Company pulls tax manager's offer one day before her start date, comes crawling back 9 days later, she accepts only to withdraw at the last minute

Author image for Cata Holmes
Cata Holmes • Writer
Aug 27, 2026 8:30 AM EDT

If a company can change its mind at the last minute, apparently so can the person left without the job…

How annoying it can be when a company decides to do whatever it wants with the people who are interviewing? They not only can spend weeks, and sometimes months, interviewing a single candidate without giving them any signs about finally hiring them, but they can also remove a job offer they had made only a couple of weeks ago. This makes the job market not only exhausting, but very crazy.

The story shared by u/Different-Staff-4556 expresses not only the insanity that revolves around getting a new job but also how the company feels entitled to do whatever they want with a candidate… if they are in need of a new job, maybe they'll endure whatever is in their way just to get an offer. I'm sure that what they had in mind…

But that company is not aware of the person they had in line.

This woman was very good in her field. Tax management can get very tricky, but she knew how to get things done, and she proved her worth in the interviews. Of course, they loved her and offered a position right away. She signed the papers and was ready to go… until the day before her start date, when they called and told her they wouldn't be needing her at the end.

After having more interviews and landing different offers, she got a called from they only 9 days later confirming that she would indeed start with them, and they even raised her salary. Here comes the part that I loved the most: she agreed to start, but she plans to withdraw her acceptance only the day before starting… isn't that genius? 

She has multiple offers down her sleeve, so playing around with them out of revenge feels nice and proper. We hope the company can learn a valuable lesson out of this and stop playing with people's time and needs.

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  • Two women discuss a job opportunity for an available position in tax management.
    via Unsplash+ (via Christina @ wocintechchat.com M)

    Two women discuss a job opportunity for an available position in tax management.

    Model portrayal.

  • I'm a tax professional, and I'd been doing interviews since I left my last position a little. I left a CPA firm because I was regularly working 55+ hours even when it wasn't tax season, and I was completely burned out. I was also
    via Different-Staff-4556
  • being paid laughably less than I was worth, and since I'm a single mom, I don't have months of savings sitting around for a long job search. So when this company
    via Different-Staff-4556
  • moved quickly and offered me the job, I felt relieved. Honestly, I should have taken that speed as a warning sign.
    via Different-Staff-4556
  • Since I'm a tax manager, I wanted to stay in that same type of role. I interviewed with the current tax manager and the owner of the firm; let's call them XYZ Tax Services. My video interview was
    via Different-Staff-4556
  • on a Wednesday, and on Thursday the HR person called me and said they wanted to hire me. I sent them references, passed the background check, and signed the offer letter. The
    via Different-Staff-4556
  • start date was set for the following Wednesday, and by Friday afternoon my onboarding was complete. My name was added to their payroll platform, IT
    via Different-Staff-4556
  • helped me set up remote access, and I had all my login info ready. I was genuinely excited to start fresh until...
    via Different-Staff-4556
  • The following Tuesday morning, I was in the living room making a list of things I needed for my first day when HR called. I missed the first call, and then they called
    via Different-Staff-4556
  • Job candidate is signing documents and papers before starting her new position next week.
    via Unsplash+ (via Ahmet Kurt)

    Job candidate is signing documents and papers before starting her new position next week.

    Picture does not depict real parties.

  • again three more times in a row. I called them back thinking maybe they needed another form from me, only for them to tell me, "Unfortunately, we don't need you to start on Wednesday." I was
    via Different-Staff-4556
  • really confused and asked if they meant I should start on Thursday instead. No. They didn't want me to start at all. They had decided to go in "another direction."
    via Different-Staff-4556
  • I was shocked. What kind of company pulls an offer after fully onboarding someone? If the background check had turned up a problem or one of the references had said something
    via Different-Staff-4556
  • about, fine, I would have understood. But everything was fine. I asked what had changed and didn't get any useful answer at all. So I ended the call and immediately went back to applying for other jobs.
    via Different-Staff-4556
  • About 9 days later, HR called me again. Was I still available?!?! Apparently, they had given the job to someone already working there, and that person changed their mind. It took an incredible
    via Different-Staff-4556
  • A job candidate speaks with a recruiter during an interview after searching for new career opportunities.
    via Unsplash+ (via Christina @ wocintechchat.com M)

    A job candidate speaks with a recruiter during an interview after searching for new career opportunities.

    Stock photography for depiction only.

  • amount of effort not to laugh on the phone. I stayed professional and listened as they suddenly treated me like I was their top choice again. They increased the offer, apologized a lot, and after
    via Different-Staff-4556
  • they begged to a level I found satisfying, I accepted.
    via Different-Staff-4556
  • Fortunately, this story is still working in my favor. By then, I already had multiple offers paying more than they did, and since then I've accepted the best
    via Different-Staff-4556
  • offer of the bunch. I'm supposed to start at XYZ Tax Services in a few days. My plan is to wait until the Monday before and call HR to withdraw my acceptance.
    via Different-Staff-4556

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