"Is it right to take an opportunity away from some other candidate" - It doesn't sound like that's what happened here. If the current top contender for the position withdraws for some reason, the company can decide to fill that position with one of the other 4 or so qualified candidates.

@Brandin problem is since the result were declared at the end of each day and this being elimination round it's hard to reach out to other candidates who were rejected earlier.

"Though the company selected only one for the final round which was to be a telephonic round interview with the head of HR" - it sounds like HR made a stupid mistake, and are now blaming the candidate.

@Rohan that sounds like a problem with the hiring process, not with the applicant.

@Rohan why is it hard? Presumably they have their contact information. Or is the company just embarrassed?

@MatthewGaiser because it's a campus recruitment process organized by the college. That really doesn't happen a lot.

@Rohan whoever came up with the idea of notifying that the job had been filled before the final interview occurred or before the background checks and verification occurred is the idiot at fault there.

@Rohan can you clarify which of the parties mentioned in the question is you? And what you mean by "is it ethical?" Based on the way the question is worded and the things you're saying in comments, it comes off as if you're fishing for a specific answer but not getting it. If you can explain your place in this situation, and describe what your goal or objective is, we may be able to give you a practical answer, rather than speculating on what we think is or is not "ethical" versus what you consider ethical.

@dwizum I am the candidate who backed out of the process. I was told by the officer at college that I brought bad name to the college by doing so. I am not sure what wrong did I do. That's why I am asking question as a third person.

Keep in mind that people will often make generalized statements based on their own personal perspective. The hiring manager may have felt upset about what happened, and he was trying to project that blame on someone. You were an easy target. Forget about his comment, except to learn from it - when you're entering into interviews, make sure you're being honest with both the interviewers, and yourself. And if you really don't like an opportunity, don't be afraid to back out!

Although at first sight it looks like a general question, from comments it has become clear that it is really about a particular college's rather weird and counter-productive policies. That is equivalent to a question about a particular employer's policies, and I am voting to close on that basis.

This begs the question whether it is ethical on the part of the company to not hire all 13 candidates instead of just one? Is it right to take an opportunity away from other job candidates who may be in need for a job?

@Stupid_Intern You're guilty of exposing the absurdity of their bureaucratic hiring process. Whittling it down to a single candidate, who's not yet hired but has to "pass" an extra interview... and having other qualified candidates who somehow can't be brought back into the process? Sounds like a joke to me.

A question that reverses the roles: is it ethical for a company not to hire a person who failed the final round? Of course it is.

Is it ethical for the company to waste the time of 14 candidates through multiple interviews, and only hire 1? Oh, but if 1 out of 14 decide that company isn't their best option, it's almost treated like a crime.

The candidate is quite right about the interview process being a two-way exchange. Sounds like your organisation failed to convince them.

I think you should make this more prominent that it is in India and hope you get some more specific feedback, since so far you only have one answer addressing that...I would say that while it is ethical, it may be culturally non-acceptable in certain cultures (or you might need to follow a different cultural formula to make it acceptable).

I don't get it. Did the candidate back out before, during, or after the final interview? If 4 candidates were eliminated then what is the purpose of the final interview? Shouldn't the remaining candidate have received a job offer? What if there was no backing out and the candidate simply did terrible on the interview; would they still be offered a job? This sounds like some terrible interview process as a result of design-by-committee. Can people be legally required to take a job in your country? If they are trying to guilt you into taking the job then that is not a place I would want to work.

@Stupid_Intern: Looking at other things you've posted, it seems like you have a habit of posting questions about you in the 3rd person as if it's someone else. This is confusing to readers and you're getting answers orthogonal to the actual situation (and in this case, having the question closed). Recommend that you stop doing that and just express your actual question in the 1st-person when that's the case. Make your role in the question very clear.

Let me share my own experience for contrast (I'm in Mexico). Some years ago I was hiring an analyst. I interviewed some candidates and decided to offer the position to a young man who, on the first day of work, after signing his contract, got a call from another company and changed his mind: "I'd really like to work for B than working here", he said... I told him to think carefully, since he had just signed to work with us... I the end, he resigned that same day, and left me without backup ,so I had to restart the I recruitment process. I'd have liked him to change his mind before hiring him.

On The Bachelor, is it ethical for a woman to get to the end of the show, get the final rose, and then turn down a marriage proposal from the Bachelor?

The question text states the candidate gave reason X for withdrawing, then says in the next sentence he gave no reason. And then in the next paragraph says he withdrew for a different reason. I think some thoughtful (and hopefully honest) editing is in order.

obligatory: that's not what "begs the question" mean

> Is it right to take an opportunity away from some other candidate who may be in need for a job? What? If the candidate who quit had not been there in the first place, would they have admitted that runner-up into the final round? If so, why don't they call him or her.

Do you want someone to hand in his two-week notice on the first day?

@Stupid_Intern "he also said that the interview is a two way process and hence he wants to withdraw his candidature without explaining further as to why" Yeah, so what? Didn't the company discard the other candidates for less? They're being hypocrites. And BTW, you are right about it being a 2-way street. If you don't like what you see when interviewing them, then you discard them and move on. IANAL, but if they go around badmouthing you for it, a polite warning to them that they could get in trouble for slander (or libel, if in writing) may get them to bite their tongues real quick.

gave satisfactory answer when asked why he wants to work for a market research firm Of course the candidate answered yes to that question. A no would be killing any chance of proceeding. It seems obvious the question sparked some afterthoughts with the candidate though, resulting in backing out. As stated, interviews are two-way, so I see no problem with that at all.