‘Face with no hint of feminism’: Offensive job ad incites fury on Russian web
A strangely specific, possibly illegal, and outright bizarre vacancy posted by a top Russian estate agency – focusing almost exclusively on several specific facial features - has caught the eye of internet users, and not in a good way.
“The main requirement for the job is a smile. A certain type of smile (there are 23 types),” starts out the job ad posted by senior Penny Lane recruiter Ella Mikhaylova on Facebook.
The applicant’s smile is then detailed over the next dozen sentences. The “premium girl” sought by the company has to have a “soft, Slavic smile (only the top row of teeth must be visible, and under no circumstances must the bottom row be seen)” but definitely not a “defiant, dazzling, advert-ready American smile.” The “top lip should remain full while smiling,” but even if the candidate passes these hurdles, she will be rejected if “the corners of the mouth become sharp during the process of smiling.”
It is then only fair that the exposed teeth will be “white, and neither too big nor too small.” In fact, when the realty employee is not smiling, she will be expected to project an “inner smile,” simultaneously communicating “tenderness, care, happiness, enchantment, sincerity, and intimacy.”
The overall facial expression must “contain no hint of feminism, cunning, haughtiness, independence, or pride.”
After this, the added requirements, such as “blonde hair,”“light-colored eyes,” “complete higher education,” “no signs of plastic surgery,” “height between 1.67 and 1.75 meters,” “five years of experience with a top company,” “erudition,” “good manners,” “a beautiful voice,” and a “kind soul” must seem like a cinch.
“A round, Slavic face, with a soft chin, and dimples” are considered “an advantage,” but thankfully do not exclude otherwise qualified applicants.
As a punch line right at the bottom, the vacancy says that the job will be “welcoming and consulting very wealthy clientele” in, wait for it, a “premium company,” presumably Mikhaylova’s own employer.
The experienced recruiter also offers to “send out the contacts of those who make the final round to “my male friends,” though, of course, “only with the women’s consent.”
If anyone is left in doubt, sample photos of models fitting the criteria are attached.
Unsurprisingly, it took mere hours for the post to go viral.
While some users went straight for the legal option, saying that Mikhaylova’s agency should be sued for discrimination – particularly on the basis of race, which is illegal, – and the recruiter fired, others decided to preface their actions with a rant.
The physiognomy expert Mikhaylova was branded sexist, her company “a third-world country operation,” with multiple references to “looking for animals in a zoo” and memes of various animals, who may or may not have complied with the stated criteria.
On Friday afternoon, less than 24 hours after the vacancy was posted, it was abruptly taken down.
But this was not softening the ground for a ritually-expected apology, and likely resignation.
“We have received a flood of CVs. The vacancy aroused such enthusiasm that we were able to find the right candidate straight away,” wrote Mikhaylova. “Thank you all for your participation!”
