Company ghosted him after the 'final' interview, only to return when their lead developer quit. This time, he had a plan

For a grueling twelve hours, an experienced developer went through a five-round interview process with a fintech startup. From whiteboards to live coding to deep architecture drives, they did it all. However, after a final nod from the chief technology officer, just as the candidate thought they had gotten the job, came the classic corporate ghosting. The company believed they could easily get away with things as they always did, but eight months on, the candidate turned the tables and made them taste their own medicine. The applicant, who goes by u/toxicclemonade on Reddit, shared the story on May 28, 2026, and their post has received over 1,600 upvotes online. 

Time for payback

After the final round, the candidate waited patiently for an update from the recruiter, but there was no response. "They did not even have the decency to send a canned rejection email," they wrote. However, after a year, something unexpected happened. The candidate received a message from the same recruiter who contacted him for the previous role. She was in a precarious position with the lead developer quitting. So, the company was in desperate need of a replacement. While most of us would've ignored the text, this person didn't. Instead, they plotted a terrific plan to teach them a lesson.

The perfect revenge

This candidate knew the recruiter was desperate, and so they decided to play along with her. They said that they had another offer on the table, so they needed to move fast with the interview process. Of course, this was a no-brainer for the company, as they needed someone to fill the spot. Soon, the company scheduled a "final technical sync" with the hiring manager for 4 p.m. on a Friday. 

Ghosting is a growing problem

Well, even if this person could get their revenge, that doesn't solve anything in the bigger picture. According to data released by Greenhouse, ghosting after a job interview has increased by a concerning 9% since August 2024. As it turns out, today, nearly 61% of the candidates actively looking for jobs have been ghosted by a company at least once. As a result, a whopping 91% of candidates feel like the current job market is as challenging as they've ever witnessed.

Good job, say netizens

Meanwhile, reacting to the Reddit story, u/fable_maker wrote, "They really expect candidates to be professional while they treat the hiring process like a joke and ghost people after five grueling rounds of interviews." Similarly, u/8ciderfalcon commented, "You did the right thing by showing them that candidates actually have a memory and that respect needs to be mutual if they want to hire talented people instead of just playing corporate games."

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