#trending: Chinese firm claims good looks don't matter, interviews job applicants in costume masks

CHENGDU, CHINA — A logistics company in China has been lauded online for promoting a fairer recruitment process by requiring job applicants to wear costume masks during interviews.

The firm, Chengdu Ant Logistics from China’s Sichuan province, had asked candidates to do so in order to avoid hiring them based on their appearance.

A viral video of one of the interviews on Feb 3 shows a bizarre scene in which four candidates sit in a row while listening attentively to a male interviewer. All of their faces are fully obscured by masks, including the interviewer’s.

A woman, surnamed Zeng, who attended the interview and posted the clip on Chinese social media application Douyin said that she found the whole scenario “weird”.

In her caption, Ms Zeng said that the company had given job applicants plain white masks to freely draw on and wear. She also highlighted that a company employee had been tasked to cut and distribute sugar cane to the interviewees.

The purpose of the sugar cane was not explained.

Hong Kong daily South China Morning Post reported on Chengdu Ant Logistics confirming that the video was taken during its biannual recruitment fair. The firm was looking to fill in a number of positions including new media operator, live-stream broadcaster and data analyst.

The house-moving company also claimed that it values an individual’s abilities over their looks and hoped that conducting interviews in masks would reduce the stress felt by interviewees.

Some social media users were bemused by this “new style” of interviewing.

One wrote: “As a (human resource) professional, I am shocked. Wearing a mask is one thing, each person is still given a piece of sugar cane. Are they gnawing on the sugar cane while talking? But if you are wearing a mask, you can't eat. I have to admit, this is a very new interview style. Beyond my experience and what I studied.”

Many Chinese online users praised the company for “helping to eliminate employment discrimination”. Others said that such interviews “could benefit people who experience social anxiety”.

One user commented: “This is equality. Good looks should not count”.

Another person agreed that wearing a mask would help people speak up during interviews: “If I show my face, I don't feel confident. But if I don't have to show my face, I’m able to say a lot.”

Some jokingly asked if the interviewer himself suffers from social anxiety.

This was not the first time that Chengdu Ant Logistics has gained attention for its unconventional job interviews.

Previously, candidates were asked to hoe the lawn of the company’s logistics park to test their resilience and ability to carry out tasks, South China Morning Post reported.

Since the company has made headlines for its strange job interviews before, some online users wondered if the masked interviews were merely a publicity stunt.

Commenting on Ms Zeng’s Douyin post, one online user suggested that the real reason the company asked interviewees to wear masks was to avoid being sued for showing the applicants’ faces on a livestream of the recruitment fair.

Agreeing with the person’s point, Ms Zeng replied: “They were live broadcasting throughout the interview”.