A Reddit post has gone viral for exposing the harsh reality of modern-day hiring practices. The user detailed their painful experience of going through eight rounds of interviews over several months, only to be ghosted by the company, with no offer, no rejection, not even a courtesy email.
“I went through 7 rounds of interviews with a company, followed by a month of complete silence. Then the recruiter reached out asking me to do an additional round because of an organisational change, the role now had a new hiring manager. Since I had already invested so much time, I agreed.”
But after the eighth round, the communication stopped completely. No feedback. No next steps. Just silence.
The post struck a nerve, quickly gathering hundreds of upvotes and comments from others who shared similar stories—multiple interviews, extended wait times, and sudden ghosting by recruiters or companies after weeks or even months of engagement.
What made the situation worse was that the company in question had been trying to fill the role for over eight months, suggesting serious internal issues with decision-making or transparency.
For many professionals, especially in today’s competitive job market, stories like this are unfortunately all too familiar. “Why do companies do this?” the Redditor asked, a question echoed across LinkedIn, Twitter, and countless hiring forums.
Netizens react
One user commented, “When did job hunting go from one or two interviews to a multi-stage process? I saw in a job advert recently that their recruitment stages take 8 weeks, 8 weeks! How hard is it to only let so many people apply, interview the right people and have a second more in depth interview.”
Another wrote, “I do not engage with any company that requires that many interviews. It hints that there is a lot of micromanaging going on.”
“All you can really do is take it for what it is, interview experience. I’ve learned a lot from each failed interview and it helps me get further. During my first interview I failed the screen and didn’t get any further than an initial phone call. I learned from that and was able to get a little bit further at the next company and so on and so on. What helps me is to look at interviews as learning experiences instead of it being a high stakes make it or break it situation. It is too stressful otherwise,” the third user commented.
Many also pointed out the emotional toll of prolonged interview processes: the stress of preparing for multiple rounds, the anxiety of waiting, and the frustration of being left with zero closure.
The viral post has sparked a larger conversation online about the broken nature of recruitment today, from drawn-out processes and ghosting to poor communication and unrealistic expectations.