Internet Thinks HR's Email To Candidate After Job Interview Is 'Highly Demeaning'

In rare cases, people often realise that the position they interviewed for might not be a good fit for them. Sometimes interviewees write back to their recruiter, as a courtesy and express their disinterest in pursuing the role even before the recruiter tells them the results. While many recruiters respond by simply acknowledging the mail and moving on, a few people take the “rejection” as a personal attack. Recently, a Reddit user shared the mail that his interviewer wrote to them after they told the recruiter that they were no longer interested in the job. The interviewee wrote, “For the sake of not wasting your time, I’m just going to follow up now and let you know I don’t think I’ll be pursuing the position. I wish you the best of luck in finding a new candidate, and hope you have a great weekend!”

In response, the recruiter wrote back, “Hey LOL- I offered it to someone this afternoon after you left. I ended the interview with you early as you were not qualified and did not want to lead you on. So sorry! So you know, what I did is interview protocol to talk through a job with someone and ask them to go back and see if that is what they want to do. While interviewing others. It was obvious you were not right. I was just being nice. Wish you the best of luck finding your right fit in career!”

In a follow-up post, the interviewee mentioned that they informed the recruiter about their decision, following a very bad interview during which the recruiter kept checking her phone and looked uninterested. She then asked the interviewee to think about the role and inform her if they were interested or not. The interviewer was from a “Small boutique PR company” in Los Angeles, USA.

Many people thought that the recruiter’s response was needlessly petty and unprofessional. A Reddit user commented on the recruiter’s email, “Why would she spend time and effort writing all these words when a simple “thank you for your email, good luck in the future “ would be enough? This just screams insecurity. What a child.”

Another person wrote, “The interviewer resorted to pettiness. They could have responded with a “no problem, we understand and wish you best of luck” rather than being a complete egomaniac trying to get one up on the op. They did this out of spite as I see no other reason to respond like this especially if they already filled the role. You definitely dodged a bullet there if that’s how they treat people.”

Many people asked the interviewee to share the details of the interviewer and the company on Glassdoor, a website where employees anonymously review companies. A Reddit user suggested, “Put this on the company’s Glassdoor without the name blurred.”

An HR professional wrote, “I work in recruitment for a huge employer, and contacting people after interviews is basically what I do every week. This lady has no clue what she is doing and shouldn’t work in HR. People who clearly communicate that they are not interested in a position anymore make my job much easier, so thanks OP for being the only professional in that interaction you posted.”