The departing employee conducted interviews and selected a candidate who could potentially succeed him in the job.
“My colleague had already put in his papers. So he did exactly that. He interviewed candidates. Selected one. And helped hire his own replacement,” Srivastava wrote. The new hire spent the first day learning workflow, organisation structures, stakeholders, workload, deadlines, and policies, all taught to him by the colleague looking to say goodbye. “On the new hire’s first day, he spent hours explaining it. What the job actually looked like once the polished interview version was over. He didn’t exaggerate anything. However, the sudden dumping of responsibilities seemingly spooked the new hire, who figured he was lied to during the hiring process. “By evening, the new hire walked back to the manager and resigned. Six hours. The manager was furious. He called my colleague and asked, “What did you tell him? The manager couldn’t understand why someone would leave after seeing the reality of the role,” Srivastava added. Srivastava managed to unravel the mystery While the manager and the employee could not understand why the new hire quit. As per him, the company’s initial demands from the new hire were completely different from what the work entailed.
His manager told him: bring your replacement, get them up to speed quickly, and we’ll relieve you early. He told the truth,” said Srivastava. He said, “Everything you asked me to teach him.
As the post gained traction, social media users highlighted that transparency during the hiring stage could have helped avoid the situation. “This is such a powerful reminder of why transparency matters in hiring. Because there was no one left to handle the workload, he added that the company later asked the departing employee to stay longer.
Srivastava added that he had seen some job descriptions that would not withstand “one honest afternoon” of scrutiny. A polished interview can attract a candidate, but the reality of the role is what makes them stay,” said one user, while another added: “The most expensive lie in hiring is promising a job that does not actually exist. A third commented: “Interviewers being on their best behavior for the interview and outright lying to candidates makes all the perky “Ask questions about the company culture!” career advice useless. A fourth said: “The real process failure happens when the job description ends at hiring and the employee discovers the actual workflow only after joining.”
