A job seeker was left horrified after mistakenly sending over his STD test results instead of a professional cover letter while applying for his 'dream' role.
Unsurprisingly the mix-up led to a prompt rejection from the company.
Jacques Paul claims to have spent hours carefully completing an application form for a digital marketing position at one of the 'big four' consulting firms, making sure to proofread it for any spelling errors.
Sadly, his diligent efforts were to be in vain.
No sooner had the 27-year-old sent off his application, it dawned on him that he had sent his STD results over to his prospective employer, leaving him understandably "freaked out".
Get the news you want straight to your inbox. Sign up for a Mirror newsletter here.
Beginning to panic, Jacques Paul realised he wouldn't be able to retract the very personal info without withdrawing his application, meaning he would have to explain his embarrassing mishap to the recruiter.
He believes the employer will simply have assumed that he was deliberately submitting results as a way of showing "here's another good thing about me - I don't have any STDs".
Thankfully, Jacques, from Haringey, London, has since found another job and has now shared his facepalm-worthy story as a way of 'de-stigmatising mistakes', with the additional hope of addressing the stigma surrounding sexual health.
Jacques said: "It was horrible at the time but it's a funny story now. I was applying for this job while listening to music, checking the news, I was looking at covid rates, and doing something else on the side - I was multi-tasking.
"I'd just got my PDF [of my STD test results] downloaded and I was all negative thankfully. But then I accidentally attached it to the job application and sent it in.
"I thought 'okay, I'm good. This is a dream job, I'd really like to work here'. It was one of the big four consulting firms, it was [for] digital marketing.
"You get an email confirmation of your application and it said to log in to see the status, which I did. I wanted to make sure everything was okay. Then I saw the PDF of the STD results and freaked out".
He continued: "I freaked out and just waited hoping there was a very nice, sensible human on the other side seeing it and knowing it was an honest mistake and they'd reach out for the actual cover letter.
"But that obviously did not happen. Within 72 hours I got a standard message saying they weren't proceeding with the application. I figured I could follow up and ask for feedback, but I think I knew what it was".
Jacques' video has since clocked up more than 1.1 million views and 101,200 likes on TikTok, and he hopes that sharing his "honest mistake" will calm other people's nerves when it comes to CV clangers.
One user commented: "Omg this makes me so much better about starting mine with a typo. Thank you, you’re doing God’s work."
While another wrote: "Haha I would simply need to move to another country".
Do you have a job application nightmare to share? We pay for stories. Email us at julia.banim@reachplc.com
