Job applicant calls out startup for ghosting, Company responds with background checks, 'failed as human'

A tech professional’s public outburst over a startup's alleged ghosting quickly backfired after the company’s co-founder hit back with receipts, sparking a fierce debate on hiring ethics and online behaviour.

It began when Ravi Kumar took to X to accuse a startup of ignoring follow-up emails after an interview. Responding to a post by the startup’s co-founder, Pratham Grover, Kumar claimed that candidates weren’t getting proper updates and said, “If you are hiring for your startup and are not replying to applicants' emails, it's a scam alert.”

But the conversation took a sharp turn. Grover replied, revealing that Kumar had not cleared the interview or the background verification. In a blunt post, he wrote, “Hi Ravi, you failed the interview, were flagged during the background verification, and exposed as a misogynist. Also failed as a decent human. No surprises here. Cheers, Recruitment Team.”

Grover attached screenshots of Kumar’s old posts, including one where he dismissed a woman’s concern about internships by telling her to “get married” and “manage a household.” Other tweets included rants about the hiring process and complaints about automated rejections.

The spat triggered strong reactions online. Some users empathised with Kumar’s frustration over the lack of feedback, while others felt Grover’s clapback was justified. “Why was a background check needed for a candidate who failed the interview?” one user asked.

Reflecting a similar emotion, another user said, "idk how I landed here but kinda scary that Twitter screenshots are being pulled for background check. is this standard procedure? what if he meant that one as a joke. the email is bad - 100% agree on that."

Another chimed in, “It’s definitely a smart move to check Twitter profiles. It can reveal so much about a person.”