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Woman shares her response to random call asking for job reference for a stranger

‘You show up on time. You are the hardest worker I’ve ever met,’ she said about stranger

Brittany Miller
New York
Friday 11 August 2023 16:48 BST
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Strangers gather to flip car

Some people can pay it forward when sitting in line at a drive-thru and others can do so when asked to give a job reference to a complete stranger.

Emily, who goes by the username @spamhahee on TikTok, shared the story with her followers of the moment someone listed her phone number as a job reference on accident. “Somebody named Caitlin listed me a job reference on their resume and said that my name was Katie,” the video began.

In the video, she said that she had been receiving phone calls the entire morning asking for references for a person named Caitlin, but that she had no idea who this person was. Instead of explaining the mistake to the people on the other side of the phone, Emily wanted to let her know that she “vouched for her”.

“I have come through,” she let Caitlin know. “You show up on time. You are the hardest worker I’ve ever met,” Emily said.

Emily revealed she’d also painted Caitlin as a heroic person, continuing: “You saved my son when he almost drowned. You gave him CPR.” Emily then expressed her confidence that Caitlin would get the jobs based on the glowing recommendation she’d provided her. “If you don’t get any of the jobs that I have been receiving calls about this morning, then I will eat my shorts,” she said.

Viewers have since taken to the comments section to continue the bit, with strangers also offering praise for the anonymous Caitlin. “Caitlin also trained me at my job. super helpful, clear instructions, great taker on feedback and criticism. Won’t find someone like her anywhere else,” one commenter wrote. “Oh yeah Caitlin also saved both of my cats fireman style from a redwood tree. They were at the very top,” a second viewer said of her heroics.

“Omg I remember Caitlin!” a third commenter continued the positive recommendations. “She is such a team player and outstanding leader, she picked up my shifts when I had to leave town for a funeral. Love her.”

The video has since gained more than 12 million views since first being posted yesterday. Because of that, Emily was able to find the real Caitlin who emailed her and thanked her for the recommendation. Emily shared a screenshot of the email. “Hey! This might sound CRAZY lol but I saw your TikTok about the job reference thing and I’m pretty sure that I might’ve written the other girl’s number down wrong because the girl I wrote down is named Katie,” the email began.

“And I saw your comment about saying the number was from Lane County. Sorry for the inconvenience but thank you for vouching for me. That’s hilarious.” The email did not reveal whether or not she actually got the job, however, Emily said she would post another update if she finds out.

Still, commenters were pleased to get closure on the two finding each other. “I literally JUST watched the first video. Loving this closure for us,” one person commented. “IT IS SOLVED,” another agreed.

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