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Despite the hall and oats title. I want to share my recent experience while trying to land a job I was very interested in.
Really quick background. Had a great job I was laid off from two years ago..have a job now making less with less benefits. Its been a struggle since but I am forging ahead, keeping my eyes open
Came across this job recently at a company I have been trying to get into for awhile now. The job was out of the blue since it didn't really fit what the jobs they usually posted. It was for a skill set I haven't used in awhile but spent several years using in the past. Plus, I remember working for the (now retired)Director's side business years ago. So I applied.
To my surprise I got a call... and was given a phone interview right on the spot. I was amazed at how much I remembered. I nailed every technical question they asked, the interviewers seemed impressed. Even Told me how good of an interviewee I was. I also find out that the potential pay for the position was more than I have ever made. The benefits were awesome and they would even pay for the rest of me degree... wow!
A few days later, I get a call for a formal interview. So now, I m getting super excited. I go to the interview and again. Nailed it. Answered every question accurately and with out hesitation, had a great rapport with the interviewers, the interview went over the time limit (they wanted to know more), I was introduced to some of the other workers on the way out (great sign!) and was told how much they enjoyed meeting me. I felt great.
I also found out that the retired director I mentioned earlier was back working part time and when he found out I was applying, advocated for me.I really felt my career was about to rebound, I was going to finally be able to get another shot.
But then I didn't get it. I was told in a nice email, that they were very impressed with me, that my expertise and professionalism were spoken very highly of but they offered the job to someone else and I was a close 2nd.
Bummer.
so I have been sulking a bit the last day. I think the is the first time I've come out an interview processes like that and was not hired.
Despite the hall and oats title. I want to share my recent experience while trying to land a job I was very interested in.
Really quick background. Had a great job I was laid off from two years ago..have a job now making less with less benefits. Its been a struggle since but I am forging ahead, keeping my eyes open
Came across this job recently at a company I have been trying to get into for awhile now. The job was out of the blue since it didn't really fit what the jobs they usually posted. It was for a skill set I haven't used in awhile but spent several years using in the past. Plus, I remember working for the (now retired)Director's side business years ago. So I applied.
To my surprise I got a call... and was given a phone interview right on the spot. I was amazed at how much I remembered. I nailed every technical question they asked, the interviewers seemed impressed. Even Told me how good of an interviewee I was. I also find out that the potential pay for the position was more than I have ever made. The benefits were awesome and they would even pay for the rest of me degree... wow!
A few days later, I get a call for a formal interview. So now, I m getting super excited. I go to the interview and again. Nailed it. Answered every question accurately and with out hesitation, had a great rapport with the interviewers, the interview went over the time limit (they wanted to know more), I was introduced to some of the other workers on the way out (great sign!) and was told how much they enjoyed meeting me. I felt great.
I also found out that the retired director I mentioned earlier was back working part time and when he found out I was applying, advocated for me.I really felt my career was about to rebound, I was going to finally be able to get another shot.
But then I didn't get it. I was told in a nice email, that they were very impressed with me, that my expertise and professionalism were spoken very highly of but they offered the job to someone else and I was a close 2nd.
Bummer.
so I have been sulking a bit the last day. I think the is the first time I've come out an interview processes like that and was not hired.
Maybe this is a new development in recent years, but many of my friends tell me the entire job interview process is taking more and more time than it use to. More phone interviews and in-person interviews that have you meet with 4-5 people where you are spending most of the day there.
I was having lunch with a friend who told me he had applied for a job and was told by HR the hiring manager would call him for a phone interview. He got the call, but this wasn't the hiring manager, it was someone else who reports to the hiring manager. He said his role was to screen people to see who would make the short list, and the short list would get asked to come in for an interview. This screener mentioned he had 30 resumes of people to contact to do this.
Now, what strikes me as very odd, is that I can't think of many jobs where there are 30 resumes that come in and they are all such a great match that I felt the need to talk to each of them. Going through 30 resumes should yield perhaps 3 people that are worth having a phone interview with, maybe 5. What a complete waste of time talking to the other 25 to 27 people. Not only their time and getting their hopes up for no good reason, but also the interviewer's time.
