A Reddit user shared a story about being rejected for a job while still in the middle of a Zoom interview. The user, known as @DatJavaClass, posted on the r/recruitinghell subreddit, detailing his experience during the second interview with a panel that included senior managers and the Chief of Staff.
He explained that this interview was the second of three, lasting 1.5 hours, significantly longer than the first, which was only half an hour, and the upcoming third interview with the CTO, scheduled for just 15 minutes. The interview was going well, with the panel engaging in light-hearted conversation after assessing his technical skills. “The Chief of Staff brings up the third interview: ‘Let’s get it scheduled before we forget,'” he recalled.
Just as he was preparing for the next interview, he received an unexpected email: “A rejection email. The ‘dear john’ kind we’ve all gotten used to. It’s from them,” he stated.
Taken aback, he collected himself, and the Chief of Staff then inquired about his availability for the next interview. “All I can do is smile and reply: ‘Works great for me, but I’m not sure it’s going to work for the rest of the hiring team. Someone just rejected me sight unseen,'” he shared.
His response stunned the panel. “I’ve been rejected from this role, so you can pursue other candidates that more closely align.” One of the senior members questioned, “What other candidates are left? I thought he was the last?”
Rejection email mid-interview, a Workday woe
byu/DatJavaClass inrecruitinghell
This revelation led to a “awkward few minutes of silence,” until one panel member reassured him they would get back to him by the end of the week. Shortly after, he was disconnected from the Zoom call. “So I’m thinking someone’s friend just got hired and no one told the Chief of Staff, or the role got closed due to budget, and again, no one told the Chief of Staff. Either way… hilariously unfortunate,” he concluded.
The post garnered numerous comments from others who shared similar experiences. One commenter recalled, “My husband once interviewed with Amazon for a corporate dev role and on the way to his car in their parking lot, his phone buzzed, and it was their rejection! Like damn, that was lickity split.” Another remarked, “Brutal, being rejected via email during the interview. Sounds like you dodged a bullet honestly, reflective of what it would be like to work there.”
