To think acne is no reason to turn someone down for a job?

[SkullPointerException]

Just what it says in the title, really. This was something that came up during a panel discussion on potential hires yesterday.

As it happens, the colleague who mentioned it, HR and myself were all in agreement that he wasn't suitable for the position anyway and for other reasons, so I never had to decide whether or not to kick up a fuss over the comment.

I'm still massively taken aback that a senior person in a large enterprise would come out with that, though.

It's true that we face clients in our daily work, but we're professionals, not cosmetics sales staff. And, yes, I know it's not attractive when it's severe.

Having said that, IMO it pushes the boundaries of discrimination really hard. I couldn't turn someone down for a job they can physically do because they're in a wheelchair (that's illegal) but acne is somehow okay?

AIBU or is my colleague?

Oh that's definitely worth a try Catastic though the consultant very strongly told him that acne isn't a diet related thing and eating chocolate and crisps etc isn't what gives you acne (although he should eat healthily) as then every teenager on the planet would have acne. My brothers suffered badly as teenagers and I did a bit too but very specifically to my chin and shoulders so they say it's genetic, but then I guess the link to milk could be equally genetic. He really doesn't want to do the roaccutane again as it's left him with very dry eyes (unable to wear contact lenses) and it thinned his hair a bit too but also doesn't want to have the acne either. He's had it since he was 14 and now he's 18 so I don't think it's miraculously going to just disappear on its own. i look back of photos of them before acne and I could weep. People used to actually comment on what beautiful skin they had when they were children.

We drink a lot of milk as a family so this might be difficult for him though, we'll have to try to find some acceptable non dairy replacements.

His dermatologist said the same thing to us Waxon. But it got to the point where we would try anything as some of the medication side effects were pretty bad. I found some articles like this one:

www.google.com.au/amp/s/www.vogue.com/article/dairy-cause-of-acne-skin-health-diet-lactose-intolerance/amp

Mostly anecdotal stuff but then after a month the results were just so evident. Like a miracle cure almost. The worst of the rashes disappeared and it was more like pimples rather than acne. And no longer on his face!

This thread though... shake my head. If anyone with acne is reading this and feeling stressed, please know that I would not judge you or rule you out of a job! There are just some total tossers in the world and sadly the OP has to work with one. Reasonable, rational people would not behave like this.

I would talk to the HR representative that was there to discuss it - bring it up as a separate issue, saying that yesterday wasn't the time as you didn't want to derail the interview process and discussions, but that you were shocked/upset/disgusted/etc by your colleagues remarks about not hiring somebody due to their acne. That you know it didn't actually make a difference yesterday as the person had failed the interview for other reasons, but that you want to be clear (or for it to be made clear to interviewers in the future) that this is not an acceptable view to hold.

The good news is that you were there, as was the HR person and others - the person that said it has shown themselves in their true light and you now know what they are like so can adjust your thoughts in reaction to them in the future. Forewarned is forearmed!

@WaxOnFeckOff @Catastic I do agree about dairy and I have read many times it makes acne worse as it's an inflammatory. I must admit, I've cut down on my intake i.e coffee whitener instead of milk, and my skin is better (the past week this has gone down the pan though as I've gone on a choc/cheese binge)

• but, I'm also using a new skin routine which myself and my friends are all raving about (the ordinary - also very cheap), 5/6 of us have said it's made a huge difference and some have stopped wearing make up during the day altogether it's been so effective. I'm still breaking out around my jaw when hormonal but the general tone of my skin/blackheads is noticeably better. Also, the indian clay off amazon is great for drying oily skin.

Having suffered with acne as a teen, (despite being perfectly hygienic and clean might add!), this makes me feel really angry. What a horrible attitude. That person probably feels self conscious enough already, and would be devastated to know they didn't get a job because of it. How awful, judgemental and shallow.

Glad to hear you dont all think IABU. I didn't really think I was, but the matter of factly manner in which it was said made me doubt if this was a thing for a moment.

FWIW, we really, thankfully in this case, did have solid reasons for not picking this particular candidate. There were four of us on the panel in total - superficial colleague, other guy and myself, all managers representing our respective domains - and the HR rep. Neither the other manager not myself were particularly impressed with his domain knowhow (struggled with industry terminology, didn't stand out in any of the case study exercises) whereas we still are hung over which one of two other, both really great but very different in type applicants we want to hire.

I'd really hate for him to have been one of my top picks, though, because I'd always be wondering if we had ended up picking someone else then.

My DH has psoriasis and he worries about attitudes like this. I always try to reassure him that people aren't thinking like that but it seems I was wrong