Job candidate got Zoom call invite after interview. She never expected what came next
A candidate joined a Zoom meeting expecting a job offer and was instead told she had not been selected. The episode sparked debate over whether rejection meetings raise expectations and add stress.
A candidate was left stunned after attending what she thought was a job offer meeting, only to discover that the Zoom call had been scheduled to inform her that she had not been selected for the role.
The candidate shared her experience in a post on Reddit's r/recruitinghell forum titled, "Truly flabbergasted," explaining how she had spent the past two months going through three rounds of interviews after recently completing her master's degree.
According to the candidate, she received an email the previous day asking whether she was available for a Zoom meeting with the recruiter, assistant director and director. Believing the meeting was likely to bring good news, she said she became excited at the prospect of finally receiving an offer.
However, once the call began, the panel informed her that they had decided to move forward with another candidate. She said they told her she had done nothing wrong, had interviewed well and that they had no negative feedback regarding her application, adding that her experience had been a strong fit for the position.
The candidate said she was left speechless and sat staring at the screen for a few moments before thanking them for the opportunity. When the interviewers noticed that she appeared upset, she admitted that the way the meeting had been arranged had led her to believe she had secured the job.
According to her post, the panel explained that they wanted to deliver the news in a more personal manner rather than through an email. They apologised after hearing her feedback and said they would keep it in mind going forward.
Describing the experience, the candidate said she walked away from the call feeling embarrassed, humiliated and confused, adding that she had never encountered anything like it before.
Take a look at the post here:
The unusual rejection process sparked a debate among Reddit users, with many arguing that the news could have been conveyed in a far simpler way.
Several users suggested that while the hiring team may have had good intentions, a phone call from one person would have been more appropriate than arranging a meeting with multiple senior staff members.
Others pointed out that recruiters sometimes face situations where two candidates perform equally well and one simply edges ahead, making it difficult to provide meaningful feedback.
Many commenters, however, said they preferred receiving rejection emails over scheduled video calls, arguing that setting up a Zoom meeting only to reject someone raised expectations unnecessarily.
Some described it as a textbook example of something that "could have been an email," while others called the growing trend of rejection meetings bizarre and emotionally exhausting for candidates already dealing with the stress of job hunting.
A candidate was left stunned after attending what she thought was a job offer meeting, only to discover that the Zoom call had been scheduled to inform her that she had not been selected for the role.
The candidate shared her experience in a post on Reddit's r/recruitinghell forum titled, "Truly flabbergasted," explaining how she had spent the past two months going through three rounds of interviews after recently completing her master's degree.
According to the candidate, she received an email the previous day asking whether she was available for a Zoom meeting with the recruiter, assistant director and director. Believing the meeting was likely to bring good news, she said she became excited at the prospect of finally receiving an offer.
However, once the call began, the panel informed her that they had decided to move forward with another candidate. She said they told her she had done nothing wrong, had interviewed well and that they had no negative feedback regarding her application, adding that her experience had been a strong fit for the position.
The candidate said she was left speechless and sat staring at the screen for a few moments before thanking them for the opportunity. When the interviewers noticed that she appeared upset, she admitted that the way the meeting had been arranged had led her to believe she had secured the job.
According to her post, the panel explained that they wanted to deliver the news in a more personal manner rather than through an email. They apologised after hearing her feedback and said they would keep it in mind going forward.
Describing the experience, the candidate said she walked away from the call feeling embarrassed, humiliated and confused, adding that she had never encountered anything like it before.
Take a look at the post here:
The unusual rejection process sparked a debate among Reddit users, with many arguing that the news could have been conveyed in a far simpler way.
Several users suggested that while the hiring team may have had good intentions, a phone call from one person would have been more appropriate than arranging a meeting with multiple senior staff members.
Others pointed out that recruiters sometimes face situations where two candidates perform equally well and one simply edges ahead, making it difficult to provide meaningful feedback.
Many commenters, however, said they preferred receiving rejection emails over scheduled video calls, arguing that setting up a Zoom meeting only to reject someone raised expectations unnecessarily.
Some described it as a textbook example of something that "could have been an email," while others called the growing trend of rejection meetings bizarre and emotionally exhausting for candidates already dealing with the stress of job hunting.
