A Redditor has shared a surprising experience from a second-round Zoom interview for a business analyst role, which ended abruptly after honesty about interviewing elsewhere.
“I told them I was interviewing elsewhere, and they ended the call,” the caption of the post reads.
The Redditor explained that the interview was going well until the HR representative asked if there was active interviewing with other companies. The Redditor replied truthfully, saying there were later rounds with two other firms.
Honesty ends interview abruptly:
According to the post, the HR representative’s reaction was immediate. “Faces instantly changed,” the Redditor wrote.
“Oh, we prefer to focus on candidates who are genuinely interested in our company. In that case, we’ll let you pursue those other opportunities,” the HR representative added, and ended the call on the spot.
The Redditor said there was no chance to clarify or explain, noting that transparency now seemed to be a disqualifying factor.
“Didn’t even give me a chance to clarify. I guess being transparent is disqualifying now,” the post adds.
The post quickly drew attention, with many people expressing surprise and sympathy.
Some users criticised the company for penalising honesty, saying transparency should be valued, while others argued that employers look for candidates fully committed to their organisation.
One of the users commented, “They were hoping to send you a lowball offer and now they know they can’t.”
A second user commented, “This is what I’d call dodging a bullet.”
“So they want candidates who aren’t desirable anywhere else. That’s… one way to build a team,” another user commented.