# He Resigned, Withdrew Another Offer, Then Lost the Job to a Reference Gap

**[TRUE STORY]** — by Candidate · via r/recruitinghell

The offer arrived in July, while he was still employed. He accepted. Background checks began — criminal record, references, the usual. A start date was set for the first week of September, so he handed in his month’s notice in August.

Then the start date moved to mid-October, so all the trainees could begin together. He was happy to wait. He had already withdrawn from another job for this one.

By then he had left his previous role at the end of August. His old employer’s reference, unknown to him, gave his leaving date as the end of September. The new employer chased the reference into late September.

Then came the request for a gap reference — a friend or neighbour to cover the period between jobs. He provided one, and the referee responded.

This week, days before his start date, the company withdrew the application. The reason given was the employment gap. He had resigned, declined another offer, and waited four months for a role that ended because its own paperwork had moved his dates. The role is at an airport and the company says it is security-sensitive; the head of recruitment has already said no.

*Source: [r/recruitinghell · viral post](https://www.reddit.com/r/recruitinghell/comments/1x97tq0/conditional_offer_rescinded/)*
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