works in retail.

You told them that you need this job "for health insurance" which is a no-no because it doesn't sound like you were truly interested in working for Target. Interviewers aren't oblivious; they know that people want a job for the money, benefits, etc. However, you shouldn't say it during an interview. Also, store interviewers don't turn people down because people would need to enroll in health insurance if they get hired. Most of Target's benefit processes are not even handled at the store-level (nor affects the store) so it is not really a factor that interviewers would care about when considering applicants for a job.

You said that "[you have] learned that [you] have to either study full-time or work full-time, but not both at the same time." This shows that you can't handle multi-tasking which is an important skill for many positions. I am not denying that going to school full-time and working full-time at the same time is hard to do. However, the way you said it probably worked against you.

You said, "even if it means working in leadership (that [you're] willing to do anything to work full-time when school is not in session and take a leave of absence for when school is session until [you] receive [your] degree." This means that they will need to hire a replacement again really soon for the 9+ months that you will be gone out of the year. The educational leave thing might work if you have already proved yourself and they would be more than happy to have you back to help out during the busy seasons. However, interviewers try to hire people who can work year-round despite having school.

Also, the "even if it means working in leadership (that [you're] willing to do anything to work full-time" thing probably sounded a little too desperate (sorry, just giving you honest feedback) for an interviewer who barely knows you. In addition, it pretty much guarantees that you won't be considered for a leader position. Why? You didn't sound truly interested in becoming a leader.

 

[Hardlinesmaster]

Awesome! @HRLady!

 

[NKG]

Oh snap! @HRLady. She be like

 

[Myfeethurt]

These pretzels are making me thirsty!!!

 

[NKG]

Not sure what you're doing here after calling me annoying. I wouldn't want to speak to someone I think is annoying.

From what I understand stating to the interviewer at 4th interview that I don't plan to be working and studying at the same time makes their questions about my education irrelevant, yet they still asked them. True, the 3 situational questions were asked in the first 2 interviews and maybe in the 3rd but definitely not in the 4th of these 4 interviews.


Thank you, both IWishIKnew and HRLady, for validating me. I had been told by the store manager that they would need a 12-18 month commitment (a few weeks after this 3rd interview [at which point we both decided to wait on the decision to move forward], by phone), not like I said earlier "to transfer[] to a location closer to school" but to able to apply for a team lead position. I don't doubt full-time hours are hard to come by unless one has a team leader position. My take away from the most recent interview is to be smarter about selling myself rather than just listing my needs, which I admit was my shortcoming. Yes, I've learned that in order for me to be successful I need to focus 100% of my attention on either school or work and I'm sorry but assuming I can't multitask isn't giving me the benefit of the doubt, which I deserve. I believe I've more than made clear to the store team leader that I'm willing to work year round as a team leader after an initial 12-18 month commitment (assuming I would be promoted within their timeline) by telling them that I'd rather work year-round than leave at the earliest opportunity even if that means going back to school 40 years later.

So how is this decrimination now that you have agreed with everything everyone has said?

 

[SoCalMama]

I can't believe that they wasted so much time doing an interview for one TM? It's not as though you were going to be the STL. So strange.

 

[rog the dog]

Lmao this guy basically walked in there and said "You know how you have dedicated team members who've been with you for awhile, and have proven themselves helpful to the store? Fuck their hours, and give them to me, but only when I wanna work" and expected a job.

What part of that sounded like a good idea?

 

[oath2order]

Reading the tags before reading the thread certainly has tainted my view and made me look forward to "roasted by hrlady".

 

[unknown]

Yes, I've learned that in order for me to be successful I need to focus 100% of my attention on either school or work and I'm sorry but assuming I can't multitask isn't giving me the benefit of the doubt, which I deserve.

You don't deserve anything. That's the mindset I mentioned in my earlier reply. Target doesn't owe you anything. Not a job. Not the benefit of the doubt. Not working around your school schedule. Nothing.

 

[IcePeasant]

When I interview, I usually don’t elaborate on their education unless they’re a minor. I go more in depth only if I notice they want full time work and give me an availability that can’t possibly be worked with in order to achieve business needs nor the applicant’s desires for hours. (Giving an example, not saying it’s your situation) I had one Applicant go through interviews and immediately after going over their availability and hours, I explained that their availability would be difficult to suffice the hours desired, and that they’d need to open up their availability if they wanted more hours. Other than that, I stick to the situation questions, ask you for higher score responses and situations. It could be how you had presented yourself in the interview, those details only you know, but as of now, if you were interviewing for a TL position, as far as my home, they’re looking for open availability. We’ve had a TL go on one LOA every year for the 5 years they’ve been working, and it sets the store back a little, so they could have been thinking about both the business needs as well as what you could handle being a potential new hire. Kudos for being up front and honest with them, maybe it could have been worded in a way that was a little more “targetesque”, but I don’t see anything as far as discriminating. As an interviewer and a TL, I applaud my TMs and applicants who are passionate about things other than work, understanding when situations come up, but at the end of the day, im interviewing to try to help meet business needs to hire and retain talent.

 

[samebutunique]

When I interview, I usually don’t elaborate on their education unless they’re a minor. I go more in depth only if I notice they want full time work and give me an availability that can’t possibly be worked with in order to achieve business needs nor the applicant’s desires for hours. (Giving an example, not saying it’s your situation) I had one Applicant go through interviews and immediately after going over their availability and hours, I explained that their availability would be difficult to suffice the hours desired, and that they’d need to open up their availability if they wanted more hours. Other than that, I stick to the situation questions, ask you for higher score responses and situations. It could be how you had presented yourself in the interview, those details only you know, but as of now, if you were interviewing for a TL position, as far as my home, they’re looking for open availability. We’ve had a TL go on one LOA every year for the 5 years they’ve been working, and it sets the store back a little, so they could have been thinking about both the business needs as well as what you could handle being a potential new hire. Kudos for being up front and honest with them, maybe it could have been worded in a way that was a little more “targetesque”, but I don’t see anything as far as discriminating. As an interviewer and a TL, I applaud my TMs and applicants who are passionate about things other than work, understanding when situations come up, but at the end of the day, im interviewing to try to help meet business needs to hire and retain talent.

Thank you that you're willing to see things through my point of view. Yes, I understand that stating I will need to take an LoA for education hurt my chances at being offered the position. Perhaps I can keep such details to myself.

And thank you to everyone else that contributed.