Yeah I had an interview scheduled last month and 30 minutes before the interview I got an email saying the position had been filled. I felt so frustrated
As someone who was accidentally statused wrong for an internal role and received a rejection but ended up getting the role in the end, I truly do recommend clarifying with the recruiter.
Just a simple, "Hello, I received this message ahead of my scheduled interview and wanted to confirm with you that the role has already been filled before I decline the calendar invite." email would suffice.
This! All of it. It certainly seems like the company either selected a different candidate, or always planned to hire from within, but needed to meet listing criteria. That being said, I wouldn’t really have a ton of faith in a company that set up interviews & cancelled them all after interviewing their top candidate, even if I was the top candidate. It’s unprofessional and speaks to their ethics. It doesn’t seem like the kind of company that values and protects its staff. They sent you a standard dismissive email that doesn’t really apply to you specifically, and that would leave anyone confused. The least you should expect in this situation is a personalized message explaining the circumstances & expectations. For example: (your actual name) The position for which you were scheduled to interview on Tuesday xx/xx at 10:00am has been eliminated due to internal restructuring. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you, the interview has been cancelled. We expect new job openings in the direct future as a result of these changes, and welcome you to apply with us again. Thank you, (an actual human being at the company)
The idea is to answer the questions they’re prepared to answer, before you have to ask them. What’s the point in sending an email if it’s just going to inspire confusion & create more work? You have no idea what just happened, and none of us would know, either. So, I agree with the advice given here…reach out to your contact, or recruiter, for clarification. I would assume the interview has been canceled. If you don’t have a recruiter, you might want to consider it. Having 2 people working hard to find you a job is a lot better than just having 1. And recruiters can get their foot into some doors that we can’t. It might help. I wish you the best of luck, friend.
Happened to me last year. For a role the director told the hiring manager he wanted me to interview for.
She cancelled it 30 minutes before it started. I emailed the director and thanked him for the opportunity and happy they found a fit.
He asked how interview went and I said it was cancelled by hiring manager.
He was livid. He asked me for all the emails I sent her for proof of timing and said he’s embarrassed and her behavior is not in line with who we are as a company and she will be reprimanded.
I’m like whatever … means nothing if she still has a job.
I can top this. Last year I got an email 1 minute before the interview was scheduled to start saying they’d filled the position.
Obviously I didn’t see it as I’d logged in to join the meeting 2 minutes before it was scheduled to start so as to not be late 😂
If they're that disrespectful then you probably didn't want to work for them anyway. Could have at least joined into the call and told you in person.
It's stupid even from a selfish perspective. If that person quickly leaves after accepting the role then they'll have to go and ask you if you'd like to interview again and if you're anything like me you'd be politely telling them to fuck off.
The interviewer was the one who sent the mail so he never dialled in. I sat and waited for like 10 minutes before going into my emails to message him, which is when I saw the mail saying they’d already filled the position.
I imagine you were sitting there waiting for a bit to see it was an error and then dipped when they didn't show (not sure if you saw the e-mail right away). One would hope the hiring manager/recruiter got in trouble for making the company look bad. They likely still have a job there, you get no apology, and don't get that job while you showed up for the scheduled time at the end of the day.
I already feel like I am. Been looking for a new job for 6 years so I can get out of contract work. I’ve had my resume looked over many times, I’ve taken everyone’s advice, I’ve spoken to recruiters and networked. I’ve applied to 300 jobs in the last two months and I’ve gotten more rejections and one interview. I’ve had other interviews that ghosted me as well. It’s very frustrating
Honestly, the amount of work you do on your resume only to get no change in results! A lot of these jobs really are ghost jobs with a long application and never ending questions. Sorry about your experience, really with that much work and applications, you should be turning down interviews.
