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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

to think the job was mine?

87 replies

cryingwithdisappointment · 06/12/2011 17:41

Had interview yesterday - first since being made redundant. Recruitment agency actually rang me and said they thought I'd be ideal for the job and had put my cv forward. Interview went very well I thought, I was in there for 90 minutes, interviewers seemed to like me and by the end of the interview were saying things like 'when can you start', 'what hours would you like to work' and 'we can be flexible in terms of days you work because of your childcare'. They insisted on giving me the grand tour of the building, saying stuff like 'this is where you'll sit' and 'you'll report to Mr x'.

At the end the main interviewer insisted on giving me his business card and said he'd be in touch and he hoped I was interested in the job. I said I was and I looked forward to hearing from them etc etc

To be honest started thinking the job was mine (especially as recruitment firm told me I was the last person they'd seen and they'd discounted all previous applicants) and was on a real high.

Got a phone call from recruitment agency today saying interviewers had liked me, thought I'd fit in well but since they'd interviewed me they'd arranged to interview other people. They thought I had been too 'general' in my answers to their questions.

I'm gutted if they had really liked me and wanted to employ me they wouldnt have arranged to see anyone else (it's not like they had already set the interviews up).

Feel so disheartened and rejected. Especially when I thought I had it in the bag. Talk about being over confident, had even bought celebratory bottle of wine to share with DH. That will teach me.

OP posts:

Morloth · 07/12/2011 05:33

I recently had THREE interviews with a company, meeting with various people all very enthusiastic, been shown around etc.

Only for them to call me and tell me that the person they had offered the job to internally months ago had changed her mind and now wanted it.

3 days of running around of organising childcare of testing and discussing.

I was not impressed. I would have kick arsed at that job and I hope she is a fickle PITA at it.

wahwahwah · 07/12/2011 07:34

At least you didn't have to do a blooming presentation (wasting a whole day researching, putting together a Powerpoint presentation, practicing, panicking etc). And they kept the documents, so I assume they just wanted a free consultation!

BigHairyGruffalo · 07/12/2011 07:35

I'm assuming that this is in a large law firm or similar? Honestly, call them today! It sounds like you did really well and you have nothing to lose. Good luck!

wahwahwah · 07/12/2011 07:39

Bloody lawyers!

RustyBear · 07/12/2011 07:47

I also really want to know what 'knowledge management' is. Is it a new trendy term for librarian, which councils have invented to justify no longer employing qualified librarians?

wahwahwah · 07/12/2011 07:52

More technical - big brained researchers who analyse info and make Big Decisions. The type of reports that management consultants produce.

RustyBear · 07/12/2011 07:56

Ah, so in local councils, the people who produce endless 'iniatives' that will magically improve achievement in schools, are funded for two years and then dropped in favour of the next trendy scheme....

worldgonecrazy · 07/12/2011 08:16

I would write the chap a very nice thank you letter, thanking him for his time, saying what you liked about the company, reiterating any points you want to, etc. etc. This technique has got me two positions in the past - not the job I originally applied for, but a better one that came up a month or two later, when the companies both contacted me and asked me to come back for another interview. If this chap really liked you then a thank you letter will keep you at the top of his mind if another position arises.

clappyhands · 07/12/2011 08:19

don't wait until friday!
either email today or make the call

good luck - something sounds very strange

i have previously interviewed and never gave my business card (although to my shame i did chase someone out of the building to offer them a job!)

Triggles · 07/12/2011 08:30

I followed up on a interview for a job years ago, as it was an ideal job for me, and ended up getting the job. I found out after working there awhile that they routinely wait a number of weeks after interviews to see what applicants do - which ones write it off, which ones have the initiative to follow up, which ones are willing to go that extra mile to get the job. THEN they decide who to hire - and it was always the ones that showed the initiative to follow up the interview.

TroublesomeEx · 07/12/2011 08:43

Triggles Wasn't a public sector job then .

Not only are you not expected to use your initiative, but it is actively discouraged.

senua · 07/12/2011 08:46

I can sort of see the logic in that Triggles but who wants to work for a company that plays silly mind-games? Anyway, once word gets out that this is their m.o. then everyone does the proactive follow-up routine so you are back to square one but have delayed the recruitment and induction of the new person in the mean time, perhaps leaving the position vacant - not very efficient management.

