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A job seeker shared how their offer was withdrawn just one hour before joining after a 1.5-month interview process and final approvals from HR and teams.
The last-minute call from the CEO citing low experience left them shocked.
A job seeker has shared a frustrating experience online after their job offer was taken back just one hour before they were supposed to join. The candidate had gone through a long hiring process that lasted around 1.5 months.
During this time, they cleared multiple rounds of interviews and also received approval from the HR team as well as different department heads. Everything was set for the joining, and the candidate had already prepared mentally for the new role.
However, things changed at the very last moment when the company suddenly decided to cancel the offer. According to the candidate, the decision came from the CEO, who was not part of most of the interview process.
The reason given for the withdrawal was that the candidate did not have enough years of experience. The sudden change left the applicant shocked, especially since the hiring process had gone smoothly until then.
Candidate Says Company Reached Out First And Still Rejected Them
The applicant explained that the job opportunity did not even start with them applying directly. They said the company had first contacted them for the role.
Because of this, they felt more confident about the process and believed things were moving in a positive direction. The candidate wrote in a Reddit post, “I’m in shock and at a loss of words. An insurance company reached out to me first. Not the other way around. I went through: Multiple interviews with the team and HR. Everyone was happy with my experience.”
They added that all steps of the process were completed, and both HR and the team had shown satisfaction with their profile. At no point earlier were concerns raised about experience or suitability for the role.
HR Call Came Just Before Joining Date
The candidate shared that everything was confirmed and they were ready to start work. But just an hour before the joining time, they received a phone call from HR that changed everything.
“Then, like an hour ago, I got a call from HR, who was nervously laughing. She said that the CEO personally checked my CV and decided not to sign the paper because I have insufficient YOE,” the applicant said.
They also pointed out that the CEO had not been involved in the earlier rounds of interviews and had only reviewed the CV at the final stage. This last-minute decision, after weeks of process, left them confused and disappointed.
“The same CEO who was never involved in the interviews, who didn’t look at my CV until the last possible second. Who let the team, the HR, and the whole process run for 1.5 months and then just said, nah.”
Candidate Says Process Made Them Pause Other Job Search
The applicant further shared that the long hiring timeline affected their job search.
Since they believed the offer was final, they had stopped actively looking at other opportunities during that period. They also said the experience felt more painful because the team and HR had shown full support throughout.
In their view, there were no signals that the offer was uncertain at any stage.
“The funny part? The team loved me. HR loved me. They were okay with my YOE and never said a word about it. The worst part is that I just don’t know how to react. This job seemed really good and promising for me. I’ve already mentally prepared for the role, was a bit anxious, imagined my first weeks.”
Online Users Question Hiring Process And Decision
After the post gained attention, many users online reacted strongly and shared their own views on what might have happened. Some said situations like this are becoming more common in job markets, while others felt the decision may have come due to internal pressure or a last-minute replacement choice.
“Most likely, they found someone else, referred by the CEO’s network or something similar, so pushing you out,” said a user, while another added: “CEO has an incompetent crony or relative who needs a job. Probably the only qualification that person has is YOE. If that.”
Another user wrote, “This is the absolute most bizarre thing. I am so sorry this happened to you. Years of experience is a very politically correct way of telling someone you rather have someone be older for the job. On the plus side, imagine working for this company and wasting even more of your time to probably be let go.”
A separate comment said, “Yeah that calls for a review on Glassdoor. What kind of practice is that? Team is happy, HR is happy, and power-hungry bigboi at the top is like I need to ruin someone’s week! I‘d sue them to pieces for lost income due to wasted time.”
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