19-year-old woman shares experiencing a two-hour-long assessment for a first-round job interview for a minimum wage role, all applicants under 30 are asked to leave: 'The first task was to rank items by importance for surviving on a desert island'

Brad Dickson • Managing Editor

Oct 17, 2025 12:00 PM EDT

A young worker weary of the scenes at the grungy bar where she worked applied for a shiny corporate position and was confronted by the over-the-top interview process she experienced.

Job interviews used to be simple; you'd show up, look presentable, answer some questions, and shake some hands. They might check some of your references, but it would all be pretty straightforward and to the point. And this was for experienced positions.

At some point, though, people began selling books and courses describing outrageous tips and tests that supposedly would reveal the ideal candidate. These are now escalating in the modern social-media era, with business "influencers" farming engagement on social media, and hiring managers turning to AI for hiring strategies, giving us even more tests and hacks that have gotten us further and further away from the original point of everything: hiring the most promising candidate.

All of this aside, if you're interviewing for a minimum wage role, it shouldn't matter what your experience is. All that should really matter is whether or not you're willing to turn up, learn a few basics, and do the work. Otherwise, why is the job paying only minimum wage?

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But that was not this 19-year-old applicant's experience when she applied for a new job working part-time and at minimum wage. She was already working at a bar, but had grown tired of dealing with the usual suspects you come across in that type of environment. While she expected a more straightforward employment experience with this new role, she had only barely made it through the door for the interview when the circus began.
To answer the applicant's question: No, this isn't normal—or at least it shouldn't be. Even if it's becoming more frequent, there's nothing normal about it.
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"The most demeaning hiring process I’ve experienced"

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