diff --git a/internal/kojiapi/server.go b/internal/kojiapi/server.go
index ef330fb48..963b11e7c 100644
--- a/internal/kojiapi/server.go
+++ b/internal/kojiapi/server.go
@@ -230,6 +230,10 @@ func composeStatusFromJobStatus(js *worker.JobStatus, initResult *worker.KojiIni
 		return "failure"
 	}
 
+	if js.Finished.IsZero() {
+		return "pending"
+	}
+
 	if initResult.KojiError != "" {
 		return "failure"
 	}
@@ -243,10 +247,6 @@ func composeStatusFromJobStatus(js *worker.JobStatus, initResult *worker.KojiIni
 		}
 	}
 
-	if js.Finished.IsZero() {
-		return "pending"
-	}
-
 	if result.KojiError == "" {
 		return "success"
 	}