A teenager was left baffled after being asked to belt out a tune during a job interview – then failing to land the post because he wouldn’t do so.
The young man detailed his experience of applying for a position with a major UK energy supplier, where he spent weeks perfecting his CV and cover letter, as well as preparing for the interview process. Despite his efforts, he encountered an unexpected hurdle that led to his application being rejected.
Sharing his story on Reddit, the 19-year-old recounted: “Made it through the phone interview and was asked to come to a hotel for the next phase which was an aptitude test, there was about 30 of us in a big conference room, around 20 were sent home and the final 10 were asked to stay on and do a face to face interview in a hotel room.
“It was going quite well although I found it strange that they were filming the interview, anyway at the very end of the interview the guy said, ‘one last thing, could you sing me a song?'”
Dumbfounded, he sought clarification from the interviewer, thinking he had misheard.
He continued: “I said what? And he said yeah just anything that comes to mind, just sing something, I just flat out said no, and the guy kept at it, he eventually said it can be anything, sing happy birthday and I just said no, not doing that,” reports the Express.
The interview was promptly concluded, and the applicant was informed that he hadn’t made the cut.
He went on: “The guy turned off the camera and said ‘you did well, and I feel bad for you but you won’t get the job’, he then told me his boss insisted nobody who refused to sing at the end could be hired no matter how good they did.”
While initially regretting not singing, the candidate now sees it as a lucky escape. He explained: “I found it extremely strange, I was even annoyed at myself for not just singing happy birthday as he suggested, but now when I think back I’m glad I didn’t, it was clearly a test to see how easy I would be controlled.”
Users weighed in on his post, with one saying: “I would [have] probably sang The Smiths ‘I was looking for a job and I found a job, heaven knows I’m miserable now! ‘” Another commented: “Hey, glad for you standing up for yourself.”
One user reflected on their own potential vulnerability: “This unusual task revealed something unfortunate about me. I’m kind of goofy and social, so I probably would have sang a song. I’d have thought, ‘that sounds like fun; here’s my favourite song.’ After reading the comments, it seems like I have a weakness for manipulation. I need to be extra cautious.”
A third advised: “As long as you’re doing it because you want to and not manipulation, its fine, they’d be quite surprised when you showed you actually had a spine, just also don’t let them take advantage if it either. Like someone may like to wash a boat because they like boats, but don’t wash your boss’ boats for free.”