Interview follow-up email leaves candidate 'disgusted'

A candidate eager to land a role with a local company accidentally received an email meant for someone else – an email which labelled her ‘chavvy’ and ‘irritating’.

Paige Bond applied for a role with Forest Whole Foods, as a box packer, only to receive a rude email response from an employee there.

Speaking to local media, Bond said the email left her feeling ‘disgusted’ – though she admits she did received an apology shortly afterwards from the worker who sent the message.

The email allegedly read: “Ok I know exactly the type of person she is in my mind. Small, bubble, slightly irritating but probably really good at what you need her for – organized, quick, chavvy.

“She is probably worth interviewing if you think you can cope with having someone like her around. She has some quite relevant experience and would probably lift spirits in the packing room.

“I bet her voice is quite irritating. Delete this email in case you took her on and she found it.”

Speaking to another local paper, Forest Whole Foods acknowledged the mistake and added that the email was sent by an employee called ‘Josie’.

As cringeworthy as employee slip-ups such as this one are, they’re also completely avoidable. HR leaders should ensure that their organizations have ethical and transparent practices in place to prevent brand blunders.

A recent report form CareerArc found that almost 60% of jobseekers have had a poor candidate experience, with 72% of them being so annoyed by it that they took to the internet to vent their frustrations.

This is even more concerning when you consider that 78% of jobseekers say the overall candidate experience is an indicator as to how goof the company actually is – impacting how much they want to work there.

How can you improve your candidate experience? Uncover some top industry insights here.