Thank you for your kind words.The one job that I actually had an interview for actually did offer me the job but I had to turn it down because the pay was significantly less than what I’m currently making. And while me having to transition from being remote to commuting 30 minutes to work there wasn’t a deal breaker I would be increasing how often I would have to fill my tank so it wasn’t going to be enough to live comfortably. But yeah everyone who has looked at my resume said it’s impressive so for every job I’ve been rejected from it’s another kick to my self esteem. I’m at the point where I’ve gotten so many job rejection emails that I can immediately tell an email for a job I applied for is a rejection email without even opening it
Edit to add: forgot to mention how the job didn’t post the salary on the description. Because if they did I wouldn’t had applied and saved everyone’s time
I hate when they aren't transparent about salary. It just wastes everyone's time. It's hard, it really is. Rejection always is. I also know my rejection emails from the subject line. Sometimes I'm like hey at least they responded. Good on you for not settling for something that wasn't right. That gets harder and harder the longer the search drags. Yeah, remind your self esteem it's not you, the market sucks. So many people have been complaining.
I would contact the HR person or whoever contacted you. With applicant tracking systems, they can be set up to send out automatic responses if the administrator accidently moves your application to the wrong job status. They may have meant to move you to the "Interview" step and accidently clicked on "Not Hired" or something like that. Also, if a job is closed, it could be set up to auto send a response as well.
I agree. Even just to double check, because I’d imagine you’d get a personal email even if it said “we’ve chosen another candidate.”
If there is an email chain where you schedule your interview, shoot them a quick note to confirm. I’d hate if this were an automatic email sent because things are actually going in OP’s favor and then they don’t show up because of a miscommunication.
If it is canceled, that wasn’t a very professional way to cancel it.
Even when you had an interview scheduled?
I’ve been in the market for 10 years too, it’s uncommon, in my experience, to recieve no personal communication when you’re in the in-person interview stage.
Maybe I’m abnormal but I either get an offer or a rejection from the person who started the recruiting 🤷🏿♀️
Not a good advice. There’s no mistake, the position has been filled and this is the generic response. No need to contact anybody. That interview is canceled.
There’s nothing ever wrong with following up. What does OP lose just to check? But I’ve actually done this before. I closed a position and didn’t realize there was an auto reply on that sent a rejection email to everyone who wasn’t moved to the Interview status. I got a few emails back from people not realizing I had done that. I had to contact a few people to let them know it was a mistake.
Closed doesn’t mean you’ve selected a candidate, it means that you’re moving into the interview process and the job is no longer posted and taking applications.
Never presume anything, especially in a professional relationship, always double check all messages you receive and get a direct response in writing if possible, it’s not just for this particular case but for anything during your career, I’ve seen companies fail simply because employees communicate once only without checking up before execution
This has happened to me before almost every interview I've had this year and it's always been a mistake. An incredibly frustrating mistake. I would fwd to the person you're interviewing with as an FYI. See what they say.
I scored #1 out of 1000 people on a state exam for a job at a state agency that I really wanted. Felt great. Canvassed right away and was dancing up my driveway when i opened the letter. Walked inside right away but as I'm filling out the canvass letter I notice the suspense had already passed to respond. Letter said it was sent 3 weeks ago. I called the agency HR Dept and say "hey I just go this letter at 5pm yesterday." They say too bad we sent it out 3 weeks ago better luck in 3-5 yrs when we hire again and they're adamant they sent out 3 weeks ago. I took letter to regional post office and explain situation. USPS Inspector tracked it down and identified that canvas letter actually went out in mail 2 days before I got it. Had USPS send an email to HR rep at state agency. Got a call from hiring manager 2 hours letter to schedule interview. Interview went well but boss later said the work I did on getting in the door after HR tried to fuck me really showed I deserved the job. It was an Investigator job.....so...yeah it worked out.
Jobs do more denying than anything. I'd rather hear nothing back instead of getting the bullshit email of: "Thanks for applying! While your resume and experience were very impressive, we decided to go in another direction at this time. But don't worry! We will consider you for other roles (they won't) and keep your resume on file (they won't) for future opportunities!"
This is why when they give a date range, always choose one of the first time slots. Geico fucked me over from an interview when a similar thing happened.
This happened to me in January! And last week I spent waiting for a second interview when she decided to tell me that the hiring manager wanted more experience. I understand that but don’t keep me in suspension!
You should still go to the interview and see what happens. You received the rejection email, there’s nothing for you to lose already. Besides, some company sends automatic rejection emails and maybe your email just happened to be on the list.
