Job interviews are meant to be a two-way assessment, and a viral X post has now put the idea in the spotlight. It claims a candidate walked away from an interview after the CEO allegedly arrived late, leaving him feeling that his time was not being respected.
The incident was shared by user @SumitM_X, who said the candidate, identified as Mohan, decided to walk away from the interview after feeling that he was being taken for granted. According to the post, Mohan had arrived 30 minutes before his scheduled 2 PM interview, only for the CEO to turn up at around 3:10 PM.
The post also featured what appeared to be a screenshot of an email titled “Reason for my rejection of your interview.” In the email, Mohan reportedly explained that he had reached
the venue well ahead of time, while the CEO arrived more than an hour after the scheduled appointment.
What appeared to upset him further was the alleged lack of an apology or explanation for the delay. Instead, the CEO reportedly proceeded with the interview casually. Mohan said he left as soon as the interview began, explaining that he felt he was “being taken for granted.”
He further reasoned that if his time was being treated this way even before joining the organisation, he could only imagine how things might be after becoming an employee. The email concluded with Mohan saying, “So I Rejected You And Your Company,” signing off as an “Ex-Interview Candidate.”
The X user who shared the incident introduced it with the message, “Respect is part of the interview process and is applicable both ways…” The post quickly gained traction, prompting users to share their own experiences of delayed interviews, unprofessional communication and lengthy hiring processes.
One user questioned why the candidate waited for so long, writing, “That’s crazy. why did you waited for so long tho haha. would’ve left when he was 15 minutes late without a heads up from someone”.
Another user recalled a similar experience, saying, “This once happened to me, funny how the same people who we’re interviewing were mere ants on the org structure, pretty disgusting”.
A third user shared a lengthy account of an interview experience dating back to 2006. They wrote, “Hahaha .. I did it in 2006 after 1 hour interview .. they called me from madurai and i reached Delhi .. and went to office for interview .. then they made me wait for almost two and half days and finally my interview was taken.
When interview was over their HR asked me .. Nitin what do you think about your selection and o told them that your company doesn’t belong deserve me and HR said Ok and then when my friend asked their HR about the result they told him that he was selected but he said something due to which we reject him .. I never regretted that”.
However, not everyone was convinced by the viral story. One user pointed out a perceived inconsistency in the account, commenting, “”Left the interview as soon as it started” yet accurately recording the time when the CEO showed up. Wish people care more about the timeline when they make up stories,”.
Another user said they had personally experienced interviewers failing to show up, adding, “It happened with me 2 -3 times that interviewer didn’t join, and the ceo/cto emailing me at 2 am, saying sorry for inconvenience and then again ghosting”.
Yet another user summed up the broader sentiment surrounding the discussion, saying, “This is actually so real. Applicants are interviewing the company just as much as they are interviewing the applicant.”
Disclaimer: This article is based on user-generated content. The claims made in the original post have not been independently verified by News18.
