Candidate shares how a 60-second difference ended their job interview before it began

A candidate said a hiring manager called a minute before a scheduled interview, hung up and later rejected the application. The episode prompted criticism on Reddit, with users debating fairness, intent and workplace culture.

In Short

• Candidate rejected for missing a call made one minute early.
• Phone's spam filter delayed call answer, interviewer hung up immediately.
• Candidate called back and offered to reschedule but was declined.

A candidate’s job interview took an unexpectedly annoying turn after a hiring manager called one minute before the scheduled time, hung up almost immediately and then rejected the candidate for missing the call.

The candidate shared the experience in a Reddit post on r/recruitinghell, titled, “Rejected because the interviewer called 1 minute early and hung up immediately.”

According to the candidate, the phone interview was scheduled for 11 am, but the interviewer called at 10:59 am. Their phone had an automated spam-screening feature enabled, which took a few seconds to process the incoming call.

The candidate said they immediately opened the screening prompt and accepted the call, only to find that the interviewer had already hung up.

They immediately called the number back, but it went straight to voicemail. After waiting for 15 minutes without receiving another call, the candidate contacted the recruiter, explained what had happened and offered to reschedule the interview at a time convenient for the hiring manager.

However, a few hours later, the recruiter responded with some disappointing news. The hiring manager had decided not to proceed with the application, because the interview was scheduled for 11 am and the candidate had not been available when the call was made.

The candidate said the experience was particularly discouraging because the entire situation came down to what appeared to be a 60-second delay. They also felt the incident might have revealed something about the kind of work environment they could have been entering.

Take a look at the post here:

The post sparked a discussion among fellow Reddit users, with several questioning the hiring manager’s decision. One commenter suggested that the rejection could have been an excuse to eliminate another applicant from a crowded pool, while another felt the interviewer should have shown more understanding.

At the same time, one user pointed out that the candidate could have disabled the spam-screening feature while expecting an important call, particularly given how common automated call screening has become.

Another commenter similarly suggested that the early call may not have been the real reason for the rejection, arguing that the hiring team may already have been looking for a reason to move on from the application.

- Ends