A TikToker has gone viral after claiming that lying about her race landed her a job interview. In the video, user Journee (@journeeeyawna) claims that she “applied for a job and got denied.” Later, when she “applied again and put [her] race as Caucasian,” she “got a call the next day.”
The video currently has over 50,000 views.
“Hacked the system,” writes Journee in the caption, closing with “#jobinterviewtips.”
In the comments, TikTokers were sympathetic to Journee’s plight—but unfortunately, not surprised.
“This is so sad tho,” wrote one user.
“I 100% believe you,” added another.
Later, other commenters said that they had done the same thing in the past with equally positive results.
“Same,” said a TikToker. “Now I got my 1st job after 2yrs of hunting despite having masters.”
“I applied to 9 jobs. The only job application I didnt [specify], I got the interview, and got the job,” remembered a further commenter. “I didn’t know whether to be happy or angry.”
“Yep, works always,” agreed another. “It’s sad but works.”
Racial discrimination in hiring is a persistent issue in the United States. A 2021 New York Times article detailed a study where fake job applications were sent to a variety of firms. Each application was given a fake name, with some bearing “white-sounding” names like Jake or Molly and others claiming a “Black-sounding” name like DeShawn or Imani.
The results were clear, says the article. “On average, applications from candidates with a ‘Black name’ get fewer callbacks than similar applications bearing a ‘white name.’”
When one of the researchers was later interviewed about the study for Marketplace Morning Report, they claimed that having a “Black-sounding” name resulted in an average callback penalty of “about 10%,” though they admitted some companies fared much worse.
While Journee’s video may be depressing, for some in the comments, it became a lesson for how to fill out job applications going forward. Plus, say the commenters, if they ever get called out for lying on the application, they can turn the question back on the interviewer.
As one user wrote, “If they question you about it during the interview just ask, ‘is that an issue?’”
Journee did not immediately respond to Daily Dot’s request for comment via TikTok comment.
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