Everyone knows someone who they once thought was a good person but later was discovered to be a horrible human being.

What would you do if the person like this in your life wound up being interviewed by you for a job they really wanted?

That is what happened to the woman in this story, so she took full advantage of the situation to get justice.

Let’s see how the story plays out.

Satisfying selection panel

I was living in a share house with a couple of others, one of whom, Mary, seemed great at first.

After a while, it became clear that she was not as charming as she appeared.

She had a little dog I adored, but whom she neglected, to the point that when the dog was injured, Mary left the plaster rotting on the dog’s leg until I ended up taking her to the vet.

She did the unthinkable.

In the end Mary left in the middle of the night, owing six weeks rent and abandoning her dog.

I was more than happy to adopt my little girl and she became one of my dearest pets, but it was still an unconscionable thing to do.

About a week later a distraught man turned up at our front door.

He was an employee at a local travel agency, and somehow Mary had conned him into paying for a holiday in advance – and now, of course, she had disappeared.

He was in a bad situation.

The man was left in real financial and career trouble.

We sympathised but couldn’t help. We had no idea where she’d gone.

I can still remember him crying on our porch.

This was a surprise.

So here’s the revenge.

The Public Service required an independent (someone from another department) and a female on selection panels, and I was often called upon to be that person.

About eight months after all this happened I was asked to be on a selection panel for a despatcher’s job at the local police station.

I was told there was someone already in the job that was terrific and they weren’t looking for anyone else, just going through due process.

Oh, I think I know who it will be.

You’ve already guessed – the incumbent was Mary.

I said nothing at the initial meeting, but went home and rang the Public Service Board.

I explained the situation, that I had information about an applicant and asked if I should recuse myself.

Their response was no, that everyone knew everyone in the PS and if they had a rule like that they’d stymie every promotion process.

Right.

Great job exposing this person.

So, come the day of the interview, I said, “Before we start, there’s something you should know.”

I told the panel about the rent, the fraud, and the fact that she had lied on her application (I knew why she had left her last job, and it was definitely not ‘allergies’).

They were shocked.

They were unanimous that someone in such a crucial role as police despatcher must have high ethical standards and integrity.

Mary looked confident at first.

I’ll never forget the way she entered the room, very confident of the job and their liking for her.

She greeted the panel down the line – and then came to me.

She stopped dead, her face frozen.

She instantly knew she wasn’t getting that job.

I said, cheerily, “Hello, Mary, good to see you again.”

She sat down and couldn’t look at me.

My fellow panellists struggled to get any kind of coherent answer out of her.

It was probably petty of me to make a particular point to ask her about her previous employment.

“Could you expand on this? You have stated you left because of an allergic reaction to the paint used in the office. Would we hear something similar if we contacted them?”

She didn’t get the job, if course.

They definitely dodged a bullet here.

The panel was grateful, they felt they’d dodged a bullet.

Ever since, I have made it my own ethical yardstick to never seek revenge and play by the rules if the opportunity comes by.

It makes it all the sweeter.

She deserved way more than just missing out on a job, but it is a good start.

Read on to see what the people in the comments on Reddit have to say about this story.

This was a great story.

It just doesn’t make sense.

Some people are oblivious.

She should definitely do this.

Well done.

At least she got a small taste of the karma she deserved.

If you liked this post, check out this story about an employee who got revenge on a co-worker who kept grading their work suspiciously low.