They counted their eggs before they hatched.
A recent college grad was a little too eager during the interview process for a dream job, and they mistakenly turned their life upside down sooner than they should have.
The defeated job seeker took to the r/GirlDinnerDiaries forum on Reddit to air out their grievances, warning others not to do the same.
“Interviewed for a job last week. It’s exactly what I want to do, near where I live, and would be a massive pay increase,” the original poster wrote.
“I’m a recent grad, so I don’t have much experience with ‘real’ job interviews, which comes into play here. The interview went really well — she seemed really impressed with my resume, said she could do the top of my salary request, talked extensively about how she wanted me to start ASAP.”
For the OP, that was enough confirmation to ask to leave their current job early, especially since their “contract is nearly up and they’ve got another person lined up for after me, so I thought they might not need the typical 2 weeks,” the grad explained online.
The confusing part of this situation is that the recruiter asked the job seeker if they “wanted a few days to think about it,” alluding to this being an offer, in which the OP “sent an email accepting a few days ago. Told my whole family about the awesome job I’d secured.”
The saga didn’t end there.
“A few days pass and they email me that they are still reviewing applications and conducting interviews. How embarrassing — my face is on fire. The embarrassment is so strong that I honestly feel a little sick. Now I know to wait for the offer in writing so that there are no misunderstandings…”
Unfortunately, this youngster learned the hard way that a verbal offer is not legally binding and that any job seeker should wait to receive a written document stating the job title, location, work hours, starting pay, and a brief overview of benefits.
As embarrassed and defeated as this OP felt, many commenters empathized with them, validating their confusion.
“Recruiter of 20 years here… that sounds quite confusing. Nothing for you to be embarrassed about!” one wrote.
“Don’t sweat it. By your account the interviewer offered you the job. I would be confused too and I have decades of interview experience,” another chimed in.
“My cousin had this happen too, he put his two weeks notice in at his old job. The two weeks came and went, and he never heard back from the other job he thought he was getting. But his interviewer even told him. He had the job. The job market is weird right now,” a comment read.
“Talking about you starting ASAP and asking if you wanted a few days to think about it.. lowkey is a job offer. This is 10000% on the company and not on you. THEY should be embarrassed, not you,” someone else shared.
