Sometimes, all it takes is a happy accident to be offered your dream job.
Anyone who has been searching for a job for any length of time will tell you how frustrating it can be to send your CV off to countless companies in the hopes of landing an interview. The application process is usually fairly long and complicated, and if you need to send a cover letter with your CV then you also need to make sure it’s updated for every job you apply to.
But simply applying for a job is only half the battle. You then have to wait weeks for the employer to get back to you and hopefully offer you an interview or gently let you down and say you’ve not been successful this time – if they even contact you at all.
One woman, however, was left baffled when an email from a potential employer landed in her inbox, as it wasn’t at all what she expected. Shannon Brooke said in a TikTok video that she had been applying for jobs recently, and a few days after sending her CV and cover letter to one particular employer, she got a strange email back.
An employee at the company had been attempting to forward Shannon’s details to another colleague to discuss whether or not to offer her an interview – but they’d accidentally sent the email directly to Shannon instead.
The email Shannon received read: “Her experience is largely assessment-based. It’s three years ago that she did her master’s, then worked in a coffee shop afterwards. I put her in my maybe pile.”
Shannon decided to reply to the email to address the awkward fumble, and chose to play along as if she was supposed to have received the information. She said: “Yeah, I get that, but she’s got a history of good rapport-building with young people, plus she managed a team. I put her in my yes pile.”
She then got another reply back from the employee, who laughed off the blunder and told her she was now in the “very probably pile” that would almost definitely be getting called in for an interview thanks to her quick wit.
However, Shannon has claimed she isn’t sure she wants to attend the interview for one reason – the person who emailed her never apologised for sending the email in the first place, which she deemed unprofessional.
And not only was the email from an employee of the company, but Shannon’s research told her that it was the CEO herself who had sent the message.
She said: “She never apologised, which I think is weird. I look it up because she put her name at the end of the email, and she is the CEO of the company. The CEO.
“Now, they’ve offered me an interview, and I don’t know if it’s just my pride, but I don’t know if I want to work for someone [who doesn’t apologise]. Maybe I’m reading too much into it.”
Commenters on the post mostly agreed that Shannon should still attend the interview. Many said that the CEO didn’t need to apologise because she hadn’t said anything negative, while others said that at the very least, the accidental email had provided “really good feedback” on Shannon’s CV.
One person said: “But what do you mean? ‘Maybe’ piles are a common technique to sift through applications, and any of us could end up there. Sure, she should have been more careful not to send that email to you, but I would have let them know of their mistake and taken the opportunity to argue my case as to why I could show them I was right for the job.”
Another added: “You responded in a jokey manner (which I respect a lot!) and she replied acknowledging her mistake but also keeping the joke going.”