BiancaStroud · 07/12/2011 08:55

I was turned down for my first school nurse job because, in the exact words of the head "The sixth form boys might fancy you". Not bad for a 35 year old! I was devastated at the time, especially as he had invited us for dinner during the recuitment process and not only turned me down but then tried to persuade my husband to work for him after they got on very well over a glass of wine. 3 years later I did go and work for him and was the worst mistake of my life. i should have listened to fate!

CloversMama · 07/12/2011 09:37

I work in KM (well, we call it IKM here - Information & Knowledge Management) My official job title is Information Analyst and I do exactly that - analyse information that I then put into the appropriate format for the Big Bosses to make decisions from. E.g. if we are looking into doing a marketing campaign in China, I might research our target audience, competitors etc, put it into a nice presentation and present it to our Head of Marketing. I'm also responsible for how the information is sourced and stored e.g. I chose which journals etc might be useful for us and I am a 'virtual librarian' for where all the information and subsequent reports are stored.

Triggles · 07/12/2011 09:49

lol FolkGirl no, that's true.

senua It's not necessarily mind games, as much as it is a time they apparently built into their recruitment process to weed out those that are simply applying and those who really want the job and are willing to put extra effort into getting it. As they did that with all open positions, I would say it wasn't a matter of delay or inefficiency, as it was all part and parcel of their specific recruitment process.

hackmum · 07/12/2011 09:54

It does sound very fishy. I've heard other stories like that, and occasionally had similarish experiences myself. Who knows what goes on in the head of these people?

I read someone's blog the other day who was talking about a friend of hers who went for an interview, and was turned down for being "too enthusiastic". Wtf?

Bramshott · 07/12/2011 09:58

Could it be that the company doesn't want to pay the recruitment fees, so gave you the card in the hope that you'd contact them direct??

PopcornMouse · 07/12/2011 10:00

I would email him now, tbh, I don't know what you stand to gain by waiting til Friday? If you went through an agency, the company will not have been provided with your contact details (they remove these from your CV so they can't be bypassed in situations such as these) - they will not be able to contact you except through the agency that they have likely fallen out with.

TroublesomeEx · 07/12/2011 10:02

Bramshott I wondered that actually. Just forgot to post it .

But I imagine that, at the moment, the company is trying to spend as little money as possible.

I would definitely be phoning the company.

senua · 07/12/2011 10:12

i'm still not convinced Triggles. Most people work a month's notice: it is bad enough trying to go through the thought process (do we want an exact replacement, does the job description need to change, etc, etc), place the advert, sift through applications, arrange first interviews, arrange second interviews, make a decision, make an offer, wait for the response, etc. If you are very lucky you might get someone to start before the current holder has gone, so they can do hand-over.
Why build in delay so that the position is vacant and the work left undone? Also, it is entirely possible that the best people won't 're-apply' because they have been snapped up meanwhile by your competitor - why run the risk of losing them, of all people?

wahwahwah · 07/12/2011 12:01

Poo in a jiffy bag and mail it off.

Have been listening to Welcome to Hell today, so gfeeling a bit bolshy...

Triggles · 07/12/2011 12:54

senua - best position I have ever had was a job with a company that took literally 4-6 months minimum for the entire process. I simply bided my time, jumped through the appropriate hoops, and made sure I showed the appropriate interest and initiative that I felt it required. If something better comes up, then so be it. Many companies will put a temp in place or have something built in to make it possible if it's common practice for their business, obviously depending on what the job is. But not truly worried about whether or not you're convinced, as I'm quite familiar with a few businesses that do just that. No worries.

wahwahwah · 07/12/2011 13:02

And never ever look up who got the job you missed. Or you might find some blonde with one fifth working years experience and no relevant qualifications doing the job.

Rollersara · 07/12/2011 13:16

I had an interview that went really well, but wasn't offered the post, for a reason that at the time seemed a bit odd. A month later I was at a conference that I had mentioned at the interview (they hadn't heard of it) and saw one of the interviewers there! I was a bit miffed, but we got chatting and apparently when I was interviewed I met about 10 people from across the company. I had gone through a list of changes I thought would benefit them, and about half agreed with me, half thought change = bad! In the end they went for the "safe" candidate, but I obviously had an impact or he wouldn't have attended the conference!

I had to chalk it up to experience, and TBH, if they were so resistant to change I wouldn't have enjoyed the job anyway.

Original poster

cryingwithdisappointment · 07/12/2011 14:05

update of sorts:
composed an email but decided to ring the bloke who gave me his business card. He wasn't there, was 'in meetings' which must = inteviewing. Left my details. Now will be on tenterhooks every time the phone rings, not that I'm holding out much hope to be honest!

OP posts:

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