Man gives a glowing recommendation for stranger who put his number down as a job reference

Editor's note: This article was originally published on September 27, 2021. It has since been updated.

The anxiety of waiting for a callback after giving a job interview can be excruciating. In many cases, the final call can hang on the references listed in your resume and it's important to curate the right person to list as your reference. One person completely winged it by listing a complete stranger and surprisingly got a glowing recommendation. Perseph was going about his day when he got a call asking if he knew a certain Jessica Sanchez who worked with him. He knew no one of that name but decided to play along. The video garnered more than 100k likes and close to 400k views.

Perseph, who goes by @satanbutgiv3himabowlcut on TikTok, posted a video about it. “I have no idea who Jessica Sanchez is, but Jessica, if you’re watching this, I just want you to know that I received a call today from the bookstore that you applied to, asking me how long you worked under me at Panda Express,” said Perseph in the video before wishing them luck, "Hope you get the job," reported DailyDot.

He explained that he doesn't work at Panda Express and didn't know Jessica either but he still recommended her in the hope the stranger landed a job. He told the prospective employer that Jessica is "such a delight to work with.” He described her as a great employee and added that he was sad to lose an employee like Jessica. “You better believe, I was assigned a role, and I played that role to a tee,” said Perseph. “You’re welcome, Jessica.”

The comments were filled with praises for Perseph for thinking on his feet and possibly landing Jessica Sanchez a job. One person wrote, "I would love to think of myself as someone who would do that, but in all honesty, I'd probably be like sorry, 'wrong number.' I'm bad at talking on the phone." The internet absolutely loved it and started penning glowing reviews of Jessica Sanchez in the comments as well. “Jessica worked for me once and singlehandedly saved my company,” wrote one user. “Jessica once ran into a burning animal shelter and saved all the animals,” recommended another. Another 'reference' wrote, “Jessica nursed me back to health after my gall bladder surgery. Truly one of the best people out there.” Another commented, "I launched a lifelong career on one of Jessica's idea." 

There's one thing that's clear. Perseph understood the assignment. All his followers made a mental note to always put Perseph down as a reference.