I applied for a job I'm perfect for. I was rejected after the first question, before they even asked for my name.

Anyway, I'm re-entering the job market after taking a break, and the whole thing has been... Very strange. About 9 months ago, I ended a 12-year career in corporate finance to do some traveling. It was an opportunity I couldn't pass up. Now I'm ready to get back to work, and I knew I'd have to explain the gap in my CV, which is normal and not a problem.

I found a job posting on LinkedIn that seemed perfect for me. I wasn't just qualified; I was probably overqualified. The salary was in the range I had in mind, and the job was fully remote, which was a huge plus since I no longer live in a major city.

LinkedIn took me to the company's portal to apply. The very first question, before anything else, was 'Are you currently employed and have you been in the same position for the last 18 months?'. I used to be a hiring manager myself, and we would sometimes ask this for internal transfers, but we never asked it of an external applicant as the very first step. I answered honestly and clicked 'No', then next. Instantly, the screen refreshed to a 'Thank you for your interest' page. And that was it. The application was over.

I was completely baffled. I told myself, 'No way, this must be a bug in the website.' So I went back and started a new application, just to see what would happen. This time I lied and answered 'Yes'. And sure enough, it immediately took me to the next page to start filling out my actual information.

To me, this is officially insane. They don't know my name, they haven't seen my CV, nothing at all. The mere fact that I haven't been in the same job for the last 18 months was enough for an automatic rejection. It makes you wonder, what about people who have been laid off? Or parents re-entering the workforce? Or someone with a disability that caused a career gap? I'm not one of them, but this feels like a very problematic filter.

Their website is flooded with 'Best Place to Work' awards and big talk about being an Equal Opportunity Employer. How can you claim something like that when your system filters people out before you even know who they are? I tried to find any HR contact to ask them about this, but all I found was a generic info@ email. The whole thing feels off. Am I overreacting, or is this as crazy as I think it is?

I did some research after this happened. The EEOC has laws against using employment practices that disproportionately screen out certain groups of people, if the practice isn't necessary for the job itself. I feel like what they're doing comes very close to that line, if it hasn't already crossed it. The job market right now is a real nightmare.