A man surnamed Xu in Wuhan, Hubei province, was turned down by the HR manager when he went for a job interview because the manager saw him using an iPhone and thought he was from a well-off background and would not be able to bear hardship. Although it seems ridiculous, it will not help the job hunter find a job if he puts the blame on the smartphone rather than his own weakness, says an article on gmw.cn. Excerpts:

On the surface, it is indeed biased for the HR manager to judge whether a job applicant is hardworking or not by the mobile phone an applicant uses. However, in this case, the jobseeker made some mistakes that are the real reasons why he failed the interview.

First of all, the reason why the manager noticed Xu's iPhone is that he used it to take photos everywhere in the job fair out of curiosity, which showed that Xu failed to find his position and switch to the role as an employee. The HR manager's first impression of Xu would be definitely bad after spotting his immature behavior. Also, that Xu went to the job interview with his cousin's company revealed his lack of confidence and independence, providing evidence for the manager's judgment that he would not be able to bear hardship.

At the end, when turned down, Xu just left without arguing his case, which shows his lack of ability to cope with a difficult situation. Perhaps what the manager said was also a part of the interview, testing his response. If the HR manager had indeed made a false judgment about Xu because of his mobile phone, Xu could have responded with his advantages in an attempt to change the manager's mind.

Therefore, it was not just because of his iPhone that Xu was rejected. Job hunters should reflect on their attitude and focus more on details when searching for a job, rather than using a fig leaf to excuse their failure.