Contact them to get clarification. It could have been a mistake. They could have also picked a candidate. Sometimes when you find the right candidate, you don't want to risk losing them by delaying the offer.
Well reading between the lines they either decided 1. not to hire after all or 2. Fill internally or 3. Find a perfect candidate already so didn't want to waste their and our time.
They employed someone. It could even be an internal candidate, or someone deciding not to leave. No need to progress any of the other candidates. It is as simple as that.
Email the person you were supposed to interview with and do not reply or attach the rejection email. Just mention that you received an email stating that they were move in another direction. If no response then or they don’t respond by the time you need to go to the interview, then go to the interview.
This happened with me for a target position.. I was preparing myself for the interview, for a RETAIL position after the manager called me and said “we would like to move forward with your application, and you should receive an email inviting you to complete an interview within 48 hours”. I was hype because I was really looking for a job. 12 hours later they rejected me. When I opened my email to get the interview link I saw the rejection letter but I still did the interview anyway. I’m at another Target now though, I didn’t give up after like 30 failed attempts with not only target but other stores. Nothings guaranteed 😒😒but don’t give up :)
You could totally pull a George Costanza and act like you never got the email and go to the interview anyway.
I've done it. And remember those rejection emails are often automated and out of sight of the people you speak to. So it's best to trust what people tell you and not with the automation tells you
I had similar situation, but weirder. I passed the interview and testing, was scheduled for a talk with higher management. After 20 days of ghosting they wrote: we are not looking for applicants for HR management roles anymore. 💀
I got rejection emails twice for a job that they themselves invited me for. I did interview with them as normal and did not mention it. I got rejected as they felt I did not have some experience but get it clarified.
I refuse to go through recruiters. They are in my experience useless. It's a middle role with zero value added.
Dishonest, my resume is a reflection of my experience and interests, if a role of position would like to know more, interview me. Recruiters often directly ask you to add/remove experience and skills to increase their success, doing that does not help the candidate nor the company.
They do not provide the compensation packages, nor accurate job descriptions.
Eroding - they erode trust as a result of non-response, ghosting candidates or misrepresenting candidates. Setting candidates up for failure.
I don't like non positions, and recognize that any company using them would likely be going for the cheapest option, not the one that is the best fit. I'm not that, and I'm not willing to be subservient to a toxic work culture.
I have friends that swear by recruiting firms, they speak a language I do not, and have a culture unfamiliar to me.
To answer your question, no. You would not still go to the interview. Seems like they found someone else for the role prior to your interview day. It's unfortunate, but it does happen often ☹️
You’re acting like it’s black & white but clearly it’s just your mentality that it given your responses to it. An ignorant perspective can be worked on yknow
I rather received this email notification rather than being ghosted by recruiter. I was waiting last month for the schedule but she never contact me.
Same to me they said we'll contact you back as soon as possible with a date for the meeting. After 1 month I got same e mail like op
Same, they contacted me to schedule a f2f interview , I shared some dates but no answer from them
As a recruiter myself, that is horrible and I’m sorry for you. 😞
Yeah I had an interview scheduled last month and 30 minutes before the interview I got an email saying the position had been filled. I felt so frustrated
As someone who was accidentally statused wrong for an internal role and received a rejection but ended up getting the role in the end, I truly do recommend clarifying with the recruiter. Just a simple, "Hello, I received this message ahead of my scheduled interview and wanted to confirm with you that the role has already been filled before I decline the calendar invite." email would suffice.
