Job Seeker’s Unhinged Email Subject Line Makes It Almost Impossible For Recruiters To Not Look At His Resume
Cast Of Thousands | Shutterstock A screenshot of one job seeker’s email is going viral for his unconventional approach to making sure the recruiters who receive his emails actually open them.
The job market is pretty tough to navigate right now, so it’s not surprising that some people are willing to go to absolutely any lengths to land a new role. This hopeful job seeker leaned in heavily to shock value, as well as current events that people simply can’t get off their minds, to entice people to open his emails, and the internet doesn’t quite know how to react.
The job seeker alerted email recipients that their name was in the Epstein files in his email subject line.
Complex shared the email that’s spreading like wildfire across the internet in an Instagram post. “I guess this is what it takes to get a job in 2026,” they said in the caption.
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The email featured the subject line, “Your name is in Epstein files.” In the actual message, the job seeker wrote, “Apologies for the subject line. But in a sea of mails, this was the only way to grab your attention.”
In the next paragraph, he continued, “I am looking for a marketing role. My resume is attached. Please let me know if you are hiring.”
Instagram commenters were pretty shocked by this approach to looking for a job. “If this is what it takes to get noticed … we [are] cooked,” one said. Another added, “I respect it! Would’ve gotten me to open it.”
As crazy as this may seem, it’s apparently turned into a bit of a trend.
Writing for NDTV Profit, Khushi Maheshwari explained that this person might not be the only one to use this tactic. Maheshwari referred to this as “a new, rather edgy, bold, and somewhat questionable trend” that is being used “to grab recruiters’ attention.”
Some career experts have also taken note, like resume writer Vik Gambhir, who addressed the move in a LinkedIn post. “If your cold email subject line is ‘Saw your name in the Epstein files’ … You are not in sales,” he argued. “You are in spam.”
While Gambhir called the strategy “manipulation,” others disagreed. HR generalist Amir H. Khan said in a LinkedIn post of his own, “In a world where HRs receive hundreds of emails daily, the real challenge isn’t just qualifications — it’s visibility.”
This is certainly one way to grab attention, but its merits are debatable.
Time Magazine reported that people like Hyatt heir Thomas Pritzker, Goldman Sachs lawyer Kathy Ruemmler, and the New York School of Visual Arts department chair David A. Ross were just a few of the people who felt like they had no choice but to resign from their powerful positions after their names appeared in the Epstein files. If someone accused a notable recruiter of being in the files, it would definitely make them do a double-take, even if they knew it wasn’t true.
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The whole issue does cause quite a debate about what’s considered professional, and even ethical, though. UNC at Charlotte career coach Elona Ellis referred to professionalism as “one of the most critical career readiness competencies.” However, data from the National Association of Colleges and Employers indicated that employers value professionalism very highly (89.4%) but rarely see it (50.3%).
There’s no question that it’s not easy to stand out in today’s job market, but telling someone their name is in the Epstein files is probably not the best way to do so. Not only does it show an extreme lack of professionalism, but it also implies that you don’t think your own accomplishments are enough to get you through the door. That’s not what a recruiter wants to see.
Mary-Faith Martinez is a writer with a bachelor’s degree in English and Journalism who covers news, psychology, lifestyle, and human interest topics.
