Business owner ghosts job candidate after discovering she's a close friend's girlfriend, only to be confronted by friend when he finds out: ‘That's uprofessional’

Author image for Bar Mor Hazut
Bar Mor Hazut • Senior Editor
Feb 14, 2026 4:00 PM EST

In an attempt to be professional and unbiased, this guy ended up being the complete opposite.

Being a small business owner can't be easy; there are so many responsibilities that fall on your lap, without you even knowing these are tasks that must be done in a business.

Hiring people, however, is not the surprising part. Of course, you will need to hire different workers for different roles in the business you're running. These businesses usually need all the help they can get, and hiring the right people is the key part of that. This is why no business owner should take the hiring process lightly. It really is crucial that the people they hire are there because they deserve it, and not because of any other reason. 

So, when the family business owner in the story below received the resume of a friend's girlfriend, he knew he couldn't be a part of her interview process. He knows her, and he obviously knows his friend, which means he couldn't be unbiased. His being involved would only cause issues, not to mention making his friend's girlfriend feel awkward throughout the whole process.

But here is where his well-intentions went wrong: The owner let his sister handle the interview with the girlfriend, but didn't tell anything to either his friend or the girlfriend. Instead, he kept it quiet and even ignored her when they ran into each other in the office building when she came for her interview. 

Even that would have been excusable if it weren't for the worst part yet: The sister decided to hire someone else, and didn't even bother sending the girlfriend a rejection email. She simply ghosted the poor candidate and allowed her to hang dry for weeks without telling her anything.

When the friend found out about the whole process, he immediately confronted the business owner about his involvement, or lack thereof. Why couldn't he just tell the girlfriend that he is staying out of the hiring process to remain professional, and why couldn't they even send her a message telling her she didn't get the job?

It seems as if these owners have a thing or two to learn about how to run a business…

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  • Upset rejected girl ghosted by boyfriend in coffeeshop.
    via fizkes

    Upset rejected girl ghosted by boyfriend in coffeeshop.

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • AITA for not telling my friend's partner that she didn't get the job at my company

    So I've taken over the family business along with my sister. Recently a friend of mine, who I always considered a very good friend, started just distancing himself.
    via Less_Assistant2247
  • Yesterday I found out what it was. A few months ago we opened a position in our company and one of the resumes was [friend's] gf (she did not know when she applied that it was my company).
    via Less_Assistant2247
  • In order to keep it professional, I wasn't involved in the process. My sister did the interview.
    via Less_Assistant2247
  • It was actually kind of awkward because as she was leaving the building, I was walking in but I pretended I didn't see her. because she faltered in her step, clearly recognizing me and said hello and I just said hello back and kept going like I didn't recognize her which could've been genuine since I have not been in a lot of gatherings with her honestly.
    via Less_Assistant2247
  • Anyway we ended up going with another person for the job. Apparently friend's gf sent an email asking for any updates a few weeks after the interview but we never responded to her.
    via Less_Assistant2247
  • My sister deals with the e-mails usually. My friend is mad at me and said he is greatly disappointed in my handling of the situation.
    via Less_Assistant2247
  • That he was fine with her not being picked but that me not even bothering to send an e- mail and tell her she didn't get the job is unaceptable in his opinion, considering we are such good friends.
    via Less_Assistant2247
  • I told him I was just keeping it professional and unbiased. He said it's totally fine that she wasn't picked, it was about the fact I didn't bother to send the feedback and that I pretended to not know her when she was just saying "hi".
    via Less_Assistant2247
  • He is one of those people that when he is done with you, he is done, he doesn't want to fight but he clearly doesn't want to associate much with me anymore.
    via Less_Assistant2247
  • I think he's just salty on behalf of his gf but I need opinions on this.
    via Less_Assistant2247
  • Man and woman shaking hands in a workplace.
    via Studio4

    Man and woman shaking hands in a workplace.

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • Glassgrl1021 Yeah, I think YTA. Removing yourself from the process was the right thing to do, but there was no reason to pretend not to know her. I also would have told my friend that I saw that she applied and that I was letting someone else do the interviews to remain unbiased. Instead you were weird an evasive. Sis is the AH too for not following up. It's super ride when companies do that.
    via Glassgrl1021
  • Sea_Register 1095 Your company policy to not let candidates know they weren't chosen s ks, so I agree with your friend. Getting all the way to an interview and then being ghosted while waiting and hoping for a positive answer is really hard. It's not that difficult to even just send an email saying "thank you for applying but we went with someone else." Don't leave people hanging like that. It may not be a big deal to you when considering new hires, but it is a very big deal to the person who ap
    via Sea_Register1095
  • Funko_de_Foki YTA. Why did you ghost an applicant? That's super unprofessional.
    via Funko_de_Foki
  • twelveoct YTA in both cases. Ignoring someone you know shows a lack of character, especially as a company leader. Ghosting a candidate that has interviewed sends the message that you're probably not a company where people will want to work. It is really classless.
    via twelveoct
  • Radiant_Annual_4027 Yta Who pretends they don't know someone and ghosts applicants after an interview? People with no integrity.
    via Radiant_Annual_4027
  • awespark YTA. Removing yourself from the hiring process is fine and even admirable. But that does not excuse how you apparently treat candidates. It takes nothing to send a simple decline email - and for candidates who actually made it to the interview stage, it's just common professional courtesy to acknowledge and thank them for their time even if (perhaps. especially when) you've decided to go with another candidate. And given the personal connection, it was even more imperative that your com
    via awespark
  • No-College4662 YTA Your ex friend is absolutely correct and I don't blame him one bit for cutting you off. The professional thing to do is to say 'thank you for your time, however the position has been filled', or words to that affect. And how in the world is it 'professional' to pretend you didn't know her? Are you new at this line of work? Perhaps you should take classes in public relations.
    via No-College4662
  • pinebonsai YTA- it's so straightforward to notify people that the position has been filled. It's a full lack of respect that employers don't often. notify people that they're moving forward with someone else, because it leaves the applicants in limbo for far too long.
    via pinebonsai
  • No_Thought_7776 It isn't professional to not notify applicants whether or not they've been chosen. AH move.
    via No_Thought_7776

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friendship job business owner work friends job candidate rejection relationships hiring workplace business
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