# Three Rounds, a Written Assignment, Three References — Undone by a Stranger’s Bad Word

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

The process had gone about as well as a process can. Three rounds across two weeks, plus a written assignment. By the end the recruiter was talking start dates — practically at the doorstep. The last thing needed was three references; the candidate supplied them and then heard nothing for a week. They suspected the references had never been called at all.

When they connected with the recruiter to ask why, they got an answer they had not prepared for. The hiring manager had reached out to someone in her own network — at a company the candidate had worked for two jobs ago — and been told not to hire them, that they would not hire them again. The candidate was floored. They had left that company in 2024, on what they understood to be good terms, and had no idea who in it would say that. Their VP there had been a reference before.

They emailed the hiring manager to ask for more detail, or at least the chance to explain. They did not expect it to change anything. Three rounds, a written assignment, three references — undone by a conversation the candidate was not in the room for, and a voice they could not name.

*Source: [r/recruitinghell · viral post](https://www.reddit.com/r/recruitinghell/comments/1x09xl7/lost_an_offer_due_to_a_network_referral_telling/)*
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