Rejected by a company that then used my resume to rewrite their job description

I applied for a role that felt like a perfect match for my background, but I didn’t get past the first interview. It was a bummer, but I moved on. Two weeks later, the same job pops up in my search, and out of curiosity, I checked it out. I found that the requirements and skills had been strangely updated—it now mirrors my resume exactly! The new description lists the specific major clients I’ve worked with as examples. In the skills section, where there were previously no software requirements, they’ve added the exact tools I use. They even added the cross-matrix management experience I have. I’m not sure how to feel. Has this ever happened to you?

50 Likes

Submit your application again, since you’re now the perfect fit.

Contact the recruiter and ask why they’re using you for market research when they clearly want to hire someone with your exact profile.

I once had a firm use my own documentation to train their team instead of hiring me to lead the training. The people at the top just want cheap labor to do the heavy lifting so they can take the credit. Tesla changed the world of electricity and died with nothing to his name.

Could it be some kind of scam?

You should call the recruiter and ask what time you start! Based on the resume you already gave them, you’re obviously the one for the job. :joy: I’ve been using Finnesa to stay on top of my applications, but I’ve never seen a company copy a candidate’s background like that.

I’ve never had that happen, but that’s awful. The lack of ethics in business these days is just incredible.

A company did something similar to me. A recruiter reached out, I went through the whole process, and they told him I was the exact prototype for what they needed nationwide. The recruiter even showed me the message where the manager said he’d give out bonuses for 12 more hires just like me. Then they ghosted me for two months. I only got hired because the guy they originally picked turned out to be a diva during benefit negotiations. When I finally felt comfortable enough to ask about the delay, the hiring manager told me they ‘liked the product but didn’t want the showroom model.’ I didn’t even know how to process that. I ended up liking the job, but I was laid off a few years later to fund some executive’s marketing scheme that wiped out 20% of the company’s value in a few months.