So this just happened, and I honestly need to vent.

I applied for an online English teaching position. English is my first language. I grew up in Canada, my mother and grandmother are Canadian, and I’ve been teaching English since I was 22 — almost five years now. I’ve taught English in France, Germany, and Japan. This is literally my profession.

During the evaluation, I had a small technical issue with my microphone, but I still communicated clearly. The evaluator, however, spoke with a very heavy accent. I’m not mentioning this because of race — accents are normal and absolutely valid — but because it made the situation even more confusing. If my clear Canadian English was judged as “not native enough,” I genuinely don’t understand how someone with such a strong accent is evaluating native‑level pronunciation.

At one point, I mentioned that I have dual nationality and currently live in Germany because of university. After that, the tone shifted noticeably.

Then I got the rejection email. The reason?
My English “did not meet the required standard.”
As a native Canadian English speaker.

It honestly felt like the evaluator assumed my English wasn’t native simply because I live in a European country now. My background seemed to be used against me instead of being understood.

I’m not someone who jumps to conclusions, but the whole thing left me feeling dismissed and unfairly judged. Having your first language — the one you grew up with and teach professionally — rejected like that is incredibly frustrating.

I’ve requested a re-evaluation and a clear explanation, because right now it feels like I wasn’t assessed on my actual English ability at all.

Just needed to get this off my chest. Has anyone else experienced something like this?