Job seeker waits more than 2 weeks after 4-hour interview before learning the company has rejected them
A post on Reddit’s r/recruitinghell has shared what many job seekers have drafted in their heads but rarely send.
The original poster went through two virtual rounds and an on-site interview made up of a presentation followed by five back-to-back one-on-one interviews. They took time off work to attend. The company had responded quickly to every email up to that point. Then, after the on-site, nothing.
More than two weeks later, they emailed for an update. Within 20 minutes, a reply came: The company had chosen not to move forward.
The original poster said they had not really wanted the job anyway, so they decided to send some feedback. Their reply, shared in a screenshot, read:
“Thank you for letting me know. Given the time I took off work and the four hours I dedicated to the on-site interview process, I would have appreciated a proactive update once the decision was made rather than having to reach out myself. I believe timely communication is a basic courtesy that goes both ways. I hope you’ll take this feedback into consideration for future candidates. Best of luck with your search.”
They posted it asking whether they were overthinking it.
What Reddit said
One commenter took a pragmatic view: “Yeah, normal response. Not going to change any behaviours. Glad you vented out.”
Another shared a story that suggests why chasing for updates is often the only way to find out anything. They were up for a role with a 50% pay rise, international travel and strong benefits, went through five rounds ending in a group call and presentation, and heard nothing for a week. Only by calling the recruiter directly did they learn the job had gone to an internal candidate, a recent graduate with 15 years less experience.
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Another user shared their frustration, saying: “I’ve been in the corporate world for almost 10 years now. It’s comical that companies do this because I’ve worked with total [expletive].”
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