Remarkable letter from 1957 shows American company offering $75 to a candidate for rejecting them

A rejection letter from 1957 has gone viral on social media for all good reasons. Dated on September 25, the letter was addressed to a candidate who applied for a writing position at the American Institute for Boys and Men (AIBM). The company sincerely apologized to the candidate and confessed that they are no longer in a position to hire due to budget issues. Surprisingly, AIBM even offered monetary compensation to the candidate for considering the opportunity — something we barely see companies doing today. The letter was posted by an anonymous person (u/anotherare) on Reddit on February 23. 

AIBM confessed that they closed the job role because they couldn't afford a new hire. "Plans have changed, and a salesman-type will be engaged to contact our members," the letter, written on behalf of Rion Bercovici, AIBM's Director of Public Relations, read. Instead of hiring a full-time 'new' employee, the company decided to appoint a salesperson-type person to handle the job due to budget restrictions. However, AIMB didn't forget or overlook the candidate's effort who could have been a great fit for the role. So, in compensation, the company offered the applicant $75 for their time and effort. The amount offered then is equivalent to $451.84 in 2026. Imagine how many companies would be willing to offer that kind of compensation only for rejecting a candidate today. Perhaps none, right?

Forget compensation; companies don't even think it's important to update candidates about their interview. In fact, a survey result (The Talent Board) found that more than half (53%) of job candidates didn't receive any feedback after screening or an interview. Moreover, 69.7% of respondents said they were not informed after being rejected for the job role. Surprisingly, 77.3% of those candidates who reported receiving feedback after rejection said it wasn't useful. Likewise, another survey by CareerBuilder of more than 3,900 American workers found that 75% of applicants didn't receive any feedback from their employers; they were basically ghosted by the companies they applied to. More than half (60%) reported no response after the interview, and 29% said the employer didn't acknowledge their application, whereas 43% of candidates found a discrepancy between the job profile and the description provided in the ad.

Meanwhile, drawing contrast to the old rejection mail, u/electrical-eggplant2 commented, "Compare that to a hiring manager that didn’t want to continue interviewing me because I said I was interviewing at other companies as well. I asked her if she was interviewing other candidates or just me, and she said, 'It's different.'" Similarly, u/according_yogurt_823 shared, "Omg, I remember going to an interview at 11 AM and being told we had to reschedule to 4 PM for the final after taking the assessments. I don't have enough money, as I plan on walking home (around 45 minutes, and I'm a fast walker). I ended up sleeping in a church to help me ignore the growling of an empty stomach lol. Job hunting is one of the worst things someone could experience."

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