‘Oh my gosh, what a trick’: Management job candidate walks out mid-interview after finding out mid-way through the role is actually entry-level customer support

• Getting recruited for a management role is a whole thing. You update the CV, you research the company, you take time off work, you show up prepared to talk about leadership and strategy. The social contract of a job interview is simple: the company posts a role, you apply or get contacted, everyone agrees on what they are there to discuss. What it is not supposed to be is a bait and switch where the real job reveal happens halfway through the questions.

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  via jonasleupe

  Man with glasses sitting at a kitchen counter looking at a laptop.

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• Oh My Gosh, What a Trick: I Interviewed for a Management Position, and Halfway Through, They Told Me It Was Entry-Level.

• I received a message on a professional networking platform asking if I was interested in coming for an interview for a manager position at a regional company. The opportunity looked good, so I sent the CV they requested.

• When I arrived at their premises, the interview was going well. I should mention that a senior leader was late, so they started the interview without them. All the questions were perfectly aligned with a management position, covering my experience and leadership background.

• At that point, two of their team leaders were conducting the interview. Then another person entered, not the department head we were expecting, and asked me: 'What makes you want to work in customer support here?'

• I was completely confused and said I thought I was there for the manager position. He just scoffed and told me there was no such role. I clarified that I wouldn't have come for a customer support interview.

• We agreed to wait for the manager, and they asked me a few more general questions about my experience. I tried to convince myself that it was just a simple misunderstanding.

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  via Jason Briscoe

  Man leaning on a counter while holding a phone in a modern office space.

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

• Eventually, the department manager arrived, apologizing for having difficulty finding parking.

• The same person who had mentioned customer support then said: 'There's no manager position available, I don't know how this happened, let's continue...' The manager simply nodded without speaking.

• After my initial shock wore off, a genuine feeling of annoyance started to well up inside me. I had taken a significant portion of my day off work for this, and I felt it was a complete waste of my valuable time.

• I pulled out my phone, opened their official email, and showed it to the manager. She looked at it and simply said: 'Yes, that's what it says.' Then she stared at me blankly without speaking.

• There was about thirty-five seconds of incredibly awkward silence. I finally broke it and said: 'But you're interviewing me for a completely different position... A lower-level role, not the one you contacted me about?' One of the managers quickly replied: 'Yes, you'd be a great fit.'

• I stood up, gathered my notepad, and asked if someone could show me the way out. They all remained seated, staring at me. I thought: 'Fine, I'll find my own way then,' and started to walk. They all followed me to the exit door, where I handed my badge to their administrative assistant and left immediately.

• Seriously, what a mess.

  blinker-studen

• The moment a random person walks into the room and asks what makes you want to work in customer support, something has already gone very wrong. And the response to the confusion is where this whole thing truly shines. Not an apology, not an explanation, just a scoff and a flat denial that the management role ever existed. As if the official recruitment email was a collective hallucination.

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  via linkedinsalesnavigator

  Man sitting on a couch working thoughtfully on a laptop.

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

• The thirty-five seconds of silence after the manager confirmed the email said exactly what it said and then just stared into the middle distance is honestly the purest moment in this entire story. Everyone in that room knew what had happened. Nobody was willing to address it directly. The most senior person present simply nodded and let the awkwardness expand until it filled the entire room.

• What is fascinating about this kind of corporate fumble is the confidence it takes to keep going. At no point did anyone in that building decide to stop the process, acknowledge the mistake properly, and send the candidate home with an apology. Instead the move was to just keep interviewing, pivot to the lower role without explanation, and then tell someone who was recruited for management that they would be a great fit for entry-level customer support. With a straight face.

• Walking out was the only reasonable response. Finding the exit alone after nobody stood up to show the way out was just the perfect ending to a very strange afternoon.

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