Workplace Nightmares·
THE PANEL SPLIT
A courthouse IT candidate endures a panel rift when a follow-up is canceled in front of all, leaving them to decide between politeness and taking a stand.
Polite thank-you or sharper reply?
Be one of the first to vote.
A county courthouse interview ended with a cold public note: "Bart is out. Lisa is not the authority on this matter. Cancel the request to Bart and apologize."
The poster had just gone through a panel interview for an IT developer role with four people from the courthouse. One of the panelists couldn't make it to the interview, but the rest of the meeting went ahead. The poster left with the usual uncertainty that follows a panel interview, especially because, by their own read, some people on the panel clearly had reservations.
Then came an email from the missing panelist. A week after the interview, that person reached out to schedule a Zoom meeting to get acquainted. On paper, it looked like a follow-up. Maybe the missed interviewer wanted to catch up, meet the candidate, and continue the process.
Instead, another panelist stepped in fast.
That reply did not stay between the original sender and the poster. It was sent with everyone CC'd, including the candidate. And the message was blunt: "Bart is out. Lisa is not the authority on this matter. Cancel the request to Bart and apologize."
The poster says Lisa had actually seemed to like them during the interview. So seeing another panelist shut down the follow-up in front of the whole group made the situation feel less like a normal hiring update and more like a split inside the team. The poster described it as "the boot," and read the exchange as a sign of "messy internal drama" rather than a clean, coordinated decision.
They were left staring at the same practical question anyone in that position would face: do they send a polite "thanks for the opportunity" and move on, or answer more forcefully after being looped into the team's own disagreement?
The poster also questioned the professionalism of the whole thing. They had already sensed hesitation from some of the interviewers, but the public CC'd cancellation raised a bigger issue: if this was how the team handled a hiring decision, why would they want to work there?
For now, the answer is unresolved. One panelist tried to reopen the conversation. Another slammed it shut in front of everyone. And the candidate is left deciding whether to leave with a simple thank-you, or a sharper reply.