She applied for a remote junior tax-accountant role. The description was about entering tax documents, reviewing client files, checking data accuracy, and supporting senior preparers. It did not describe the job as heavily client-facing.
The HR screen lasted fifteen minutes. The recruiter asked her to walk through her background. When she finished, the recruiter told her she had a “very strong accent” — that the company paid close attention to accents because the role was client-facing and clients complained, and that she should have an American accent, or no accent at all. Then she said that, because of the accent, there was nothing she could offer, and ended the call.
She had lived in Europe for six years. She had studied and worked in English throughout, taken a degree taught entirely in English, and used it every day. Clear communication, she wrote, is one matter. Requiring a particular accent is another. She asked whether this was normal practice in the US.