As many Gen Zers know all too well, job-hunting as a young person is quite the challenge. In fact, a survey by Intelligent found that one in six companies are reluctant to hire those in their 20s.

One young woman named Alejandra experienced this distaste for Gen Z firsthand. “A Gen X hiring manager told me that I wasn’t hired because I’m Gen Z, and that’s been making me cry for the better part of the last five hours,” she admitted in a TikTok.

She was rejected after a job interview because the company didn’t like her ‘Gen Z traits.’

“I interviewed for this job that I was a shoo-in for three weeks ago,” she shared. “I had worked in this department before, I had worked with this team before, and I excelled when I worked there.”

Alejandra felt good about the interview and waited in anticipation to learn if she landed the role.

“A week passes by, hear no word,” she recalled. “I send an email asking HR if the position has been filled, (and) they said they hadn’t heard anything from the department. I send an email to both the hiring manager and the panel. Nobody replies to that email.”

It wasn’t until she bumped into the hiring manager in an elevator that Alejandra got her answer.

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The hiring manager said that Alejandra was too honest in her interview, and they found her lack of a 5-year plan concerning.

When she ran into the hiring manager, she was informed that they “found someone who was just better fitting for the team.”

“Eventually, I ask, ‘Can you be candid with me and let me know why I wasn’t chosen? Is there anything that I can do better in future interviews?'” Alejandra recounted. The answer she received had everything to do with her generational traits.

The hiring manager disliked that Alejandra shared details about her social media presence and insight into her medical condition — something the company was already aware of due to her previous employment. She added that the company also didn’t like that she didn’t have a concrete five-year plan.

“To be quite Frank with you, I think it’s a Gen Z problem,” the hiring manager said. “You have to understand, you know, it’s all about perception. It’s all about optics.”

“When people ask you your five-year plan, it’s very concerning when you say you have no plan,” she continued. “It shows that you’re not good for commitment, even if you just have to make something up on the spot. And I just think Gen Z has a really hard time with that.”

While Alejandra acknowledged that she asked for this feedback, it was still upsetting. “It’s just sad to know how they really feel and how truly shallow this world is,” she wrote in the caption of her video.

She defended her lack of a five-year plan, explaining that she just graduated last year intending to become a doctor. However; due to her disability, her plans have been adjusted.

“I don’t know what I want my future to look like because of the circumstances in my life, but I’m a good worker and my resume shows it,” she insisted. “How about Gen X and boomers start investing in us, start taking a chance on us.”

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Alejandra, and many Gen Zers, are unwilling to play ‘the game’ to secure a position.

The Intelligent survey found that many employers claim Gen Zers lack motivation and professionalism. They refuse to hire young workers and recent graduates because they believe they are entitled, offended easily, and lack a work ethic.

Alejandra has a different hypothesis.

She says that many Gen Zers refuse to accept old-school corporate culture and traditions, upsetting many older workers who did just that.

“I don’t wanna play the game,” she said. “I just wanna put a roof over my head. But I don’t want to put a roof over my head and food on the table at the expense of who I am at the core of my heart.”

“I want to be able to afford things and pay the bills, but I also don’t want to do that while tearing down every single part of who I am and changing myself just for capitalism coins.”

“I think the older generations see that, and they get so angry because they didn’t have the strength to not do that,” Alejandra continued. “They gave into the game. Even though they knew the game was incorrectly put in place, even though they knew the game was rigged, they gave into it instead of walking away from it and changing it.”

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Nia Tipton is a staff writer with a bachelor’s degree in creative writing and journalism who covers news and lifestyle topics that focus on psychology, relationships, and the human experience.