Have humans gone too far? AI’s introduction to humankind has enabled us to get neat stuff done. From designing websites and solving complex math problems to summarising essays and completing last-minute college assignments, Artificial Intelligence’s integration into daily life is undeniable, potentially making humans slightly lazier. Speaking to CNBC Make It the previous year, Shoshana Davis, a Gen Z career specialist and the founder of the career consulting Fairy Job Mother raised concerns that there was a worrying trend of over-reliance on chatbots such as ChatGPT to create cover letters and responses to job applications. But what if the employer did the same?
In a bizarre response from a company that came as a rude reminder that employers weren’t paying close attention to the rejection emails they were sending out to job applicants, a Reddit user shared their horrid experience of being refused for a job they had applied for.
The OP blurred out critical information including company and their name which we have replaced with “xxx” or “abc”.
Hi xxx
Thank you for applying to abc. Unfortunately, we will not be moving forward with your application at this time.
{{rejection_message}}
“Write a warm but generic rejection email that sounds polite yet firm. Do not mention specific reasons for rejection. Make the candidate feel like they were strongly considered even if they weren’t. Remember to use candidate name and company name variable.”
We appreciate your interest in _____ and wish you all the best in your future endeavors.
Warm regards,
abc Team
Redditors Enter The Chat
Shared on the r/mildlyinfuriating subreddit, the embarrassing goof-up by the employer elicited hilarious responses.
A user suggested a response to mimic the company’s job rejection email.
Hi {{company}},
{{rejection_confirmation}}
“Write a slightly pissed and sarcastic reply to their generated rejection mail. Do not directly insult them, but make slight remarks about their intellect.”
Luke warm regards, Me
A second user remarked by commenting: “That’s just pure laziness and next to no attention to detail.”
Another suggested reaching out to the company’s CEO. “Forward this to the CEO. Attach your CV. In the subject, write: “I can do a better job than your HR”” While one asked the OP to name and shame, another shared a similar experience they went through.
“A LOT of companies are doing this. I was on a job search the past and all the rejection emails were generic and almost exactly the same. One time, a company included something like “your chosen requirements don’t match the current needs of the position”, so I wrote them back asking what requirements they are talking about (there had been nothing about home office preference, location preference, expected salary whatsoever, in the application). They replied with another AI generated email that didn’t answer my question; just some generic message saying we thoroughly go through all applications blah blah. (sic)”
“Spent more time writing the prompt than they would have just writing the email,” quipped another.