A regular job search turned into a career nightmare for one professional after a prospective employer allegedly contacted his current boss without consent, leading to his immediate dismissal. The account, shared on Reddit in the r/InterviewCoderPro forum, has sparked widespread debate about hiring ethics and workplace power dynamics.
The user said the situation began innocently enough with a message on LinkedIn about a role similar to his own, but with a far shorter commute. Frustrated by what she described as a “toxic culture” and “empty promises of promotions” at her current company, she decided to apply.
The hiring process moved quickly. After an initial call, he was invited for a second interview, which she said went well. “They told me I was a great fit for the team and that they would get back to me with a final decision within a day or two,” she wrote.
A call that changed everything
Instead of hearing from the recruiter, the user was summoned by his CEO the next day. According to the post, the CEO said he had received a call from the company the employee had interviewed with, asking about her and questioning why she was looking for a new job.
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With the situation exposed, the employee said she was honest about his reasons for job hunting. The response, however, was swift and severe. Because she had access to “sensitive company information,” the CEO said the company “couldn’t risk” keeping him on while he explored other opportunities. She was fired on the spot.
Denials, rejection, and a strange follow-up
After being let go, the user contacted one of the hiring managers to ask why his current employer had been called without his knowledge. He claims the manager denied everything and said a final decision was still pending.
Hours later, the situation took another turn. The prospective company’s CEO reportedly called to inform her that she had not been selected for the role. When pressed again about the call to her boss, the CEO allegedly offered what the user described as a “weird, nonsensical story,” insisting he didn’t know how the information had reached the current employer.
Adding to the confusion, the CEO reportedly told her they weren’t fully confident about the candidate they hired and might reach out again if it didn’t work out. “Like, what is that?!” the user wrote.
In an update, the user said the experience has pushed him to reconsider traditional office jobs altogether. “I am bored from all of this—shift to remote jobs,” she wrote, adding that she hopes to find “more professional people in the digital world with more respect to work ethics.”
Reddit reactions
The post quickly drew strong reactions from users on Reddit, with many weighing in on whether the incident was unusual or simply an ugly reality of modern hiring.
Some commenters said the experience, while shocking, was not uncommon. One user wrote that employers often have “no patience for job searching” when an employee handles sensitive or proprietary information, adding that confidentiality is something candidates must insist on from the very start. Contacting a current employer, the commenter noted, is “like a hit and run—it shouldn’t happen, but somehow it happens a lot.”
Others urged the fired employee to respond publicly. One commenter suggested calling out both companies on professional platforms, arguing that public accountability is often the only leverage workers have in situations like this.