Professional and prepared job candidate figures out their interview was really a training session for the hiring company’s fresh new recruiter: ‘I really suspect I was just used to train this girl’

Author image for Etai Eshet
Etai Eshet • Editor
Jan 31, 2025 10:00 AM EST

In the cutthroat arena of modern employment, job seekers navigate a landscape fraught with deception and disappointment. The job market, once a realm of opportunity, has devolved into a gladiatorial spectacle where candidates are pitted against each other for the amusement of corporate overlords. 

Resumes are hurled like spears into the void of applicant tracking systems, while cover letters serve as desperate pleas for attention in a coliseum full of digital noise.

In this spectacle of professional ambition, recruiters act as ringmasters, cracking their whips to keep the show moving. Dangling the promise of fulfilling careers like carrots before hungry donkeys, all while pushing candidates through flaming hoops of skill tests and personality assessments.

One such candidate, armed with years of freelance experience, stepped into this arena seeking stability. Their target: a junior role at an event production company. Little did they know, they were about to become an unwitting participant in a burlesque.

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  • "Suspecting my interview was fake and used to train a new recruiter"

    "At best this company didn't take my interview seriously"
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    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • I had applied for a few roles at an event production company, something I've been freelancing in for many years.
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  • I got an interview for a junior role, while not my first choice was more stable and had benefits.
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  • 23 3.
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    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • Upon researching things, on LinkedIn I found out the girl interviewing me lived in Mexico City and had been at the company for less than a week.
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  • The interview, conducted by a novice recruiter barely a week into her role, quickly unraveled. As the candidate's probing questions were met with nervous evasion, it became clear this was no genuine evaluation but a training exercise in disguise. The next day's rejection letter served as the final punchline to this cruel joke, leaving the candidate to ponder the absurdity of a system where even the interviewers need more preparation than the interviewees.

  • I prepared for the interview if nothing else for practice, STAR method and asking thoughtful questions.
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  • Cheezburger Image 10461250048
    via nortonrsx

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • During the interview she went through the basic boiler plate questions about challenges I faced and my goals etc.
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  • I asked basic questions is when it fell apart. She seemed very nervous and didnt wanna me to ask anything. She couldn't give me the address for the local
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  • office, knew little about what the role looked like moving forward or what how long the project I would be working on would go.
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  • I received a typical rejection letter the next morning despite my preparation, enthusiasm For the work, thoughtful questions etc.
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  • At best this company didn't take my interview seriously but I really suspect I was just used to train this girl.
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  • Truth_or_Consequencs This is much more common than most people think. It's used for many reason, to gather data to
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  • train their Al models, to give cheap practice to new employees, or to create the appearance of fairness when they know who
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  • they want to hire. If the company is not posting the job on their own website it is more likely to be fake.
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  • ZaneNikolai Highly probable.
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  • DefinitionLimp3616 It sure seems that way. It happened to me years ago for a retail job, as I recall.
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  • Reply with a kind thank you email and try to include the interviewers email address if you can (you can sometimes guess these if you know the persons name and how the company structures emails).
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  • Throw in you would be more than happy to interview for any upcoming positions where they feel you might be a better fit. It might be you get recast for the actual upcoming jobs.
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  • It s ks, but it's business. If you're more professional than the circumstances it can go a long way with some people. She
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  • sounds like a nervous first time interviewer so someone she's acquainted with might actually be more her comfort zone for her first "real" interview.
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  • nicholas_359 Sounds like you both used each other for practice.
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  • certainPOV3369 "I prepared for the interview if nothing else for practice..." And your issue is?
    via soxfan773

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