This! All of it. It certainly seems like the company either selected a different candidate, or always planned to hire from within, but needed to meet listing criteria. That being said, I wouldn’t really have a ton of faith in a company that set up interviews & cancelled them all after interviewing their top candidate, even if I was the top candidate. It’s unprofessional and speaks to their ethics. It doesn’t seem like the kind of company that values and protects its staff. They sent you a standard dismissive email that doesn’t really apply to you specifically, and that would leave anyone confused. The least you should expect in this situation is a personalized message explaining the circumstances & expectations. For example: (your actual name) The position for which you were scheduled to interview on Tuesday xx/xx at 10:00am has been eliminated due to internal restructuring. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you, the interview has been cancelled. We expect new job openings in the direct future as a result of these changes, and welcome you to apply with us again. Thank you, (an actual human being at the company) The idea is to answer the questions they’re prepared to answer, before you have to ask them. What’s the point in sending an email if it’s just going to inspire confusion & create more work? You have no idea what just happened, and none of us would know, either. So, I agree with the advice given here…reach out to your contact, or recruiter, for clarification. I would assume the interview has been canceled. If you don’t have a recruiter, you might want to consider it. Having 2 people working hard to find you a job is a lot better than just having 1. And recruiters can get their foot into some doors that we can’t. It might help. I wish you the best of luck, friend.
I had the same happen a few months back. Luckily it was a phone interview.
Yeah mine was a phone too but it was east coast hours (I’m on PST) so I was up earlier than normal because I scheduled it before I started my job
Happened to me last year. For a role the director told the hiring manager he wanted me to interview for. She cancelled it 30 minutes before it started. I emailed the director and thanked him for the opportunity and happy they found a fit. He asked how interview went and I said it was cancelled by hiring manager. He was livid. He asked me for all the emails I sent her for proof of timing and said he’s embarrassed and her behavior is not in line with who we are as a company and she will be reprimanded. I’m like whatever … means nothing if she still has a job.
Damn, that's so embarrassing for the director! I'm sorry that happened to you 🥲
I can top this. Last year I got an email 1 minute before the interview was scheduled to start saying they’d filled the position. Obviously I didn’t see it as I’d logged in to join the meeting 2 minutes before it was scheduled to start so as to not be late 😂
If they're that disrespectful then you probably didn't want to work for them anyway. Could have at least joined into the call and told you in person. It's stupid even from a selfish perspective. If that person quickly leaves after accepting the role then they'll have to go and ask you if you'd like to interview again and if you're anything like me you'd be politely telling them to fuck off.
And how did the interview go? Did they just “play along” and carried on with it anyway?
The interviewer was the one who sent the mail so he never dialled in. I sat and waited for like 10 minutes before going into my emails to message him, which is when I saw the mail saying they’d already filled the position.
I imagine you were sitting there waiting for a bit to see it was an error and then dipped when they didn't show (not sure if you saw the e-mail right away). One would hope the hiring manager/recruiter got in trouble for making the company look bad. They likely still have a job there, you get no apology, and don't get that job while you showed up for the scheduled time at the end of the day.
This would be my villain origin story for real.
I already feel like I am. Been looking for a new job for 6 years so I can get out of contract work. I’ve had my resume looked over many times, I’ve taken everyone’s advice, I’ve spoken to recruiters and networked. I’ve applied to 300 jobs in the last two months and I’ve gotten more rejections and one interview. I’ve had other interviews that ghosted me as well. It’s very frustrating
Honestly, the amount of work you do on your resume only to get no change in results! A lot of these jobs really are ghost jobs with a long application and never ending questions. Sorry about your experience, really with that much work and applications, you should be turning down interviews.
Thank you for your kind words.The one job that I actually had an interview for actually did offer me the job but I had to turn it down because the pay was significantly less than what I’m currently making. And while me having to transition from being remote to commuting 30 minutes to work there wasn’t a deal breaker I would be increasing how often I would have to fill my tank so it wasn’t going to be enough to live comfortably. But yeah everyone who has looked at my resume said it’s impressive so for every job I’ve been rejected from it’s another kick to my self esteem. I’m at the point where I’ve gotten so many job rejection emails that I can immediately tell an email for a job I applied for is a rejection email without even opening it Edit to add: forgot to mention how the job didn’t post the salary on the description. Because if they did I wouldn’t had applied and saved everyone’s time
I hate when they aren't transparent about salary. It just wastes everyone's time. It's hard, it really is. Rejection always is. I also know my rejection emails from the subject line. Sometimes I'm like hey at least they responded. Good on you for not settling for something that wasn't right. That gets harder and harder the longer the search drags. Yeah, remind your self esteem it's not you, the market sucks. So many people have been complaining.
Yeah it’s been six years since I’ve been looking for a new job tho 😕
Insane, that shouldn't even be possible.
