Looking for a new job can be exciting, but it comes with a lot of challenges, one of which is the dreaded interview process. Every candidate knows the struggle of having to put their best foot forward, only to face rude interviewers or entitled bosses asking unhinged questions.
This is what a man experienced when looking for a new software engineer job, only to deal with a CEO who didn’t value his time or worth at all. This terrible experience made him so mad that he thought up a cunning plan of revenge to teach the boss and the company a valuable lesson.
Hiring practices are usually not in favor of the candidate, and that’s something that desperately needs to be changed
Getty Images (not the actual photo)
The poster shared that in a final interview round, the CEO made him wait 3 hours, walk in the scorching sun to his house, and questioned his salary expectations
Felicity Tai (not the actual photo)
The interviewee decided to take revenge on the CEO and company by ghosting them on his start date, while secretly finding another job
When the start date rolled around and the poster didn’t arrive for work, the company threatened him with legal action, but eventually did nothing
In the hiring process, companies don’t seem to realize that if candidates have a bad experience, they are less likely to apply again and may also warn their friends about it. According to SHRM, poor recruitment practices can greatly impact employers and make it harder to hire when they need workers later.
Unfortunately, in the current job market, candidates often struggle through difficult interviews, lengthy tasks, and rude bosses. This may help them identify which workplaces to avoid and could eventually lead to a system where companies are evaluated on how they treat employees before and after hiring.
Businesses have slowly changed their recruitment policies in a way that mostly benefits them
Since bosses have forgotten that candidates need to be treated like human beings, they have changed many interview practices to suit themselves. For example, after the pandemic, many companies added more virtual hiring steps, leaving people confused and struggling to be heard by a real person.
This process also affects the initial relationship-building between the interviewee and the company and can make it feel cold and hard to understand. This process has saved businesses a lot of time and money, which is why they push for it without realizing how much it’s affecting candidates.
One of the biggest issues that can put interviewees off from joining a company is feeling like their time is being wasted. Every candidate wants updates on the hiring process and to know whether they were selected. They also don’t want to spend hours on applications, especially when they have to take leave or time off from their current job to do so.
Unfortunately, studies show that 36% of candidates have not heard back from their prospective employers 1-2 months after finding the interview process. This combined with poor communication from the company, can make the individual feel unvalued, and they might then consider applying to other places.
A lot of businesses believe that they can get away with faulty recruitment practices
Even if the hiring steps are broken, folks still need to go through them to get a job. Still, people care about their values and want to make sure their prospective boss is on the same page. If a candidate goes ahead and works in a toxic company, changes can impact their mental health and also make them feel resentful in the long run.
That’s probably why the poster decided to take a stand early on and teach the CEO a lesson, instead of ignoring what happened and continuing to work with the company. Who knows whether his revenge plan had the impact he imagined.
We’d love to hear your opinions on this story; do share your thoughts in the comments below.
One person defended the poster’s decision to use Artificial Intelligence to write his post since English isn’t his first language
The poster shared screenshots from the company’s messages with him to back up his story
Some folks sided with the poster’s plan of revenge, while others didn’t think it would make much of a difference
People share similar interview and hiring experiences they have faced that were just as nightmarish
Follow Us
