Women have retaliated in fury and hailed him as 'archaic' and 'ridiculous' Could wearing your engagement ring really cost you the job? Bruce Hurwitz, an Executive Recruiter claims that to ‘dress to impress’ this is the way to increase your chances of getting the job.
Hurwitz wrote a post on LinkedIn earlier this month which has sparked a huge online debate and women globally are enraged at the notion of ‘ditching the ring.’
The post titled, ‘When interviewing for a job, lose the ring!’ he explains: ‘Years ago I was working for a recruiter. A colleague interviewed a woman. I was not present during the interview.
‘When they left the conference room the woman asked my colleague, “You know, I have had a number of interviews and no offers. Did you find anything wrong with my interviewing skills?” My colleague assured her that she had not.
‘Even though I had not been introduced to her, and despite the fact that, at that moment, I was alone with five women all of whom were wearing engagement rings, I said, “Lose the rock!”
Bruce said in his article that when a man sees the sparkling diamond ring on a woman’s finger he immediately assumes she is ‘high maintenance.’
“When a man sees that ring he immediately assumes you are high maintenance. When the woman at the office who has the largest diamond on her finger, sees that ring, she will realize that if you are hired she will fall to second place and will, therefore, not like you. Lose the ring!”
He then claimed that the same woman he had given advice to called him two weeks later and had secured a job – because she left her engagement ring at home. Hurwitz then added that it happened to half a dozen more women.
He concluded: ‘Not wearing an engagement ring is not lying. Being engaged is not a “protected class” like gender, religion, or even marital status. After all, just because you are engaged does not mean you are actually going to get married. So not telling an employer that you plan to get married, is fine. It is none of her business. It would only be relevant if, let’s say, you needed some time off in the not too distant future.
‘So lose the rock! And, if you don’t have one, but got engaged by signing a pre-nup, find a way to let male interviewers know that. They’ll respect you. (Women may as well, but I’m not certain that this is the case.)’
Thousands of people commented on his LinkedIn article to share their views – with many hailing it ‘ridiculous’
One lady commented in disbelief saying, ‘This is a joke right? Let male interviewers know you are engaged, but don’t wear the ring?! .. .Stay away from sexist companies that base their hiring decisions on your marital status.’
Deloitte Consulting’s Senior Manager, Karthik R. Krishnamoorthy, said, ‘I see a lot of sub-par content on LinkedIn and look the other way. But THIS! Darkest corners of hell are reserved for those who say nothing and I don’t want to get there. This is sexist, judgmental, archaic, and downright inappropriate. I interview and hire for a range of positions (entry level to management), I advise and counsel high ranking executives everyday and can vouch that no company worth working for has such draconian and subversive perception. It is a woman’s or man’s right to wear socially appropriate and professionally accepted accessories to wherever they please including an interview. Before anyone mentions an Arm sleeve tattoo or 15 face piercings, note I said professionally accepted – a wedding ring is certainly professionally accepted. I have never even noticed a ladies hands to see if she was wearing a ring during an interview and I can say without a doubt that I am the norm and not an outlier.’
At the time of publishing, Hurwitz had not responded to the reactions nor made comment.
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