Internet horrified by recruiter’s response to applicant: “Rude and cruel”

A woman looking for a new job noticed an opening with some information missing from the advertisement and thought she had nothing to lose by applying for it.

But hours later, she received a message from the recruiter “berating” her for the application. Nicole, who gave her first name only, told Newsweek she had been job hunting for four months, and that “it can feel a little demoralizing or depressing as the weeks drag on.”

“I was pretty shocked to receive a direct, personal response admonishing me for applying to a role,” she said. “A response at all is certainly rare, but I’ve never received one that was both negative and not automated.”

The woman shared the experience to Reddit’s r/recruitinghell sub through her account u/Paiu_, and explained the job listing had some missing text. But what was visible requested experience in “manufacturing/fabrication, mechanical interfaces, ability to read engineering blueprints, and proficiency with CRM and Excel.”

She said she had some of these qualities, having a Master of Science in a stem field, and having worked in a broad range of subjects including IT, manufacturing, and even as a physics researcher with NASA.

“I figured it just doesn’t hurt to apply,” she wrote, adding she had been laid off from her previous job, and “given how bad the market is, I am trying to branch out and see what other job titles and opportunities are out there.”

But early on a Saturday morning, she received a surprising message from the recruiter.

“Did you read the position description? This position requires considerable experience in business development in manufacturing – you appear to be in engineering – which doesn’t correlate to this,” the message read.

“It is imperative to read position descriptions thoroughly, so as to only apply to positions that may be a match for your background/experience. To do otherwise is an extreme waste of everyone’s time – especially the recruiter or hiring manager’s time as this all too often happens – ie people applying for positions where their background/experience does not match.”

The woman shared a screenshot of the message to her Reddit post, saying the recruiter took her application “personally,” and that she found it “such a rude and cruel message.”

Professional View

Newsweek spoke to Mike Basso, CEO at recruitment firm salestalent.com, who said recruiters should never respond to an application “in a berating manner,” and should instead “thank the applicant for applying and ask one or two clarifying questions.”

“Your reputation with candidates and employers is your greatest asset as a recruiter, and it should always be top of mind when communicating with them,” Basso said.

Responding in this manner could have potential consequences, he pointed out. “In the future, that recruiter may have a position that fits that candidate perfectly but has likely soiled that relationship and the candidate will not be responsive.”

Basso added that it is best for both recruiters and applicants if the job listing is “well-written, concise, and straightforward,” and that the applicant should “read it thoroughly.”

In her post, Nicole said she responded to the message showing that the job listing had some information missing from the qualifications list, and “politely explained” why she had applied.

And Redditors had her back, awarding the post over 11,000 upvotes, one user, who works in recruitment, saying they were “not a fan of recruiters who make us all look bad.”

Another hit out at the job market and what’s expected of applicants, writing: “But when it’s the other way around and they want a junior position to have 12+ years experience that’s not wasting anyone’s time? Or a decade of experience in something that’s been out for five years?”

One user shared that they had “stopped putting much consideration into the requirements” in job listings. “I read the job description and the pay range and if I think I’m qualified I apply, requirements be damned. It’s worked a couple times.”

Nicole told Newsweek some Redditors debated whether she was qualified enough to apply for the role, but pointed out “many job descriptions will contain a boilerplate section at the bottom encouraging people to apply even if they don’t meet 100% of the qualifications, and I agree.

“I personally don’t think it’s up to job seekers to self-screen. It can take dozens or hundreds of applications to secure a new role, and if you’re only applying to jobs that are 100% matches to your exact experience, you’re simply going to run out of things to apply for in a given geographical location.”

Amid the crash of 2008, unemployment in the United States was rife, speaking at 9.6 percent in 2010, according to data from Statista. Another surge came during the Covid-19 pandemic, reaching 8.09 percent in 2020. This had dropped to 3.63 percent by 2023.

But while employment is high, recent data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed the cost of living continues to outpace earnings, with inflation rising faster than wages, and paychecks not stretching as far as they used to.

Nicole told Newsweek the response to her post was “overwhelming.”

“I really only posted the response I received so everyone could have a chuckle and I didn’t expect it to take off to the degree it did,” she said.

“They were mostly positive and supportive, and a lot of people asking me to ‘name and shame’ the company or recruiter. While that definitely satisfies everyone’s small desire for petty revenge, I don’t see an upside to it for me especially as the role wasn’t remote and I may have to deal with either of them again someday. It simply is what it is.”