A jobseeker who lost her hair after undergoing treatment for cancer has spoken out about a video interview where the interviewers said her head cap was not “professional” without realising she was still on the call.
Krystal Garmon, a project manager based in the US, took to LinkedIn to talk about her experience and thanked “unkind folks” for showing others “how important our purpose remains”.
Garmon said in her LinkedIn post that the interviewers “did not end their Zoom meeting before they began to talk with each other” and proceeded to berate her for her appearance.
She wrote: “‘She had a head cap on, did she know she was in an interview?’ ‘She would look more professional if she showed her hair. I can’t tell what colour her hair is.’
“Do you know my hair is uneven? Do you know I have bald spots? Do you know I am embarrassed to show anyone what I’ve gone through? Do you know my hair looks less professional if I don’t wear a head cap?”
Garmon said her hair “hasn’t grown back correctly” since she underwent cancer treatment a second time and the only people who have seen her without her head cap are “my husband, my immediate family, and my doctors”.
“Cheers to the unkind folks out there,” she continued in the post. “You are helping us kind folks realise how important we are to others and how important our purpose remains.
“Today is the last day I will wear anything to hide my history. I will wear my history with appreciation. My pride is hurt but I learned a valuable lesson in self-love today.”
Garmon said the incident took place on 31 January, but did not reveal the company that interviewed her.
Speaking to Insider, Garmon said she thought the interview went “really great” and the interviewers came across as “really kind”.
But after hearing their comments about her head cap looking “unprofessional”, Garmon said she hung up the call and “broke down crying”. She has not contacted the company about the experience for fear it may ruin her chances of employment there, according to the publication.
Garmon added that she did not blame the company and that the interviewers may have been “s***ty people” who are not representative of the firm.
She received a diagnosis of kidney cancer in 2013 and another of cervical cancer in 2017.
Her post garnered a huge response from others on the resume and job-seeking platform, with many describing her as an “inspiration” for sharing her story.
In a follow-up comment, Garmon thanked her followers for the “outpouring of tremendous and awesome support and overwhelming love” and apologised she could not respond to all of them.
“I was at my most vulnerable and if my journey helped one person, then thank you for allowing me to help you,” she added.
