A woman has gone viral on TikTok after claiming that a job recruiter, who is a friend of hers, advised her to call off an interview because the company was not ready.
In a video with over 158,000 views, TikTok user CC claims that she had traveled from Atlanta to Los Angeles with the intention of interviewing for a job that she was recommended for by her recruiter friend. The job was not publicly listed, she says.
On the morning of the interview, CC (@_mylifeascc) claims her friend called her to tell her to postpone the interview with the company. At first, CC says she thought this was a request on the part of the company. However, upon further communication, CC discovered that the friend herself was advising the request, which struck CC as odd.
“She literally asked me to help her write an excuse of why I wouldn’t be able to make this interview,” CC recalls. “Bitch, I’m unemployed…You think I’m about to cancel a fucking interview?”
“I work in H.R. I’ve worked for tech,” she continues. “No one has ever, ever said, like, ‘The hiring manager isn’t ready so I’m going to call the candidate and tell them to cancel their interview. It doesn’t even make fucking sense, logically.”
@_mylifeascc like girl what #corporate #corporatetiktok #jobsearch #blackwomen #blackgirltiktok #unemployed #interview #recruiting #blackwomenintech #hr #humanresources #talentacquisition #blackcorporate #blacktiktok ♬ original sound – cc
Later, CC says she went around her recruiter friend to ensure the interview took place. According to CC, the interview went well.
“I really feel like…either her contract was up and she didn’t want to miss out on a commission. I don’t really know,” she muses, exasperated. “But even if that is the fucking case, bitch, we’re Black. We’re Black women in this fucking industry. And you really, really tried to fucking fuck with my fucking money, my opportunity to make money.”
In comments, users agreed that, yes, this was strange behavior, with many speculating on a negative intent on the part of the friend.
“Repeat after me. She [clapping emoji] is [clapping emoji] not [clapping emoji] your [clapping emoji] friend,” one user wrote.
“It’s called ‘I want to see you do good. But not better than me,’” a second alleged. “It’s very ok to be upset and accept those feelings. No need to explain it to her.”
“Girl she was tryna give that job to someone else and you know it,” a third stated.
A further TikToker claimed that the company would not have scheduled the interview if they weren’t ready. “I’m not a hiring manager but I participate in hiring,” they said. “If the HM wasn’t ready they wouldn’t have scheduled the interview.”
In a follow-up, CC addresses some of the questions from the comments on the original video.
@_mylifeascc Replying to @Black Girls Graduate ♬ original sound – cc
In this video, CC elaborates on why her friend thought it was appropriate for her to cancel the interview, though CC notes that the reasoning seemed inadequate, and even if it was, there were better ways to deliver that information.
Commenters agreed.
“Very unprofessional on her part,” a user offered. “Friends or not, when it comes to a job, a referral etc. it’s business. She should’ve treated your candidacy as such.”
Still, many advised CC to simply discuss the issue with her friend.
“Don’t lose your friend over this. She was probably embarrassed and panicked like you said. Find out the reason and communicate your feelings,” a commenter wrote.
According to a comment on another video from CC’s TikTok, it seems CC and her friend have resolved their issues.
“We’re on good terms,” she wrote, “but i’m not going to go for her for anything professional.”
Update Sept. 12, 3:22pm CT: In an Instagram DM exchange with Daily Dot, CC said the company later reached out to her to tell her that they were not going to move forward with the interview process. However, she did note that the company mentioned the possibility of hiring her later as a consultant if she were to ever move to Los Angeles (CC currently runs a consulting company, Sierra’s Career Services & Consulting).
“I feel like the door is open…I feel like the door wouldn’t have been open if I canceled the interview same-day,” she observed.
She then said that she felt her friend was simply stressed about the situation and gave bad advice under pressure.
“If she felt that they weren’t ready to hire or to interview, then she should have went back to them, not put it on me,” CC reiterated.
“I really do feel like it wasn’t malicious,” she continued. “I think she just didn’t know what to do, and because we were friends, that line got kind of blurred between candidate and also, like, consultant, when it just shouldn’t have.”
CC then said that if others find themselves in the recruiter’s position, there are better ways of resolving the issue.
“You can definitely say, like, ‘Hey girl, this is not for you,’ or, like, ‘don’t waste your time, this isn’t worth it,’” she explained. “That was not said to me.”