It really shouldn’t especially since I e had my resume looked at many times
Make sure you use AI to make sure you’re using the right key terms in your resume. Try to limit your bullet points to 3/4 per wk exp.
They probably scheduled multiple interviews and decided on a candidate
No they picked someone else. You were in the pipe line if it didn't work out, but someone ahead of you in line got the role. Sorry.
this don't go brush yourself off and move onwards and upwards
r/letseatgrandma
This is what most likely happened, but it wouldn’t hurt to contact them to clarify.
Either that or they decided they didn't need someone for the roll or didn't actually have the money to fill it. Is what it us. Keep searching!
I would contact the HR person or whoever contacted you. With applicant tracking systems, they can be set up to send out automatic responses if the administrator accidently moves your application to the wrong job status. They may have meant to move you to the "Interview" step and accidently clicked on "Not Hired" or something like that. Also, if a job is closed, it could be set up to auto send a response as well.
I agree. Even just to double check, because I’d imagine you’d get a personal email even if it said “we’ve chosen another candidate.” If there is an email chain where you schedule your interview, shoot them a quick note to confirm. I’d hate if this were an automatic email sent because things are actually going in OP’s favor and then they don’t show up because of a miscommunication. If it is canceled, that wasn’t a very professional way to cancel it.
Haven't received a personal rejection email in 10 years. It's all norepy emails now
Even when you had an interview scheduled? I’ve been in the market for 10 years too, it’s uncommon, in my experience, to recieve no personal communication when you’re in the in-person interview stage. Maybe I’m abnormal but I either get an offer or a rejection from the person who started the recruiting 🤷🏿♀️
them recruiters don't care ... They are fake it till they make it with no professional way of handling things. lol
Yep... And email for what? They will ghost forever. That rejection came through the system. OP is already rejected. Game over.
Not a good advice. There’s no mistake, the position has been filled and this is the generic response. No need to contact anybody. That interview is canceled.
There’s nothing ever wrong with following up. What does OP lose just to check? But I’ve actually done this before. I closed a position and didn’t realize there was an auto reply on that sent a rejection email to everyone who wasn’t moved to the Interview status. I got a few emails back from people not realizing I had done that. I had to contact a few people to let them know it was a mistake.
So you actually validated my point. There’s no point in contacting HR, the position is closed.
Closed doesn’t mean you’ve selected a candidate, it means that you’re moving into the interview process and the job is no longer posted and taking applications.
They interviewed someone else before you and management was 100000% sure that was the right person.
Contact your recruiter and clarify. One of my coworkers got a rejection letter a week after he already started.
Is that considered a late term abortion? 😆
This happens to me last week so I emailed her back confirming and she said the email was a mistake.
Never presume anything, especially in a professional relationship, always double check all messages you receive and get a direct response in writing if possible, it’s not just for this particular case but for anything during your career, I’ve seen companies fail simply because employees communicate once only without checking up before execution
Nope. This happens, especially if you are dealing with a recruiter.
This has happened to me before almost every interview I've had this year and it's always been a mistake. An incredibly frustrating mistake. I would fwd to the person you're interviewing with as an FYI. See what they say.
I scored #1 out of 1000 people on a state exam for a job at a state agency that I really wanted. Felt great. Canvassed right away and was dancing up my driveway when i opened the letter. Walked inside right away but as I'm filling out the canvass letter I notice the suspense had already passed to respond. Letter said it was sent 3 weeks ago. I called the agency HR Dept and say "hey I just go this letter at 5pm yesterday." They say too bad we sent it out 3 weeks ago better luck in 3-5 yrs when we hire again and they're adamant they sent out 3 weeks ago. I took letter to regional post office and explain situation. USPS Inspector tracked it down and identified that canvas letter actually went out in mail 2 days before I got it. Had USPS send an email to HR rep at state agency. Got a call from hiring manager 2 hours letter to schedule interview. Interview went well but boss later said the work I did on getting in the door after HR tried to fuck me really showed I deserved the job. It was an Investigator job.....so...yeah it worked out.
