A Reddit user, @DatJavaClass, recently shared an amusing yet unfortunate experience of being rejected for a job while still in the interview process. His story was posted on the subreddit r/recruitinghell, detailing his second interview with a company that included senior managers and the Chief of Staff.
The user noted that this was the second of three interviews, describing it as the longest, lasting about 1.5 hours, compared to the half-hour first interview and the brief 15-minute upcoming interview with the CTO. He felt the interview was going well, as the panel had moved into a light-hearted conversation after assessing his technical skills.
Just as the Chief of Staff mentioned scheduling the third interview, the user suddenly received an email—a rejection notice. He described it as the “dear John” type of rejection that many job seekers are familiar with.
Regaining his composure, he informed the Chief of Staff that he would be available for the next interview, adding, “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.” His response stunned the panel, leading to a moment of confusion.
“I’ve been rejected from this role so you can pursue other candidates that more closely align,” he explained, prompting a senior member to ask, “What other candidates are left? I thought he was the last?”
This revelation resulted in “awkward few minutes of silence” before one panel member assured him they would provide an update by the end of the week. Shortly after, he was removed from the Zoom call, leaving him to ponder whether a friend of someone on the panel had been hired without the Chief of Staff’s knowledge or if the role had been closed due to budgetary constraints. “Either way… hilariously unfortunate,” he concluded.
Rejection email mid-interview, a Workday woe
byu/DatJavaClass inrecruitinghell
The post garnered numerous comments from others sharing similar experiences. One user recounted, “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 added, “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.”
