"Got Rejected In 3 Minutes": Applicant Says Bot Sent Instant Email

A job applicant in the UK has sparked outrage online after receiving an automated rejection email from National Grid just three minutes after submitting their application.

The candidate, who shared their experience on Reddit, said they spent a significant amount of time tailoring a cover letter for the position.They then received an initial email confirmation from National Grid thanking them for their interest and stating applications would be reviewed within 14 days.

However, just three minutes later, they received a follow-up email informing them their application had been unsuccessful.

The user shared the screenshot of the trail mail with a caption that reads, "Got rejected 3 minutes after applying for a role. I spent a few hours writing a cover letter to be automatically rejected by a bot. I love the current job market in the UK,".

Got rejected 3 mins after applying to a role
byu/ParkingMetre inmildlyinfuriating

The event has brought attention to the increasing reliance on automated screening tools in job hiring. 

The automated response sparked a flurry of reactions from social media users.

"Yeah, I did this on a website for a local mine. I spent 35 minutes signing up and uploading my resume, but the website did something weird, and I had to manually fix it. Then I hit submit, and I instantly got an email saying you were not a good fit. It was a forklift/operator job, and I have 15+ years of experience. I was a little mad," commented a user.

"This is AI (or automated) resume checking at work. They have specific requirements or keywords they are looking for. If the software determines you don't meet it, it automatically junks your app. A human never even looks at it. It's basically this way at all major companies now," wrote another user.

While National Grid declined to comment on the specific case, they confirmed that pre-screening questions are used to shortlist candidates before interviews. The system can automatically reject applicants who answer certain questions negatively.