IITian Founder's Response To Last-Minute Job Rejection: "Reflects Poorly..."
A debate has erupted on social media after Srijan R. Shetty, co-founder of fintech firm Fuze Finance and IIT alumnus, shared a screenshot of an email exchange with a job candidate. The candidate had accepted a job offer at Fuze Finance but backed out just two days before joining, citing a "better offer" elsewhere. Mr Shetty took to X to share his response to the candidate's sudden withdrawal, sparking intense conversation online. His post has gone viral, with many discussing the implications of last-minute job offer rejections.
In his email to the engineer, Mr Shetty acknowledged the candidate's reasons for withdrawing from the job offer. While recognising individuals' freedom to make choices that align with their goals, Mr Shetty emphasised the importance of honesty and clarity during professional transitions. He chose to share the incident publicly, believing it conveyed valuable lessons on transparency and professional conduct.
"One of the engineers who was due to join today sent a message over the weekend that they won't join. It has happened very rarely, and I felt a bit let down. I sent them the following message. I believe that everyone should optimise for themselves, but being honest about what they are seeking in life is important. I was divided about sharing this here, but I think this is good advice. Always communicate openly about your actions, as it's better for you in the long term," he wrote on X, along with a screenshot of his reply.
See the post here:
In his response, Mr Shetty assured the engineer that his workplace is flexible and that they could have found a solution if he had approached them instead of outright refusing to join. He expressed that the reasons provided for backing out seemed questionable. The founder acknowledged the job-seeker's right to explore better offers in the market but pointed out that his startup would have been open to negotiations if the engineer had discussed the new offer with them.
Mr Shetty concluded his email by emphasising that withdrawing from a commitment just before the joining date can harm one's professional reputation. He expressed his hope that the individual would adopt a more open and communicative approach in similar situations in the future, avoiding last-minute withdrawals that can negatively impact their professional image.
"The action of rejecting an offer a day before joining reflects very poorly on the person partaking in the action. I hope you do not do the same with any other company and choose to prefer open communication instead," he said.
The post sparked a mixed reaction on X, with some users supporting Mr Shetty's stance on transparency and others empathising with the candidate. Some noted that openly discussing other job opportunities can be challenging in professional settings, as it may jeopardise a job offer.
One user said, "I understand and kind of agree to what you proposed, but as a candidate, it's pretty difficult to do open conversation."
Another commented, "For whatever reasons, candidate doesn't want to join your company. The interactions so far + their collective experience so far prevents them from being candid with you. Do you want them to join you despite not feeling good about it? Bad idea."
A third said, "I think everyone that's arguing against this is missing a critical piece of information. As far as I understand this person accepted your offer and decided to bail one day before. Everyone shops for offers. That is perfectly fine to do. But if this was me once I've agreed to an offer there's no way I'm shopping around for an alternate offer. I would ideally have just asked for more time to say YES. Worst case if there was an alternate company I'd rather join I would at least have an honest conversation. Nobody wants someone on their team that isn't fully committed or interested so you or any other founder for that matter would prefer a clean exit vs a messy one. Communicate lads."
According to his LinkedIn profile, Shetty is an alumnus of IIT Kanpur.
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