'HR loves my resume... Then I received an email': Company rejects application because they worked at their sister company

Author image for JR Atkinson
JR Atkinson • Writer and Editor
Jun 29, 2026 9:00 PM EDT

The hiring manager was all but ready to hire this applicant, then something trivial changed everything. 

The hiring process can be extremely frustrating. You put so much into an application only for it to be promptly ignored. There are so many people looking for a job, and not enough worthwhile jobs to go around. So every listing is flooded with hundreds, if not thousands, of applications. To make your voice heard through the noise is a feat in and of itself. Once you have your foot in the door, you should relish that opportunity. You would hate for it to all go away due to something completely out of your control. Rejection always stings, but it stings even more when you're stopped in your tracks by something that could have been avoided. When your dreams slip away on a technicality, it's so much harder to swallow. 

But that's what happened here, on the antiwork subreddit, where an applicant who should have been given a fair shot had their chances yanked away from them. When you start picturing yourself having a certain job, everything can come into focus. It's a good way to manifest, and you can't get something until you can fully see yourself doing it. When that has a way of unwinding, though, things get pretty sticky. The employee in this story learned just how arbitrary the hiring process can be, and it demoralized them quickly. 

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  • a frustrated man sits at a cafe and uses a laptop
    via Unsplash+ (Getty Images)

    A man representing a frustrated job applicant rubs his temples at the computer

  • We all know that the hiring process isn't exactly fair. It has a lot more to do with timing, nepotism, and connections than it does anything else. You could be the right person for the job and still go unnoticed. This isn't easy to just stand by and take when you're looking for work. You want to feel like you have some amount of agency, but this doesn't always prove true. At least it didn't for the applicant in this story. Keep reading to get a feel for what was going on here, and then let us know what you think about it in the comments below.

  • Company Rejected My Application Because I Used to Work For Their Sister Company

    Thank you for your interest in the Customer Success Manager position at and for applying through our job posting on Simple Apply. After reviewing your application, we're unable to move forward at this time. While your qualifications make you a strong candidate, our records show that you were employed by one of our sister companies within the past year. Under our company policy, former employees of affiliated companies must complete a full 12-month waiting period before being eligible for employm
    via ell-chan
  • This is heart breaking. I saw their job post on a job hiring site. The salary is great with benefits so I sent an application.
    via ell-chan
  • A week after that, they invited me for an interview. The HR loves my resume, my answers and everything, she said that I am going for the 2nd interview next week. I was so happy because I think I am a Strong applicant. Then I recieved an email. This is hear breaking because I thought I have a good chance to land this job, its a waste of my time and effort. Now back to square one.
    via ell-chan
  • COO
    via Unsplash+ (Getty Images)

    A model representing a man frustrated with his job sits at his computer

  • Commenters gave their sympathies and advice.

    MikeTalonNYC The policy is fairy usual here in the US, but them even setting up the 1st interview makes no sense at all. So... no human being looked at your resume even ONCE before they called you in for an interview? I think you may have dodged a bullet here.
    via MikeTalonNYC
  • Bob Vilas Beard It's already stupid that they have that policy to begin with. But you'd also think they'd filter out applications from people who worked for their sister companies before calling them in for interviews and wasting everyone's time. Sorry, OP.
    via BobVilasBeard
  • Jtenka This is fairly normal even here in the UK. I work for a global company and it's 6 months minimum.
    via Jtenka
  • jodrellbank_pants Interesting how long was that? Unless You told them in your application. In the UK in the uk they would have to have deleted your information. if they are in the UK, ask to have all your information removed in line with GDRP. I do that with with 3 months after every application.
    via jodrellbank_pants
  • Everyoneheresamoron If they wanted to, they would. Stupid policy rules like these aren't actually for any benefit. Its so they can still say "they're hiring" and find any excuse to not actually hire.
    via Everyoneheresamoron
  • "We're growing!" (But not actually hiring!) look at all these positions available on this job posting site!
    via Everyoneheresamoron
  • MightyBigMinus they use "sister" companies to compete against you (the labor that can see less of whats going on, organize with fewer people, be subject to fewer laws).
    via MightyBigMinus
  • you can't use sister companies to compete against them (job hop, arbitrage pay from one to another). we are serfs, we don't get to pit the lords against each other
    via MightyBigMinus

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