A job candidate reportedly rejected a company after its CEO arrived 70 minutes late for an interview, according to an email attributed to the candidate that has gone viral on social media. The candidate also alleged that the CEO offered no apology or explanation for the delay.
His blunt email to the company has since gone viral on social media.
The candidate, identified as Mohan, said he arrived 30 minutes early for a 2PM interview. The CEO he was scheduled to meet did not arrive until 3:10PM, according to the email screenshot shared on X.
Rather than continue with the hiring process, Mohan decided to walk away. In his email, he explained that the delay itself was not the only issue. He was also frustrated that the CEO did not acknowledge the 70-minute wait.
The episode was reported by The Economic Times, which said the post had attracted more than 35,000 likes on X. One particular post about the email on X had garnered over 2 million views. The identities of Mohan, the company and the CEO have not been independently verified.
Candidate Says CEO Arrived 70 Minutes Late
According to the email screenshot circulating online, Mohan arrived at the interview venue 30 minutes before the scheduled 2PM meeting.
The CEO was supposed to conduct the interview but did not arrive until 3:10PM, leaving the candidate waiting for approximately 70 minutes. Mohan's complaint centred on what happened when the CEO finally arrived.
'No apology, no explanation. Just a casual "let's get started",' the email read.
Mohan said the experience left him feeling that his time was not being respected.
'I felt I was being taken for granted. If this is how my time is treated before I join the company, I can only imagine what happens after I join,' he wrote.
The email ended with the line that attracted much of the attention online: 'So I rejected you and your company.'
Viral Email Sparks Debate Over Candidate Treatment
The screenshot quickly spread across social media, with users debating whether Mohan's decision was justified and whether the email itself was genuine.
Some commenters praised the candidate for walking away rather than accepting behaviour he considered disrespectful. Others questioned the authenticity of the screenshot, pointing out that the identity of the candidate and the company could not be independently confirmed.
One X user described the post as 'so unbelievably fake', while another questioned the email address visible in the screenshot.
Those reactions have added an important caveat to the story: while the email and its contents have been widely circulated and reported, the identities of the people and company involved remain unverified.
Why the Candidate's Decision Resonated
The appeal of the story lies less in the delayed interview itself or the authenticity of the email than in the decision that followed.
Candidates are typically expected to arrive on time, prepare for interviews and accommodate employers' schedules during the recruitment process. Mohan's response reversed that expectation: rather than accepting the situation as part of the hiring process, he treated the CEO's handling of the delay as information about the company.
His email suggested that the issue was not simply that the CEO was late. It was the absence of an apology or explanation after the candidate had already spent 70 minutes waiting.
That distinction appears to have resonated with social-media users, helping turn a private rejection email into a widely shared workplace story.
Candidate's Identity Remains Unclear
Despite the attention surrounding the post, several details remain unverified.
The candidate is identified only as Mohan in reports about the incident. The company he interviewed with and the identity of the CEO have not been established through independently verified sources.
The original screenshot has also prompted questions online about its authenticity. Those questions remain unresolved.
What is documented is the content of the email and the account reported by multiple outlets: a candidate said he waited 70 minutes for a CEO who arrived late, felt the delay was handled without adequate acknowledgement, and subsequently rejected the job.
The final line of his email turned that decision into the part of the story that spread far beyond the interview room: 'So I rejected you and your company.'
