Not all heroes wear capes. Sometimes, heroes are random strangers willing to go to bat for someone they’ve never met.
This is what happened to Emily, a TikTok user who says that she was accidentally listed as a job reference for Caitlin, a person she doesn’t know. Instead of explaining the error and going about her life, Emily vouched for this stranger by delivering a glowing recommendation.
Emily, who goes by @spamhahee on TikTok, posted her experience in a video. By Thursday, the video had amassed over 2.5 million views.
@spamhahee ♬ original sound – emilys secret account
“Somebody named Caitlin listed me as a job reference on their resume and said that my name was Katie,” Emily begins. (The Daily Dot reached out to Caitlin via TikTok comment.)
She assumed that they just put the wrong number down, but instead of explaining the error to the multiple callers she received, Emily decided to wing it and come through for Caitlin.
“Caitlin, I just need you to know that I have vouched for you. I have come through,” she says before listing off some of the glowing things she made up about Caitlin’s work ethic. “You show up on time, you are the hardest worker I’ve ever met,” she says.
Some of the anecdotes painted Caitlin as a hero. “You saved my son when he almost drowned, you gave him CPR,” she tells the potential employer.
By the end of the video, Emily was so confident that Caitlin would land the job based on the glowing things she said.
“If you don’t get any of the jobs that I have been receiving calls about this morning, then I will eat my shorts,” she says.
In the comments, viewers sarcastically kept the praise going about Caitlin. “Oh yeah Caitlin also saved both of my cats fireman style from a redwood tree,” user @macy wrote. “They were at the very top.”
“Caitlin also trained me at my job. super helpful, clear instructions, great taker on feedback and criticism. won’t find someone like her anywhere else,” another user commented.
Some of these stories were a bit more far-fetched than others.
“When the local orphanage got attacked by giant termites, I saw Caitlin personally carry all 37 children to safety & then rebuilt the orphanage by hand,” user @silverstrad1995 wrote.
“One time Caitlin got into a car wreck and broke both her arms,and one leg- she walked the rest of the way to work and was still on time,” another commented.
According to some users, Caitlin’s abilities exceed the realm of possibility. “Caitlin went up to the heavens for me to get my goldfish back after he drowned,” this person wrote.
Since Caitlin accidentally wrote down the wrong number for her reference, some poked fun at her clear lack of attention to detail.
“Caitlin’s attention to details will never cease to amaze,” a woman wrote.
Anyone who has gone through the process of waiting for a potential employer to hear back from references knows how excruciating it can be. So Emily was also praised for her random act of do-gooding. “Honestly, you’re the real MVP,” one wrote. “This is so heartwarming,” antoher wrote.
While it’s not confirmed yet whether Caitlin and Emily have found each other, there was a promising lead in the comment.
“….My name is Caitlin and one of my references is a Katie oh my god,” user @kitttycatcait wrote.