NEW DELHI: An American senior living company has extended an apology following an incident where a job applicant received what they termed as the “rudest rejection email” which had a one-word response “Declined”.
The recruiter, Eskaton, headquartered in Sacramento, California, attributed the one-word response to a glitch in their online recruitment software, as disclosed in a Reddit post.
“In all my years, I’ve never seen a rejection letter. I don’t even know what to call this. Uncourteous? Rude? Unprofessional?,” a user remarked in the Jobs subreddit community.
The now-removed post prompted backlash against Eskaton for automating such a pivotal aspect of the hiring process. Despite the sender’s email address being partially obscured in the screenshot, the domain name enabled identification of the employer, compelling them to issue an apology.
“Apparently my original post made so many waves that it reached the company, and I got sent this earlier today,” the applicant said, sharing an email sent by the company after backlash which read: “We recently learned of a system malfunction with our online recruitment software where it automatically sent out replies to applicants for some openings with the single word ‘decline.’ We are very sorry this error occurred, as it does not represent who we are or how we treat people. All applicants should be treated respectfully throughout the recruitment process, which includes receiving an appropriate, polite response with the outcome. We sincerely apologise for this mistake and believe we have found the source of the problem so this does not happen again.”
The user disclosed receiving screenshots from other individuals who had received the same email, expressing gratitude for bringing the issue to Eskaton’s attention and holding them accountable. They also acknowledged that while a single-worded email conveying “decline” was relatively acceptable, it paled in comparison to other harsh forms of rejection, such as ghosting.
The recruiter, Eskaton, headquartered in Sacramento, California, attributed the one-word response to a glitch in their online recruitment software, as disclosed in a Reddit post.
“In all my years, I’ve never seen a rejection letter. I don’t even know what to call this. Uncourteous? Rude? Unprofessional?,” a user remarked in the Jobs subreddit community.
The now-removed post prompted backlash against Eskaton for automating such a pivotal aspect of the hiring process. Despite the sender’s email address being partially obscured in the screenshot, the domain name enabled identification of the employer, compelling them to issue an apology.
“Apparently my original post made so many waves that it reached the company, and I got sent this earlier today,” the applicant said, sharing an email sent by the company after backlash which read: “We recently learned of a system malfunction with our online recruitment software where it automatically sent out replies to applicants for some openings with the single word ‘decline.’ We are very sorry this error occurred, as it does not represent who we are or how we treat people. All applicants should be treated respectfully throughout the recruitment process, which includes receiving an appropriate, polite response with the outcome. We sincerely apologise for this mistake and believe we have found the source of the problem so this does not happen again.”
The user disclosed receiving screenshots from other individuals who had received the same email, expressing gratitude for bringing the issue to Eskaton’s attention and holding them accountable. They also acknowledged that while a single-worded email conveying “decline” was relatively acceptable, it paled in comparison to other harsh forms of rejection, such as ghosting.
