A marketing executive has caught social media’s attention after revealing that they received a rejection email from a company after applying for a job almost a year ago. In a now-viral post, the executive detailed that they applied for a mid-level marketing coordinator position by tailoring their resume and writing a thoughtful cover letter. The company, however, provided no acknowledgement, and the executive believed they were ghosted.
“Fast forward 11 months. I have a different job now. I’ve moved to a different city. I have genuinely not thought about this company in probably eight months,” the user wrote on Reddit, adding that they received an email earlier this week from the company, informing them about the status of the application.
“I actually felt a little flutter of confusion because I could not for the life of me remember applying there. Had to scroll back through my spreadsheet (yes I kept a spreadsheet, learned that lesson the hard way) to even confirm it was real,” the executive said.
“The email said, and I’m paraphrasing only slightly: “Thank you for your interest in joining our team. After careful consideration, we have decided to move forward with other candidates whose experience more closely aligns with our current needs. We wish you the best in your search. My search. My search that ended almost half a year ago.”
The executive said they received the closure they didn’t know they needed, adding that the company said it will keep their information for future opportunities.
“I don’t even know if I should be annoyed or just impressed at the audacity of their ATS. Somewhere in that company’s system my resume has been sitting in a queue for nearly a year while an automated email patiently waited for its moment,” the user said.
Social Media Reactions
As the post went viral, social media users shared similar experiences, highlighting that the hiring protocols in most companies were broken.
“That “we’ll keep your information on file for future opportunities” line after ignoring you for almost a year is comedy. By the time their future opportunity shows up, you might be retired,” said one user, while another added: “I applied for a job in 2011 and got an email asking if I was still interested in 2017. I did not bother to respond.”
A third commented: “That is hilarious and you know there’s a team of people over there patting themselves on the back for their systems and processes. Go team!”
A fourth said: “I got an email a year and a half after I applied asking if I was still interested in the position. I never responded, and the place ended up shutting down anyway.”