We’ve all heard stories about job applications gone wrong, whether it be a dreadful resume typo or an interview mishap. If you haven’t experienced a hiring gaffe yourself, you’ve heard about one from a friend or family member. Such is life. But I bet you’ve never heard this one before.
There’s a resume anecdote going viral on X right now that has to do with, of all things, olive oil.
“Cannot stress how much of an advantage it is to be a normal, well adjusted, applicant for banking roles,” the user @90daysliquidity posted. “I reviewed a resume that listed ‘olive oil’ as an interest. That is not an interest. It’s been hours and I cannot stop thinking about it. There will not be an interview.”
The post, which has racked up over 10 million views, kicked off a deluge of memes.
Many of the reactions came from people who were shocked by the immediate rejection.
If you ask me, I’d say it’s more of a red flag to not have an interest in olive oil, even if your interest is small and only sparked while being presented with a thick, crusty slice of bread. In a similar vein, some follow-up posts brought up a salient point to this debate: Is adding this kind of a personalization to the “interests” section of a resume really such a terrible mistake?
“Honestly we’re all miserable because we feel pressured to have ‘normal’ interests,” wrote user @sketchesbyboze. “I recommend developing a fascination with a niche subject—olive oil, Victorian novels, medieval warfare, falconry… You may not get a job at a bank, but you’ll learn things. You’ll be happy.”
“ohhh nooo my chill ass new employee likes olive oil too much and will probably gift me some nice stuff around the holidays oh nooooooo,” added user @willdefries.
“The guy that lists ‘olive oil’ as his interest will generate more lifetime alpha than the ‘hiking’, ‘biking’, and ‘running’ crowd combined,” wrote user @shaletier7.
In a job market where people are constantly looking for ways to stand out against hundreds, even thousands of competitive applicants, there’s nothing wrong with a glug of authenticity. Maybe there were other reasons not to move on with this candidate, but was adding a little bit more personality on paper so bad? Sure, now that many job application processes use AI screenings, there’s the chance that this flourish could have eliminated him from the get-go. And yet, it obviously started a conversation, which is the first step to landing that gig.
Who knows? Maybe this person had experience in the food and drink industry, which is a field less likely to be taken over by AI compared to banking, and, in my opinion, makes them a little more interesting than someone who followed “routine” or “regular” steps required to move up in a specific field. There are plenty of benefits to hiring outside candidates that can bring in a unique perspective to work situations.
Maybe we all need to be a little more open-minded, or just more transparent about our interest in olive oil.
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