Everyone wants to be on their best behavior during a job interview. Making a good first impression is crucial, and it shows the interviewer that you truly care about the position. But it’s not only the applicant’s responsibility to mind their manners during the interview process.
Hiring managers should be conscious of how they’re coming across too; otherwise, they might find themselves getting called out online. One woman reached out to the internet to share her recent experience interviewing with a company that left a bad taste in her mouth. Below, you’ll find the full story, including an interview with the author and screenshots of legal threats that were sent to her after she spoke out online.
There’s no way to predict exactly how a job interview will go
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But this woman was feeling optimistic when she scheduled an interview with Master Kong
Once the interview took place, however, things began to go off the rails
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Later, the author responded to several readers and provided more details about her experience
Readers were appalled by the interviewer’s behavior
Then, the author shared an update after the recruiter saw her posts on social media
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She even shared screenshots of a conversation she had with a representative that included a threat
“I went into the Master Kong interview with an open mind; I wasn’t expecting what happened at all”
To find out more about this situation, Bored Panda got in touch with the applicant who shared this story, who was kind enough to answer some of our questions.
The author, who would like to keep her identity anonymous, said she originally applied to this position because she felt that the responsibilities aligned well with her experience and skills.
“I have experience in food and CPG sales, including business development, distributor relationships, and retail account management,” she explained. “I believed I could contribute to the company’s expansion in the U.S. market, so I decided to apply.”
We were also curious to find out how much she knew about this company prior to applying. “I was born in Taiwan, so I was already familiar with Master Kong and its parent group, Ting Hsin,” the author shared.
“The group has a pretty bad reputation in Taiwan because of food safety scandals from over a decade ago. So I definitely knew about that history before applying,” she noted. “But my impression of the company was actually mixed.”
“I had recently interviewed with another joint venture associated with Ting Hsin. Although I didn’t get the job, the interviewers were really nice and professional,” the author continued. “One of them even offered to recommend me for the Master Kong position.”
“So I went into the Master Kong interview with an open mind. I wasn’t expecting what happened at all,” she told Bored Panda.
So have there been any updates on the situation since she posted on Reddit? “No, I haven’t received any further threats from the company or its representatives since the recruiter told me to take down my posts,” she shared.
“However, several people who identified themselves as current or former Master Kong employees have reached out to me since then,” the author added. “They’ve shared their own experiences or kept me updated on what’s happening internally.”
The author was even told by one employee that the company’s first U.S. hire, who reportedly started in June, has already resigned. “I haven’t been able to verify that independently, though,” she said.
“Job applicants deserve to be treated with respect”
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Meanwhile, another candidate in California who saw her Reddit post reached out to her. “She told me that even after she turned down the position, the recruiter kept trying to convince her to join, saying the company needed someone like her to help them avoid the same ‘mistakes’ they had made with me,” the author said. “This is her account of what the recruiter told her.”
Despite the threats made against her, at this point, the author says she’s not worried about hiring her own legal representation. “I don’t think it’s necessary, and I really don’t believe they have a case against me.”
“I shared my own experience and what happened during the interview. If they actually take legal action, I’ll deal with it then and consult an attorney if needed,” she continued.
Finally, the author added that she never expected her post to receive so much attention. “When I first posted about the interview, I was just frustrated and wanted to vent,” she shared.
“What surprised me even more was that several people who identified themselves as current or former Master Kong employees started reaching out to me,” she told Bored Panda. “Some shared their own experiences, and some encouraged me to keep speaking up because they wanted what I went through to get more attention, hoping the company would finally do something about it.”
“Another candidate in California also reached out to me and shared a similar experience,” the author added. “He told me that Master Kong’s Hong Kong-based HR had asked about his salary history. Even after the candidate pointed out that asking about salary history is prohibited under California law, HR reportedly continued asking and even requested copies of his previous pay stubs.”
“I was actually ready to move on after posting about my experience, but people kept reaching out and sharing their stories with me,” she continued. “I just think job applicants deserve to be treated with respect. That’s really what this whole thing started with.”
Again, readers called out the company for their extremely unprofessional behavior and pointed out that they wouldn’t stand a chance in court
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