Aixin Fu was asked to crawl on the floor and moo like a cow during a group interview for a minimum-wage university student ambassador job.
One group interview used a cow exercise to test for fun
Fu said the exercise lasted about three to four minutes. The interviewer told the group the activity was meant to show whether candidates were “fun”. Fu thought the interviewer might have been on “a bit of a powertrip”. The interviewer’s explanation made the activity a test of personality, rather than a conventional question about the work. Fu’s account records both the reason given to the group and her reaction to being asked to take part.¹²
Pearl Kasirye, who was born in Uganda, applied for a remote job at a PR firm in Milan. She was told she would be paid in a Ugandan wage rather than a London wage. The account describes the pay comparison but gives no wage figures. It also places the application across locations: the firm was in Milan, the work was remote, and the stated basis for pay was a Ugandan rather than a London wage.¹
Some candidates faced questions about crying, people and children
Chas Edwards said the interviewer wanted someone who did not cry because her previous assistant had cried too often. Edwards lasted thirteen months in the job without crying, though he said he was “crying inside”. He also recalled that no one had lasted three months with the boss before him, calling his own tenure a world record. The account turns a personal preference about crying into an explicit condition raised during hiring.¹²
It also places the application across locations: the firm was in Milan, the work was remote, and the stated basis for pay was a Ugandan rather than a London wage.¹
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Read More →Corinne Card’s first question in an interview for an administrative job was whether she liked working with people. When she said yes, she was told the job would not be for her, and the interview ended there. The exchange left no other stated qualification or task in the account: her answer to a question about working with people was followed immediately by the decision to end the interview.²
Employment lawyer Roy Magara says women being asked in interviews whether they intend to have children is a “quite common” kind of bias. His example concerns a question about a candidate’s plans outside work, rather than her ability to do the job. The account identifies this as a recurring form of bias, but gives no figures on how often employers ask it or how many candidates are affected.¹²
Two applicants waited before learning the interview plan had changed
Tiara Allen waited about forty minutes at a shopping centre for an interviewer for a retail job. During the wait, the interviewer’s co-worker called them “two or three times”. When the interviewer eventually arrived, Allen was told the meeting had not been in the schedule. The delay and the explanation were part of the same encounter: Allen had waited while someone tried to reach the interviewer, then heard that the meeting was not scheduled.¹²
Lae arrived early for an interview at a law firm in Bristol. After Lae had waited twenty minutes, she was told the interview had been cancelled and that she should come back the next day. Unlike Allen, who eventually met the interviewer, Lae was sent away with a new instruction to return. The account gives no reason for the cancellation or further detail about whether the interview took place later.¹²
Hiring voices describe interviews as a conversation and a test of fit
Employment lawyer Roy Magara has also seen an older candidate told he did not get a job because he did not fit the “vibe” of a younger team. The explanation centred on whether the candidate matched the group, rather than identifying a specific skill or qualification. It is a separate example from the question about women and children: here, Magara describes age and team atmosphere as part of the hiring decision.²
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Read More →Euan Cameron, co-founder of hiring software Willo, described an interview as “just a conversation between two people”. That view sits against the accounts of candidates being asked to perform an unusual activity, answer personal questions or wait for an interviewer who had not scheduled the meeting. The examples show how the interview can turn on the interviewer’s questions, expectations or handling of the appointment, as well as the candidate’s answers.¹²
Two applicants waited before learning the interview plan had changed Tiara Allen waited about forty minutes at a shopping centre for an interviewer for a retail job.
Read the Interview for Real Signals
When an interviewer asks you to moo like a cow or tells you the job is about being fun, treat that as a direct signal about the role's culture and the manager's style. The cow exercise tested personality, not work ability, and one candidate read it as a power trip. Before accepting a minimum-wage role, weigh whether the interview's demands match the actual tasks you will perform daily.¹²
Pay decisions can be tied to where you live, not where the work happens. A remote role at a Milan firm offered a Ugandan wage instead of a London wage, so ask for the pay basis in writing before committing. Also, if an interviewer asks about crying or children, that reveals a bias you can expect on the job. Use the interview to spot these patterns and decide if you want to work under those conditions.¹²
Sources
Written by Career Ahead AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify key facts. Report errors to support@careeraheadonline.com
