Interviewing at a company where I rejected their offer previously but they do not recognise me, should I tell them?

Question

I was looking for a new job two years ago and applied to many, two companies that fit my search criteria back then, were going with the interview process relatively at the same time. I did very well in the process and received an offer from one with a few-hour deadline. I explained that I am waiting on another company that would be paying much more (Maybe I should not have said that!) and asked if they can extend the deadline. They said "no but let us know what happens".

As for the 2nd company, they sent me an email about moving on with someone else around a week later, so I informed the first company about the update and that I am in, but they never replied to my email, so I took it as offer is lost. And then COVID hit.

Today, I was contacted by the same recruiter from the first company via LinkedIn after I set it to "Open To New Jobs), and I showed them interest, so we scheduled a phone call which went just like any normal first-time phone interview and ended up with scheduling an interview with managers/team.

I am positive that the recruiter did not recognize me. Should I tell them?

Answer 1

I assume this is for the same role, or a similar-enough one, but perhaps with a different team. You tell the recruiter everything for two reasons:

1. They will likely figure this out anyway in the process, so you have no risk.
2. Telling them speeds up the process. They may go through their old notes and move you up or out of the candidate list. Having already been extended an offer is beneficial to you.

But, as gnasher729 said, it's a red flag to force you to sign so fast. I'll add another one: ignoring your email following up.