A CEO accidentally emailed a job applicant his private thoughts on her resume. Her reply was perfect.

For any job seeker, seeing what a hiring manager really thinks about your resume is the stuff of nightmares. But for 27-year-old Shannon Brooke of Scotland, it became the perfect opportunity to prove her worth.

In a viral story from May 2024, Brooke shared on TikTok that after applying for a job, she was accidentally copied on an internal email from the company's CEO. The email contained his candid assessment of her career path.

"It's three years ago that she did the Master's, then worked in a coffee shop after. I put her in my maybe pile," Brooke read from the message.

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Instead of panicking or getting angry, Brooke decided to reply with a mix of humor and confidence, advocating for herself in the third person.

“I replied, ‘I get that, but she's got a history of good rapport building with young people, plus she managed a team and blah, blah. At the end, I put her in my yes pile,’” she explained, admitting it was her third draft after the first two were "quite rude."

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Her boldness worked. The CEO responded, clearly amused: “Haha, you are now in my very probably pile … email sent in error. I'll get back to you.” Soon after, she was invited for an interview.

In an interview with Newsweek, Brooke explained that the CEO’s assessment missed crucial context. "I worked in this field before my master's, managed a cafe while traveling, then returned to the industry," she said. The accidental email, she realized, was a gift. "In a way, I'd been given the perfect opportunity to communicate all this, which wouldn't have happened if I hadn't received that email, so I knew I had to reply."

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Her story was applauded on TikTok, where users praised her quick thinking. User @breskva99 commented, "I have a feeling the CEO enjoyed your approach. Too often, everyone around a CEO is a ‘yes man,’ and you've just shown that you're more than capable of handling your own, as well as being funny with it."

Brooke’s story is a masterclass in turning a potentially mortifying situation into a chance to shine, proving that sometimes, the best way to get out of the "maybe pile" is to put yourself in the "yes pile."

This story originally appeared earlier this year.