- Candidate interviewed thrice over five weeks and received a job offer with conflicting terms
- Offer letter stated mandatory 5-day in-office work, contradicting earlier hybrid work claims
- Candidate asked for clarification, then employer rescinded offer without explanation
The modern job application process can be highly volatile, with recruiters often ghosting candidates or straight-up rejecting their candidature if they dislike a particular line of questioning. This unpredictability was recently highlighted by an applicant who interviewed three times for a position at a company, received the job offer, only for it to be pulled away at the last moment.
In a now-viral social media post, the applicant explained that they had interviewed three times over five weeks for the role and managed to secure the offer letter.
"Got sent an offer letter for a role I'd interviewed for three times over five weeks. Salary was fine, but this line caught my eye: 'Standard schedule: 5 days in-office, no exceptions. Sick days: unpaid for first 90 days,'" the applicant said.
The phrasing seemed odd, as the recruiter had informed during the interview phase that the team had a 'flexible hybrid' work environment.
"During the interviews, the hiring manager had specifically said the team does "flexible hybrid, come in when it makes sense." So I sent a polite email just asking for clarification since the letter didn't match what was discussed," the candidate said, adding that they also sought clarity about unpaid sick days for the first 90 days.
However, instead of addressing the concerns, the recruiter fired off a one-line reply and rescinded the job offer, saying they were moving on with another candidate.
"Got a one-line reply: "Unfortunately, we've decided to move forward with another candidate." Same day. No further explanation," they wrote.
"For context, earlier in the process they'd also asked what my current salary was even though it's illegal to ask that where I live, and when I mentioned I'd need to give two weeks' notice, the recruiter said, "we were really hoping to fill this by next week." So glad I found out now instead of three months in."
Check The Viral Post Here:
Asked if remote days were still an option after the offer said "in office 5 days," got the offer pulled within the hour
by u/Nolannowawe in recruitinghell
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'Dodged A Bullet'
As the post gained traction, social media users empathised with the applicant, adding that they had dodged a bullet by not joining the company.
"You dodged a bullet. They never had any intention of it being a hybrid role - they were just hoping that you were desperate enough to accept when they switched the requirement out," said one user while another added: "Name and shame. Report all their listings on Indeed and LinkedIn as well for being misleading if they're advertising them as hybrid."
A third commented: "Honestly, I think you did exactly the right thing by asking. If the offer letter contradicts what you were told during three rounds of interviews, you should clarify it before signing. And the fact that they pulled the offer instead of simply explaining the discrepancy tells you quite a bit about how they handle uncomfortable questions."
A fourth said: "The same thing just happened to me! I applied for an explicitly ‘hybrid' role, got an interview. The interview seemed to be going well until I was told it would be ‘mostly' in-office. When I simply asked for clarification on what ‘mostly' meant, the interviewer admitted it was actually completely in-office and ended the interview."
