57-year-old candidate interviews with a recruiter he belittled years ago, now the tables have turned: 'You can show yourself out'

Always be careful who you disrespect! You never know when your actions might come back to haunt you.

The funny thing about working in an insular, tight-knit industry is that the same people will resurface time and time again. When this recruiter had just entered the workforce, she took an interview with an accomplished businessman. It did not go well. In fact, he was abrasive and unnecessarily dismissive of her qualifications and capabilities. It's the kind of unfair treatment that you never forget, the kind of encounter you replay in your head over and over again with the hopes that maybe you will get to prove that person wrong one day.

Well, for the author of this tale, that day came around. Now that she's in a senior recruitment position, she found herself in an interview opposite the same businessman, now 57, only this time, the roles were reversed. He did not recognize her at first, but once he did, he knew his chances were over.

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What's amusing about this story is the interaction these two people had once the 57-year-old interviewee put two and two together and realized who he was talking to. He knew immediately that he wasn't going to get the job, but her response was perfect: terse, direct, and final. After all these years, this dude might have finally learned his lesson.