Cry when surprised?

[annie23456]

it's been a 11 yrs since I was raped, and today in a job interview someone asked me what the worst thing that's ever happened to me was.

I started leaking frpm the eyeballs and got dizzy. very unprofessional. interview blown, no worries, my fault, whatever, but...

...it's been ELEVEN YEARS. I've done a coupleg years of therapy!! when does this shit scar over, how do you handle Surprise, f*ck?!?

 

[EveHarrington]

Wow, I think that’s a horrible job interview question!

You weren’t unprofessional. They were.

Shiiiit. At that point I’d be like ok this isn’t a company I’d want to work for and I’d describe the details of my trauma to the nines. Because yeah, if I’m going to be made to feel uncomfortable, they deserve to, too. And yes, everyone loves to hear the gory details of childhood rape.

You were overwhelmed and triggered, so it’s to be expected that you’d react in an emotional way.

:hug:

 

[Suzetig]

What the hell? What a ridiculous interview question - I’m not surprised you were tearful, it immediately takes you to the worst point in your life and while they couldn’t possibly know it was rape, they knew it wouldn’t be good.

I too would be happy to never work for them. I would also write to the chair of the interview panel and their HR manager to explain the impact of that question and why it was so incredibly inappropriate.

As for it being 11 years? I’m a full 30-40 years down the line and can still at times be reduced to tears. You were caught off guard, in a professional setting and were indirectly being asked to disclose something traumatic and private to you - tears feel like a very human reaction. Be kind to yourself.

 

[MyWillow]

That’s not EVER a question I would ask in an interview. Bloody hell but I’m furious someone would think that was ok.

Take care of you. You aren’t the problem here.

 

[Justmehere]

I think you dodged a bullet. Anyone that would ask that as a job interview question is CLUELESS.

Just because you had a fairly reasonable reaction doesn’t mean the good work you have done to recover is lost. Many people without PTSD would have struggled with that.