Russian Interviewee Gets Told Their Russian is "Insufficient" by Job Interviewer Who Couldn't Speak the Language

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Emmy Pratt • Senior Editor
Oct 19, 2022 1:30 PM EDT

As someone who took at least five linguistics classes in college, you might call me a language expert. And as such, it's my duty to share a few undeniable truths about language learning that many people do not know. Did you know that if you're a native speaker of a language, congratulations, you are an expert in that language? It doesn't matter if you can't explain the exact reason for conjugations or word order. If you've spoken a language since birth, you will automatically know when something is grammatically incorrect.

One Redditor noticed their job interviewer had some major grammatical issues with Russian during their interview. The interviewee is a native Russian speaker and was seeking this job because it specifically called for applicants with such a background. However, they got rejected from the job for their Russian being "insufficient," even when the interviewee spoke absolute nonsense. Luckily, this interviewee wasn't going to stand by while this injustice occurred; they did something about it. 

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  • 01
    Font - AITA for getting someone fired because they pretended to know the language?
    via u/Kat5034
  • 02
    Font - English is not my first language. I (27f) decided to apply for my dream job. I have met all the criteria and one of them was to be proficient in my native language (Russian), which I am, since I've grown up in the country speaking and writing in it and have finished school and university where obviously all the subjects are taught in Russian, except English and French/ German language classes.
    via u/Kat5034
  • 03
    Font - I ended up securing the interview with this place and needed to demonstrate the knowledge of Russian, so the person who did the interview started asking me questions in it. However I could barely understand her, not only the accent made it incredibly difficult but the fact that she couldn't build a sentence, but also used incorrect forms of the words and the pronunciation was totally wrong too. In short it sounded as if she was randomly putting the words in Google translate and was trying
    via u/Kat5034
  • 04
    Font - After about 3 months of chasing and silence, I got an email saying I wasn't successful and the reason was that they believed my knowledge of Russian language was poor and insufficient for the job and not up to their "standards" according to the interviewer. Of course I was confused, since the lady who interviewed me could barely speak the language herself. So I have decided to leave feedback about my experience on one of the job sites, which was made to share info about working at the job
    via u/Kat5034
  • 05
    Font - On Friday I have found out the lady who interviewed me was dismissed. She and her friends were messaging me on social media calling an asshole, because this job was her only source of income and was struggling. I am now feeling guilty about this and feel like I was an asshole for writing about my experience. AITA?
    via u/Kat5034
  • 06
    Font - EagleSevenFoxThree • 1d Partassipant [2] 1 Award NTA - She is scamming her company by pretending to speak a language that she has minimal fluency in. Imagine how many other people she's turned down for jobs. Reply 24.5k +
    via EagleSevenFoxThree
  • 07
    Font - hellahellagoodshit. 1d Partassipant [3] She probably thought that she would be better off hiring people who spoke badly because they wouldn't be able to find her out. She thought she was the gatekeeper and didn't realize that it was a super dumb idea. + 49.6K
    via hellahellagoodsh*t
  • 08
    Font - Wrong_Bat_9636 1d . The fact that it gained traction probably means OP isn't the only one experiencing this. ... + 46.1k 6.1k
    via Wrong_Bat_9636
  • 09
    Font - yet another_sock • 1d S 2 Awards This would mean that this employer is claiming to provide services to Russian speakers, but doesn't. Scamming your job is generally cool and fun, but if this particular employer is, say, claiming to provide information and resources to vulnerable immigrant communities but then hanging them out to dry so this particular lady can run her scam, she's gotta go. 45k +
    via yet_another_sock
  • 10
    Rectangle - PanamaViejo • 1d S 2 Awards And please let the company know that she accessed your personal information (if she was fired, she has no right to this information) and is using it to harass you. If she is also involving her friends, she passed out classified information and the company needs to know this. You could sue her and the company so be pro active and let them know. + 959
    via PanamaViejo
  • 11
    Font - Puzzleheaded-Big1680. 1d Asshole Aficionado [16] 1 Award Nta. You were denied a job based on a lie that wasn't yours. That's not on you. It could have been your only source of income too. Reply ... 6.5k
    via Puzzleheaded-Big1680
  • 12
    Font - Father-Son-Holy Toast. 1d Partassipant [2] Aren't most full-time jobs the only source of income for the person in them? It's such an odd point for the interviewer to make, as though she is distinguishing herself as a rare exception among the massive hoards of independently wealthy employed people who only work a job for funsies. 42k +
    via Father-Son-HolyToast
  • 13
    Font - Puzzleheaded-Big1680. 1d Asshole Aficionado [16] Exactly. Its pointless to get sympathy points like that when Op is also looking for a job and it may have been vital to them. + 466
    via Puzzleheaded-Big1680
  • 14
    Font - Angelblade92 • 1d Asshole Enthusiast [8] NTA- you missed out on a wonderful sounding job, due to a person who clearly wasn't up to scratch and had no business interviewing someone fluent in the language. + Reply 1.2k
    via Angelblade92
  • 15
    Font - RedditUser123234 • 1d Partassipant [4] ΝΤΑ She and her friends were messaging me on social media calling an asshole, because this job was her only source of income and was struggling. And there were probably struggling people who could've used that job who she denied. If he job was really so important to her, and she absolutely had to lie to keep her source of income, then in her spare time after getting this new job responsibility, she should've been getting language lessons (rosetta sto
    via RedditUser123234
  • 16
    Font - Live_Power_2843. 1d You should message her and her friends back saying she shouldn't have lied that you didn't know the language when you clearly are proficient in it and cost you the job. What did she expect for you not to tell the truth when she clearly was not. She screwed herself when she was clearly wrong and messed with someone else's main source of income. She got what she deserves. Don't even feel bad about it. ... + Reply 15
    via Live_Power_2843
  • 17
    Rectangle - PrimarisKevin. 1d NTA. She committed fraud. Maybe follow up with the company and see if they're still hiring; sounds like another job just opened. ... + Reply 22 22
    via PrimarisKevin
  • 18
    Rectangle - omfgwtfbbqkkthx. 1d Should reply back in Russian, even. Also, NTA + 423
    via omfgwtfbbqkkthx

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russia languages jobs job interviews different languages foreign language russian job interview interview boss aita askreddit reddit thread Reddit
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