Some job listings are so absurd, they seem like satire. Between impossible experience requirements, discriminatory screening questions, and straight-up nonsense, it is no wonder entire forums are dedicated to mocking them. Reddit’s r/recruitinghell collects these hiring horrors, and the strangest ones prove just how unhinged recruiting can get. Here are some of the most insane requirements and requests pulled from real job ads and applicant experiences.1. The impossible mathDeveloper Sebastián Ramírez spotted a listing demanding four years of FastAPI experience—even though he created the framework himself only a year and a half earlier.I saw a job post the other day. It required 4+ years of experience in FastAPI. I couldn't apply as I only have 1.5+ years of experience since I created that thing. Maybe it's time to re-evaluate that "years of experience = skill level". — Sebastián Ramírez (@tiangolo) July 11, 20202. Faith over firewallsA high-level IT security role reportedly required applicants to have “turned your life to Jesus the savior.” Cybersecurity, but make it evangelical.Comment byu/DanielaThePialinist from discussion inrecruitinghell3. A master’s degree for minimum wageOne listing wanted a master’s degree for a position that paid just $15.29 an hour. Debt, meet underemployment.Let's Go!!! byu/mission-vitality inrecruitinghell4. LinkedIn clout requiredAnother posting demanded that candidates have at least 100 LinkedIn connections to even apply. Networking as a prerequisite to networking.Why is that a requirement? byu/Flow-n-Code inrecruitinghell5. Astrology as HR policyOne ad banned Aquarians, Pisces, Leos, and Scorpios from applying. Apparently, Mercury in retrograde is a dealbreaker.New requirements strikes byu/showasanke inrecruitinghell6. Snack auditA pre-screening questionnaire asked, “What’s the last thing you ate?” The interview process suddenly turned into a food diary.This has to be a joke, right? (Required) byu/AStarNamedAltair inrecruitinghell7. Height and size restrictionsA nanny position required applicants to be around 1.6 meters tall and wear a clothing size 34 or smaller. Discrimination, thinly veiled as job criteria.This is the strangest requirement on a job advert that I’ve ever seen lol… AND the salary is $257 per month byu/derpsnotdead inrecruitinghell8. Gender box-checkingAnother questionnaire bluntly asked, “Are you a woman?” before allowing the application to proceed.Is this legal? Required question om a job application for a Director of Sales role. byu/Immediate_Tackle4402 inrecruitinghell9. Show us your fridgeOne company asked for a photo of the inside of an applicant’s refrigerator along with their résumé. What, exactly, was HR hoping to find—leftovers?Company wants to know what the inside of my fridge looks like, this is a required step in the application process byu/moderatenerd inrecruitinghell10. Emotionally unstable wantedA software posting described the ideal candidate as “opinionated AF,” hating the legal system, and having an “obsessive personality type.”New requirement for a software dev – be emotionally unstable byu/outoftheshell inrecruitinghell11. Devotion to burnoutAnother role required “absolute obsession with working 16-hour days, sleeping under the desk, and being in the action.” Basically, unpaid overtime as a personality trait.Required: Absolute obsession with working 16-hour days byu/joshuaism inrecruitinghell12. Quarter-century of experienceOne ad insisted on 25 years of full-time work—even for roles where that would exclude most of the workforce.Hold on to your seat, this job requires 25 years of experience! byu/Clean_Mulberry2559 inrecruitinghell13. No olds allowedA listing demanded college graduates from 2018–2023 only. If you were born before Y2K, too bad.No country for old man byu/nishantvyas inrecruitinghell14. Age error messageAn applicant entering “50” in an online form got an error saying, “Please enter a value that is 40 or less.” Ageism coded directly into the software.So this just happened byu/ancientastronaut2 inrecruitinghell15. Must be attractiveA showroom sales manager role literally said candidates “must be attractive.” Subtlety left the chat.“Must be Attractive” byu/Upset-Pickle-9225 inrecruitinghell16. Useless kitchenware testAnother pre-screen asked, “What’s the most useless kitchen tool in a standard kitchen and why would you still find it in every restaurant?” Maybe it was a riddle for chefs.Please.. just let me apply to your company without having to answer bizarre questions… byu/aurora_crossing inrecruitinghell17. Name banned by databaseOne rejection letter claimed they couldn’t hire anyone named Jeffrey because of their database schema. A coding issue became an HR policy."We are unable to offer positions to people with the name Jeffrey" byu/whymauri inrecruitinghell18. Girls onlyA receptionist job spelled it out: only women need apply.Job Only Hiring Girls byu/Professional_Drive inrecruitinghellJob hunting is already brutal, but these examples show how hiring practices often pile on absurdity. Applicants are left less worried about résumés and more about whether they fit a company’s bizarre criteria—religion, zodiac sign, fridge contents, or the name Jeffrey.The post 18 Absurd Job Requirements Employers Actually Tried to Get Away With appeared first on VICE.