Note: This job interview experience was an inappropriate and illegal interview hiring process that has red flags (warning signs) written all over it. It was extremely horrifically bad! I applied for the Fact Check Reporter position. I was interviewed in a video call by the company’s then-managing fact-check editor who asked about my experience. I was asked to take a writing test which is simply pitching a story filled with misinformation and writing an article on why that information is either true or false. Weeks later, the editor-in-chief of the company wanted to conduct a video interview. In the video interview, the editor-in-chief was wearing casual clothing normally worn at home and smoking tobacco using a hookah pipe throughout the video interview, and cursing (using profanity). He said the job position involves the reporters finding "B.S." on the internet and other social media sites all day with 20-30 article quotas to fulfill every month with a featured enterprising story. He asked me illegal and inappropriate questions. Editor-in-chief asked about my family, who I am living with, what my family does for work, my upbringing, if I ever visited the country my family originates from and if I grew up there, my education, and also asked me if the name I used on my resume and other job application materials is my real name. I am a person of color. Management (editor-in-chief) never asked me job-related interview questions during the video call. The editor-in-chief said he was very concerned that I have not had a full-time job after college despite interning at multiple journalism companies in a different journalism sector. I most recently worked at a national news outlet and the editor-in-chief judged me on that because my recent employer restructured (reorganized) which led to me and other employees being laid off. This was no fault of my own. Editor-in-chief said the red flag is that I have not worked full-time since college graduation and that a yellow or red flag is my most recent employer laying me off. He said the only thing I have working for me is that the other interviewers from the company in past job interviews “like” me. (A representative from the news video department at the company also made an inappropriate remark using profanity while saying I was “unique” - all in one statement in a separate interview for another position at the company where the particular department had no open positions. They were simply collecting resumes.) Back to the video job interview, the editor-in-chief requested for me to send him my references. I felt afraid and intimidated by the editor-in-chief and everything that happened in the interview. I had planned to ask several interview questions but didn’t ask all of them because of the disgusting and disrespectful experience I encountered with the editor-in-chief in the video interview who asked me illegal and inappropriate questions. The editor-in-chief then wants me to speak with the publisher for a meeting. There are little or no people of color in the company. Most employees are Caucasian. The next day after the interview, after careful consideration, I withdrew my candidacy from all positions at the company due to the inappropriate job interview experience I had with the editor-in-chief. I never gave the company my references. Many people have said the company is not a real, genuine legitimate news organization and cannot be taken seriously, and does not do true journalism at all. The company cannot be trusted at all. As a person of color, the company would have racially terminated me (with cause) from the job position citing work performance issues. Do not work for this company. Stay away from them at all costs! They are evil and hurtful! Stay away!
