We are unable to offer you a job because your name doesn't work with db schema | Hacker News Reader

We are unable to offer you a job because your name doesn't work with db schema

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45 points_630w22 comments

Seems like they have another jeffery. then their database raised an exception: cannot create unique index, duplicate keys found. it's easier to discard the applicant than fixing their db schema.

But then they'd say "We can't have multiple people with the same first name", here they claim they can't have anyone named Jeffrey.

Maybe they created a tool called Jeffrey, and it's too integrated with the DB...

I think you're overestimating people and their ability to be precise.

That'd be especially hilarious if they were looking to fill a position as database administrator :D

I'm picturing it more like this:

Clueless intern: "So what about this guy Jeffrey"?

Mean/Pissed/Annoyed/thinks-he-has-a-sense-of-humor boss: "Tell him that we don't hire anyone with that name"

The most logical explanation is that someone came to work drunk after night long party and produced that mail barely seeing what he/she is writing. Auto correct might have contributed.

Angry disgruntled HR person trying to get the company sued?

I am just curious for what reasons can above happen.

The most obvious one seems that someone decided to make first name the primary key and now they are stuck with the problem but still that doesn't feel right to me.

The other obvious one is that what the company rep said is not the actual problem. Because what the company rep said is ludicrous.

Maybe, but why offer an explanation at all. Most companies that rejected me gave me a bland “we’ve decided to pursue other candidates”.

Option 3 is that this is a shitpost and isn’t a real exchange at all.

That is how the real world works. If you are told to deliver your TPS reports to Jeffery, it would be bad to have more than one Jeffery. You couldn't reliably deliver your TPS reports. Therefore, only one Jeffery can be hired.

"What does it even mean?"

It means the company has just saved you time. You are free to pursue another company that is competent enough to store a name in a database record.

Please, leave them a thank you note on your way out, maybe link to one of reoccurring articles here on HN: https://www.kalzumeus.com/2010/06/17/falsehoods-programmers-...

Companies can only get away with this type of behavior in a labor market flooded with candidates. Of course they will claim they can't find anyone and need to government to search the four corners of the Earth to find someone for them. No company that rejects candidates for a reason like this should ever be allowed access to candidates beyond the local labor market until they stop this type of behavior.

Reddit says the company is run by 4 high school students.

Which I'll just take as true since the fact that they are actually more polite than most companies in replying to job applicants just adds to the humour.

I wonder if this behavior can be considered to be discriminatory?

Yes.

My friend Jeffrey thinks so.

The company name according to one of his screenshots is 'Tech for Good.' On their careers page the only opening is a Data Scientist... if it's real this is a hilarious way of weeding out unqualified applicants.

Tweet with company name: https://twitter.com/yephph/status/1249265056275021830/photo/...

Tech for Good careers page: http://www.techforgood.global/jobs/

A data scientist would be expected to understand how databases work. They want the applicant to respond back and say why that response doesn't make sense so they can weed out the 99% of people who apply to jobs on Indeed that are unqualified. It's also a good barometer of the applicants temperament. 300 IQ move.

The alternative explanation, that they're unable to hire people with the name 'Jeffrey' (and know exactly what the problem is but don't fix it), is just too absurd to actually be true. If one of their systems actually had this limitation they would have started naming people Jeffrey1, etc, by now.

Perhaps they're low on disk space and were hoping for a Bob.

fake. I also love this tweet from him

>Jesus shit, you guys love my failure. follow me to see more of my unfortunate life and ily all

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