Man refuses to go to job interview after strange request: “Dodged a bullet”

A California man has shared the unusual reason he abandoned a job interview before it even began.

Reddit user el_lobo_cimarron, who wished to remain anonymous, revealed how his interviewer for a cold calling job he had applied for contacted him with an unusual request.

“[The] interviewer asked me to bring him coffee as a personal favor to him for putting in a good word for me,” he told Newsweek. “He is a complete stranger to me and he was not joking.”

Stunned by the interviewer’s request for a Starbucks, he even explained that he made special requests, asking for it “cold, medium size, no sugar.”

The Redditor wasn’t impressed with the idea though and decided not to go through with the interview at all.

“I did not go to the interview and sent an email to his boss explaining what happened and that I lost interest in the position,” he said.

Thankfully, he also received a job offer from a different company just before the interview, meaning that he could walk away.

The poster shared what happened in a post on Reddit‘s r/recruitinghell subreddit where it has over 37,000 upvotes.

“Guess I dodged a bullet. Or should I say, a Grande missile?” he joked in the post.

Alongside telling the story, he shared a screenshot of the text conversation he had with the recruiter.

His message read: “Hi Simon. Unfortunately, I’ve decided to pursue other opportunities that don’t require a pit stop at Starbucks on the way to the interview. Best of luck finding the right candidate with the right blend of skills and coffee-running enthusiasm!”

In a series of comments, people reacted to the unusual coffee request.

“I’m so glad you stood up for yourself! What a d-bag!” said cafn8me24.

OJJhara agreed and commented: “That bizarre request—regardless of the motivation—is a deal breaker. I would have ghosted them after that. Very unprofessional.”

Dobrazona added: “You are looking for a job. You shouldn’t have to spend 10 bucks for an interview.”

This incident has occurred amid a job market where workers continue to put themselves first at work. According to the latest Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics in July 2024, the number of job openings remained unchanged at 8.2 million as of June 2024.

But the survey also noted that the number of people quitting their job remained significant at 3.3 million. This data reflects a workforce that is increasingly willing to leave jobs when faced with undesirable conditions or better opportunities.