This Is Why No One Likes Nepo Babies

Several years ago, I applied for a receptionist role at the company my aunt worked for. She had been there for several years as a secretary. My aunt told me about the opening and how I was a great match for it. I had several years of experience in reception roles.

I did ask my aunt if she could pull a few strings so I could get the job. She said no; however, she felt that my skills, experience, and personality were more than enough to land me the job without her help. She also said that she wanted me to get this on my own accord. Now, if she was asked about me, she would gladly give me a good recommendation.

[Aunt] told me that I would be interviewing with a panel that consisted of her boss, the assistant boss, a couple of other people in the office, and a boss from another one of their offices in a nearby city. Normally, [Aunt] would be on the panel but declined due to knowing one of the applicants — me.

I went in and had the interview, and it went very well. I felt like I had a chance of getting hired. One of the interviewers asked me if I was [Aunt]’s niece, and I said yes. He smiled really big and said everyone really liked [Aunt].

About a week later, [Aunt] called and told me that I wouldn’t be getting the job. I asked why.

Aunt: “Today I found out something when I went to lunch with [Coworker]. One of the ladies let it slip that she was tired of doing all these interviews because the candidate was pre-selected before the interview process ever began. The candidate would be the last one to come in to ‘interview’ even though she already had the job.”

It turned out that the candidate selected was the best friend of the boss from another office who was on the interview panel.

Aunt: “My duty was to look over every candidate’s score sheets from the interviews and file them. Out of twenty people who were interviewed, you had the third-highest score. The candidate that was selected had a ‘perfect score’. The top score. No one in that office who has been interviewed has ever had a perfect score before — 100 out of 100. Which is impossible.”

She told me she had scored a 94 and gotten the job. She also said she’d looked over my answers and the pre-selected candidate’s answers, and mine were much better.

[Aunt] was very upset when she heard about this. Some people drove from two or three hours away for nothing, and she thought about canceling the interviews for the rest so they wouldn’t waste their time or gas, but she was told not to.

The pre-selected candidate had no experience whatsoever in a receptionist role.

A few weeks later, [Aunt] told me that this new hire was terrible. On her first day, she managed to make enemies with nearly everyone at the office. She was rude and condescending. Customers complained about her, but nothing was done.

[New Hire] was out more than she was at work, and other people would pick up her slack. When she did come to work, she was late every day, anywhere from one to three hours.

Despite all the complaints, she never got fired. They kept her around for at least three years. Then, she quit.

[Aunt] retired a few years later and told me that that was the first and last time the office did the whole “preselected a candidate” thing.