Sticky job hunting situation. Advice needed

Because this is the internet which affords me the anonymity and vulnerability to say “this is a new situation for me and I genuinely do not know what to do.”

Ah. My error, I didn’t state upfront, I’m a bloke.

The disappointment for me especially is that up to this latest twist, I got such a good vibe. The people I spoke to seemed very personable and I genuinely thought there would be more understanding.

If some guy outlined this to me, especially given the tenures I have done, I would have enough sense to not see a guy looking to move shortly after making a move, as a red flag. Nor the very legitimate reasons for not over divulging with nothing concrete emerging.

Clearly my judgement is impaired, as I got sold the snake oil with my current place also.

What I think makes it worse, is they enquired about me through a Big 4 partner the hiring manager knows and that partner happened to have worked with my previous employers in the past, which is how they came to know. As said partner must have spoken to contacts at my previous company. If I was still there it would have set alarm bells off. Which I think vindicates my decision to hold off on disclosing and proved my concerns to be valid.

The gross over reaction doesn’t make sense, so I reckon there was probably another reason to reject my candidacy that they aren’t saying and this was just convenient (getting conspiratorial). But either way, nothing I can do. My loss, their loss even more so.

It was the “integrity” impugning they alluded to that got to me more than anything.

I told them, that surely they can understand being in my position and within a probationary period, disclosing my change in circumstances during a process where nothing has come to fruition invites a level of risk if it ever made its way back to my current employers and I wasn’t already moving on to something.

I said I own the decision but they were not misled on my experience, what I have done or even my motivations. I only omitted that past 6 week and a change in circumstances not reflected in my CV, which was correct at the time of initial application.

in the end, you win some and lose some but it’s a red flag for the organisation.

Well, i have an update.

through their wider network, they came to know that i left my previous company before i could tell them. The hiring manager has apparently questioned my integrity for witholding this information and despite being the front runner for the position there are major doubts this will continue further.

I tried to reassure the internal recruiter that this wasnt a deliberate ploy to deceive but rather, my intent was to wait until the end of the process and there was something concrete before disclosing the full circumstances. As over-divulging to potentially unsuccessful/non starter opportunities would increase the risk of my active job search making its way back to my current employer (whilst I am in a probation period) and that i knew at the very least employment checks would pick up the discrepancy, so I always intended to tell them, if it materialised in to something.

Ultimately, rather than skirt accountability I owned my decision with them and said given the circumstances (rightly of wrongly) I elected to not discuss what was a very recent move and instead basing my experience and suitability for the role on what I had done at my previous company only some weeks earlier. Further, that whilst I appreciate the feelings on the matter and am sorry for the impact, the circumstances around my departure from my previous company were normal - serving a full notice period, my CV at the time of application was accurate (before I had started the current role) and rightly or wrongly I thought was the best way to handle the situation, given the reasons above.

But, more than likely this process is cooked for me, unfortunately. Awaiting formal decision on whether the final round will proceed but given the vibe of the conversation and concerns, I think this is done. Shame really, I think I would have been really successful in the role but c’est la vis.

The key question which I am still wrestling with is. Should I tell them now or wait for an offer.
I don’t know if worth telling the prospective them now, as final rounds are done and it might give me an edge over the other person given the smaller notice period. Conversely if they have any concerns with the circumstance, it might rule me out before an offer.

Given the above thinking, would your view still be to hold fire and wait for an offer?

I think they do. The person in question is rubbish. So much so that in a matter of weeks I have become the de facto leader and the one everyone looks to for answers.

I just think, the person in question won’t be forced out. I think I was brought in as succession planning but misled on the timeline effectively (whether it was knowingly or otherwise, I don’t know).

No outright fibs. But my prior company is well known and I was asked “is there no further opportunity there and why I am looking to move” to which I answered “I don’t believe so, hence why I am looking”. This was/is absolutely the case, I just omitted the fact that I had already accepted and started a position because of those reasons. Everything else about my experience, the relevance to the role etc… were all truthful.