I still think your best bet is to spend your time by-passing the gatekeepers and find a job through personal contact through a network. You need someone who knows you, trusts you, and is willing to go to bat for you to get a job someplace. Because this process that I continue to hear about I think is draining for the candidates and I'm not convinced they are getting a better person by going through all these extra steps.
I feel the same way! I had an interview almost two weeks that I thought went well, but I did not get it. With this interview, I took
more initiative than I ever did with an interview, but I was still rejected from the job. I thought I was over it, but I am now
contemplating sending an email to both director and manager. Yeah, it seems desperate, but I'm desperate. Sometimes, I am
appreciative of my job search journey, as far as the lessons I have learned. Other times, I am feeling depressive, like now. It's
Tuesday, no new phones calls from employers, no emails from employers, and it's getting to me. I'm going to this open interview
tomorrow, and hopefully something works out even though I have little to no direct experience in the industry.
It isn't being desperate. The more positive contact you have with people in the position to recommend you and forward your resume to a hiring manger the better off you are. Writing to them shows you were really interested in the job. I know you must think they already know that, but they really don't because people interview someplace and don't care for the company and they don't even know that. But you remain in contact with them, it can only help you, if you do it in a professional and courteous way.
Has happened to me before in a reverse kind of way. This was back around the recession. I had started a job and didn't have any problems... perfect attendance and did the job like I was supposed to.
They even flew me cross country for some job training.
Then on day 89 I got a generic email that said I was no longer needed. Never got any explanation as to why. Everything happens for a reason though... and 5 months later I got a job here... the same area the old employer sent me to for job training. In the end they did me a favor... free training.
Maybe this is a new development in recent years, but many of my friends tell me the entire job interview process is taking more and more time than it use to. More phone interviews and in-person interviews that have you meet with 4-5 people where you are spending most of the day there.
I was having lunch with a friend who told me he had applied for a job and was told by HR the hiring manager would call him for a phone interview. He got the call, but this wasn't the hiring manager, it was someone else who reports to the hiring manager. He said his role was to screen people to see who would make the short list, and the short list would get asked to come in for an interview. This screener mentioned he had 30 resumes of people to contact to do this.
Now, what strikes me as very odd, is that I can't think of many jobs where there are 30 resumes that come in and they are all such a great match that I felt the need to talk to each of them. Going through 30 resumes should yield perhaps 3 people that are worth having a phone interview with, maybe 5. What a complete waste of time talking to the other 25 to 27 people. Not only their time and getting their hopes up for no good reason, but also the interviewer's time.
I still think your best bet is to spend your time by-passing the gatekeepers and find a job through personal contact through a network. You need someone who knows you, trusts you, and is willing to go to bat for you to get a job someplace. Because this process that I continue to hear about I think is draining for the candidates and I'm not convinced they are getting a better person by going through all these extra steps.
Beautifully written. The truth is hiring managers do not want to be bothered. They want someone to recommend you. Let's be honest, the interviewing process does not say anything about how well an applicant will do. It is a daunting process.
I am trying to passively network but it is not easy when you are new to a state.
I do not believe they are contacting 30 applicants per position. It just does not work and it would be exhausting.
Senior management have it tough. I saw a COO position with nearly 400 applicants. Who is going to look at 400 resumes?
I am a huge advocate for posting your resume online. I recently interviewed for a position where I was invited to apply. She found me online. I told her I applied via Linkedin quick apply. She never checked. I guess it is easier to do the searching because you will contact people who are actually qualified. Crazy.
It really hurts OP I know. I've been there so many times, invested so much time and effort in an interview, only to be told no thanks (or sometimes it was just crickets). You think you nail it and you cogitate for weeks and weeks about why you didn't get it. I know it doesn't help me when I do that but I do. It's easy for some people to move on but I'm not one of them. What I have been trying to do lately is tell myself their loss, or it wasn't meant to be. That works now because I am employed (or let's say underemployed). When I was unemployed for 15 months those tactics didn't work.
I wish you the best in your search, and know that the majority of us on this forum can relate to this story.
Last edited by milesfive; 07-19-2018 at 02:18 PM..
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