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So, I had two interesting job interviews last week and got the test results from both on Monday.
Both jobs were equivalent - kind of midrange for my overall experience etc. but in the center of what I'm looking for these days. I had not only overwhelming qualifications for each position, but a solid adjunct background in both fields - hands-on, applied experience in the core focus of each company. By any reasonable assessment, I aced both interviews.
The interview for Job 1 was by an HR person somewhere under 35. She alternated between actual job questions and those that came close to "if you were a tree" types. When we discussed the actual department and job, it turned out I'd be joining a team with Melissa the web developer and Kristal the marketing manager. When I got back to the car, I all but looked at my watch, waiting for the polite decline because there was no way Grampaw Q was going to be the choice of the all-girl squad. Despite assurances that interviews were stretched out over next (this) week and would include two or three sessions, I bet myself one wooden nickel I would get a polite decline within one business day.
It actually took about six business hours.
That's pretty much a thumbnail of my job seeking efforts that actually reach a physical interview.
But then there was Job 2. The interview was by the head of Marketing, a woman in her early 40s. We covered a lot of ground, including my stints with two similar (and similarly rather old-school) companies in about the era when this one was founded, and my experience that matched just about everything they could want to add to the department, and so forth. She was pretty sure she would call me for a next-level interview this week.
But when the call came on Monday, it was actually a long chat about why she wasn't going to include me on the next round - basically the old overqualified/you'd get bored argument. But in this case, she was absolutely right - it was a narrowly-defined position without a lot of immediate room for growth. She was not dismissing me based on a long resume; she had clearly thought it through and made good points based on very specific things we'd discussed. (And was going to farm her contacts for a better fit among their partner and collateral companies, no promises.)
Which is exactly how it was the last few times I did a serious job search - rarely more than 3-4 applications, interviews with each, often a followup discussion from the ones that did not hire me.
Really, it was the comparison between the two extremes, coming hours apart after interviews two days apart, that struck me. A company that dismissed me with a short boilerplate email, almost certainly because I'm not 28 and named Brittany, and one that dismissed me with a full, interactive call and good stated reasoning... how things have changed. I don't really expect to ever get such a call again. But there's always room in email, right?
So, I had two interesting job interviews last week and got the test results from both on Monday.
Really, it was the comparison between the two extremes, coming hours apart after interviews two days apart, that struck me. A company that dismissed me with a short boilerplate email, almost certainly because I'm not 28 and named Brittany, and one that dismissed me with a full, interactive call and good stated reasoning... how things have changed. I don't really expect to ever get such a call again. But there's always room in email, right?
It happens. I had a Round 3 (just before onsites) with Amazon back in 2014 with the hiring manager, PMO Director basically. We talked a while, and he said, "well here in this part of Amazon, Sr. PMs are usually the following: A, B, C, and plenty of D." I thought a minute and said, "Swell, but I'm A, B, E, and F. C and D are nowhere I want to go, now or ever, and be successful." It was an honest chat, and we both decided I was not a fit for that opp at that time. While a little disappointed, that ended the suspense on a positive note and that was that.
Accepted with another tech major couple weeks later, was not a problem. That was a coincidence, too.
Had a form rejection back in January with some personal touches that indicated she (the recruiter) had really dug that feedback out of the interviewers, and was actually disappointed she couldn't hire me for (that particular) role. While a bummer, I liked that too: it was an honest miss, and a worthy with more inline experience got it instead. No one likes to lose, but an honest loss is educational so that's something.
It does get interesting, especially if you're in a situation where you're currently employed. I was recruited for a finance role for a transportation company that rhymes with scoober. It went really well through numerous interviews until I raised concerns about their cash burn. This was pre-IPO. Anyways, didn't get that job.
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