As if being a woman in the workplace wasn't hard enough -- what with pay inequality, sexual harassment and just general bread-and-butter sexism -- trying to just get a job has its own unique and horrible patriarchal hurdles.

Those hurdles have, of course, always been there, but now an executive recruiter is openly admitting it.

Bruce Hurwitz wrote an essay on LinkedIn. In it, he explained women should take their engagement rings off before going in for interviews if they want to get the job.

The essay is literally titled: “When interviewing for a job, lose the ring!”

This is the most depressing and tone-deaf use of an exclamation point since I told a baby eating ice cream that "my lactose intolerance makes ice cream transform immediately into diarrhea! No matter the flavor!”

When a man sees that ring he immediately assumes you are high maintenance.

In the essay, Hurwitz told the story of meeting a woman who had been going on a lot of interviews, but wasn't getting any offers.

He suggested she “lose the rock!” (By the way, “rock” is a cute term for “diamond” that, occasionally, will be used by a sexist bottom-feeder while belittling a woman who is searching for financial stability).

She asked him why, and he wrote that this was his response:

When a man sees that ring he immediately assumes you are high maintenance.

He also said he added,

When the woman at the office who has the largest diamond on her finger, sees that ring, she will realize that if you are hired she will fall to second place and will, therefore, not like you. Lose the ring!

Clearly, Bruce understands women extremely well. But, his understanding of women is nothing compared to his spectacular understanding of men:

And, if you don't have [a ring], but got engaged by signing a pre-nup, find a way to let male interviewers know that. They'll respect you.

It seems, at least to me, in that statement he is simply using the phrases “male interviewers” and “they” as a substitutes for “me” and "I."

It also seems these are all the sexist assumptions he would make. Whether or not they hold true for other misogynists in the workplace, who can say?

But, the fact Bruce said all this so proudly speaks volumes, at least, regarding his own outdated mindset.

He, unsurprisingly, got a lot of hate in the comments for the article, where some people called his views "ridiculous" and "archaic."

So, the recruiter decided to double down on his position with another article, entitled "What Jewelry Not to Wear to a Job Interview," where he pretty much just made his hole 10 feet deeper.

Oh, by the way, this is what Bruce Hurwitz looks like.

LinkedIn

And yes, in his official LinkedIn photograph (ignoring the fact he resembles a shop-worn magician), he is wearing…..... a turtleneck.

LinkedIn

A turtleneck, people.

This is a man who is supposed to specialize in getting people jobs, and he is wearing the neck garment equivalent of weaponized smallpox.

This is the guy trying to tell women what not to do in interviews.

I'm seconds away from writing my own essay on LinkedIn called “How to get a job in 60 steps!”

In that essay, all 60 steps would be as follows:

Step 1: Don't wear turtlenecks. Step 2: Don't wear turtlenecks. Step 3: Don't wear turtlenecks. Step 4: Don't wear turtlenecks. Step 5: Don't wear turtlenecks. Step 6: Don't wear turtlenecks. Step 7: Don't wear turtlenecks. Step 8: Don't wear turtlenecks. Step 9: Don't wear turtlenecks. Step 10: Don't wear turtlenecks. Step 11: Don't wear turtlenecks. Step 12: Don't wear turtlenecks. Step 13: Don't wear turtlenecks. Step 14: Don't wear turtlenecks. Step 15: Never say your biggest weakness is “I dunno, probably cocaine.” Step 16: Don't wear turtlenecks. Step 17: Don't wear turtlenecks. Step 18: Don't wear turtlenecks. Step 19: Don't wear turtlenecks. Step 20: Don't wear turtlenecks.

Shh, Bruce. Shhhhh.

Citations: Recruiter suggests women should take off their engagement ring for job interviews (Metro), When interviewing for a job, lose the ring! (LinkedIn), What Jewelry Not to Wear to a Job Interview (LinkedIn)