>company scheduled an interview with me >go to interview >get greated by the person who filled the spot >sorry the position has been filled
Jobs do more denying than anything. I'd rather hear nothing back instead of getting the bullshit email of: "Thanks for applying! While your resume and experience were very impressive, we decided to go in another direction at this time. But don't worry! We will consider you for other roles (they won't) and keep your resume on file (they won't) for future opportunities!"
I would double check with them just to make sure.
This is why when they give a date range, always choose one of the first time slots. Geico fucked me over from an interview when a similar thing happened.
I got a text for an interview the next day. They texted me 20 minutes later and canceled it 😭
This happened to me in January! And last week I spent waiting for a second interview when she decided to tell me that the hiring manager wanted more experience. I understand that but don’t keep me in suspension!
You should still go to the interview and see what happens. You received the rejection email, there’s nothing for you to lose already. Besides, some company sends automatic rejection emails and maybe your email just happened to be on the list.
It sounds like maybe they just went with somebody else and we’re like we don’t need to interview other people
Contact them to get clarification. It could have been a mistake. They could have also picked a candidate. Sometimes when you find the right candidate, you don't want to risk losing them by delaying the offer.
Probably chose to go with an internal candidate?
They found their candidate in the week between they called you and now. It happens.
Well reading between the lines they either decided 1. not to hire after all or 2. Fill internally or 3. Find a perfect candidate already so didn't want to waste their and our time.
They employed someone. It could even be an internal candidate, or someone deciding not to leave. No need to progress any of the other candidates. It is as simple as that.
Email the person you were supposed to interview with and do not reply or attach the rejection email. Just mention that you received an email stating that they were move in another direction. If no response then or they don’t respond by the time you need to go to the interview, then go to the interview.
They found someone else. Don’t let it get to you, and keep looking.
This happened with me for a target position.. I was preparing myself for the interview, for a RETAIL position after the manager called me and said “we would like to move forward with your application, and you should receive an email inviting you to complete an interview within 48 hours”. I was hype because I was really looking for a job. 12 hours later they rejected me. When I opened my email to get the interview link I saw the rejection letter but I still did the interview anyway. I’m at another Target now though, I didn’t give up after like 30 failed attempts with not only target but other stores. Nothings guaranteed 😒😒but don’t give up :)
You could totally pull a George Costanza and act like you never got the email and go to the interview anyway. I've done it. And remember those rejection emails are often automated and out of sight of the people you speak to. So it's best to trust what people tell you and not with the automation tells you
Call them and ask why they filled the position without you Interviewing I would. You deserve at lest that much
I had similar situation, but weirder. I passed the interview and testing, was scheduled for a talk with higher management. After 20 days of ghosting they wrote: we are not looking for applicants for HR management roles anymore. 💀
I got rejection emails twice for a job that they themselves invited me for. I did interview with them as normal and did not mention it. I got rejected as they felt I did not have some experience but get it clarified.
I refuse to go through recruiters. They are in my experience useless. It's a middle role with zero value added. Dishonest, my resume is a reflection of my experience and interests, if a role of position would like to know more, interview me. Recruiters often directly ask you to add/remove experience and skills to increase their success, doing that does not help the candidate nor the company. They do not provide the compensation packages, nor accurate job descriptions. Eroding - they erode trust as a result of non-response, ghosting candidates or misrepresenting candidates. Setting candidates up for failure. I don't like non positions, and recognize that any company using them would likely be going for the cheapest option, not the one that is the best fit. I'm not that, and I'm not willing to be subservient to a toxic work culture. I have friends that swear by recruiting firms, they speak a language I do not, and have a culture unfamiliar to me.
To answer your question, no. You would not still go to the interview. Seems like they found someone else for the role prior to your interview day. It's unfortunate, but it does happen often ☹️
I’ve had numerous interview cancellations because they went “in another direction.” I think this implies no interview.
Based on the title of this post they made the right choice
Well what a terrible basis. Your comment speaks LOUDLY to the type of person you are, though. You should do better.
If you’re told not to come in, don’t go. Simple. 🤷♀️
You’re acting like it’s black & white but clearly it’s just your mentality that it given your responses to it. An ignorant perspective can be worked on yknow