I interviewed for an MA position. At the time, I had 11 months inpatient experience, 11 outpatient (for context). When I turned my camera on for the interview video call, the 3 women there seemed immediately disinterested in me. The questions they asked me showed that they didn't really look at my resume beforehand. They asked me how I'd "adapt" to outpatient work, when like I said, I already had nearly a year of that. It was awkward to try to find a polite way to say that well, there's no adaptation needed. Then, they asked my availability and I said I was 100% open except for the short Saturday shifts they offer due to religious observance. The interview was 20 minutes, and nothing substantial was asked of me besides how to take a blood pressure. I've worked hard and I have a solid resume, so I was surprised at their attitudes throughout the interview. I received a swift rejection email not even an hour after. I wracked my brain for what I did wrong, eventually emailing the recruiter and asking her for feedback as I'd felt poorly received. She gave me a one line reply, which was that it was due to my request to not work the brief Saturday shifts. Now, this really confirms for me that this place is very unprofessional because what kind of HR worker admits that in writing? I politely reply with some resources on the law (EEOC), just for their reference going forward and so they know more about the law on the matter. Another one line reply that it was due to my "abundance" of inpatient work and severe "lack" of outpatient experience. Like I said before, I had exactly 11 months of both, with the most recent inpatient work from 2021. Employers are supposed to engage in a good faith discussion (even before employment, yes) to accommodate religiously-based requests, it's literally the law. I am always willing to work doubles, take "worse" shifts, come early, stay late, take work home, etc. to get the time off I need, but Howard Brown decided not to engage in this discussion. Instead of saying nothing, they decided to make up a bizarre lie as an excuse. This showed me that they are, at least, an organization with little integrity. I realized in hindsight that my head covering and way of dress likely tipped off the interviewers, who then wrote me off immediately.
