Experts have weighed in after a woman was thrown out of a job interview for wearing shorts, leaving many wondering why the wardrobe staple is “inappropriate” for work.
Earlier this week, Tyreshia – who posts under the handle @mtyreshiadaily, revealed she had been told to “get changed” after showing up to an interview wearing black shorts, a white top and a light cardigan.
“I cannot believe the recruiter asked me to change my interview clothes then come back,” she captioned her video.
“I look very neat and professional, so no!” she added, alongside the hashtags #jobhunting, #fyp, and #viral.
In the clip, posted on TikTok, Tyreshia is standing facing the camera with her arms crossed.
“The Recruiter REJECTED Me Because Of This,” she wrote over the video, adding a red exclamation point emoji.
Tyreshia then tells viewers she was “dress-coded” during a job interview, with the recruiter asking her if she would like to go home, change her outfit, and come back, before rescheduling the appointment for the following day.
“I was like, no?” she said, before proceeding to show off her ensemble to the camera, with a puzzled look on her face.
But while Tyreshia couldn’t understand what the issue with her outfit was, the internet was very quick to tell her, with most taking the recruiter’s side.
“I’m not understanding what you’re not understanding,” one said in a comment that had over 130,000 likes.
“HR here….the fact they allowed you to change and have a redo says a lot. It would have been an immediate no here,” another worker shared.
As one simply said: “Shorts to an interview is insane.”
“That is a wild outfit,” mused another.
Australian stylist to the stars, Donny Galella, said there’s a good reason the clothing item isn’t suitable for the office.
“Short shorts are never appropriate for a job interview, especially when that short,” he told news.com.au.
“Maybe for some industries like fitness, maybe a personal trainer at a gym might get away with it?
“But overall I don’t think short shorts are appropriate to wear in a corporate environment.”
Many agreed with this sentiment, suggesting there was a generational gap in what constitutes acceptable interview attire.
“Schools REALLY need to bring back career day and career prep classes,” one user stressed.
“I’ve officially hit the age where I’m sayin’ this generation is wild,” wrote someone else.
“Gawd I feel like a boomer… BUT, when and why would shorts (of any length) be appropriate for a job interview?” another viewer questioned.
While others shared their own videos, roasting Tyreshia for being seemingly naive about her wardrobe choices.
Tyreshia has yet to comment on the criticism, or provide any updates on how her rescheduled job interview went.
But to date her video has amassed almost 3.5 million views and close to 40,000 comments since it was posted Thursday.
All that’s left to ponder is what she chose to wear the next day?