Candidate walks out after company cancels interview mid-way and asks them to volunteer for free

People often spend a lot of time getting to their dream job that pays and gives employees additional lucrative perks. Even after trying so hard to get there, things can alter the chain of events leading to landing that dream job. Reddit user u/tabantha_thot happens to be that unfortunate person who had to undergo this experience. They had their interview canceled mid-way and were asked to volunteer for free.

They shared their sour experience over a dream job interview with the community of the r/antiwork Subreddit. Community members condemned the behavior the job aspirant received from the firm as unprofessional and hurtful. "I've spent the last week putting in serious work preparing for an interview for a job I would have loved to get," the post started. "Less than five minutes into my Zoom call, the HR representative I was interviewing with said, 'Sorry, hold on for just a moment' and glanced down at his phone, frowned, and said, 'I'm sorry, but I have some bad news.'"

It's the kind of bad news that the job aspirant was not expecting to hear mid-interview. The HR representative told them that the company where the job aspirant was being interviewed had suddenly decided to stop hiring in certain departments. "The HR said that the company has been considering a hiring freeze for several departments, including the one I was applying to join and that they have just received word that it is going into effect immediately," the post continued.

"He then said he'd be happy to keep my information in the system and then (this is a nonprofit) had the audacity to say, 'But we'd love to have you come in and volunteer in the meantime, would you like to be added to the contact list for that?' Come on!" the story concluded. This left a lot of people fuming at how a company could do that to a person they have been interviewing.

Some demanded the original poster of the story to expose the company's name to save other job aspirants from wasting their time. u/yourgirlsamus wrote, "That is so scripted. I can’t even. How insulting, just a bait and switch. Good for you for leaving a bad review, maybe you’ll save a few more people from wasting their time." u/HighLevelPrimitive joked, "Businesses: 'Workers are feeling so damn entitled these days!' Also businesses: 'Hey, we can't hire you now, but you could volunteer to provide us with free labor in the meantime. Sound good?'"

u/prymale remarked, "Non-profits take advantage of good-hearted, giving, caring people. They all need a reality check where all their employees up and quit at the same time and no one ever applies to them again." u/J-Baig commented: "Oof, putting in the work for that to happen sucks. Sounds like the company is going through financial difficulties. On the bright side, you could have dodged the bullet of being hired and then let go a few months later. If you’re seriously interested in the industry or role, some volunteer work on the side would help build your experience for future job positions."