One interview, zero interest — then the recruiter got hostile

An engineer, happily employed, agreed to a single virtual interview for a role closer to home. The conversation with the engineering manager went fine. The candidate told the recruiter upfront they were happy in their current job and just testing the waters. Thirty minutes after the interview concluded, HR followed up — and when the candidate indicated they were stepping back from the process, the recruiter's reply crossed a line. Rather than a polite thank-you, the candidate received what they described as a rude, unprofessional message, turning what had been a perfectly civil exchange into another data point for the growing file on how some recruiters handle rejection.