"My friend applied for a banking job she was perfect for and was rejected 7 minutes later"

My friend applied for an executive assistant role at an Asset Management firm this morning. She submitted her CV and supporting documents at 09.22.

At 09.29, the reply arrived.

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“After careful consideration, we regret to inform you…

Seven minutes. That was the careful consideration.

She ticked every box. Relevant experience, immediately available, happy with the location. Not a borderline application, exactly what they asked for.

Somewhere between her hitting send and making a cup of tea, an algorithm had already decided. But the company still chose to dress it up in the language of human judgement. Careful consideration. The phrase does real damage when it’s a lie — it doesn’t just reject a candidate, it mocks the effort she put into applying.

This isn’t a one-off. It’s standard practice. Companies automate the door but keep the welcome mat out. And job seekers, already in a vulnerable position, are left wondering what they did wrong. The answer is that they did nothing wrong. It's just that nobody looked.

Seven minutes of careful consideration. Remember that next time you read the small print on your own rejection.

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