Job offer withdrawn

[MassiveMug]

Not an aibu, just gutted and want to rant.

How lovely to receive the letter on a Saturday lunchtime to say my offer of employment has been withdrawn because I didn’t meet the requirements in their test. Fair enough but I did the test 2 pissing weeks ago and it gives you the results instantly. Since then they have been in touch asking me for xy and z. Just feel both gutted and annoyed!

“Although I think option 2 is the most likely, I also see no problem with options 1 and 3 e.g.

"Other members of the Governing Body and I will be hoping to attend!"

Let me know where I'm going wrong!

Because it’s not correct! I don’t know all the correct grammar terms either, but I know it’s not correct English because it could imply that you’re not currently hoping for that at the moment, only that at some point you’ll be hoping to be able to attend.

It’s just not correct!

"It’s just not correct!"

Also, it's not a stand-alone question & if read in context it's obvious that only one answer "fits".

" I know it’s not correct English because it could imply that you’re not currently hoping for that at the moment, only that at some point you’ll be hoping to be able to attend. "

Why would that be incorrect though. The question didn't state that you had to be hoping now and you couldn't be hoping in the future. It's a slightly different meaning, but I don't see how it's incorrect.

"Why would that be incorrect though. "

Look at the whole question again-not just that one part.

diddl - my point is that the test is not easy is it? If the questions are inter-related, but that is not made obvious, then that is one thing that makes it harder.
Or I am just completely stupid...

Well that particular one if you read it through as a whole then I think it's pretty easy tbh.

That's just rubbish organisation and communication on their part. If I were you I'd call HR and ask for feedback, then give your own feedback on THEM – it goes both ways! – and make clear that you were offered the job formally and that they essentially did things the wrong way round.

Those of you sniping about the OP's abilities, piss off.

Next time don't do any training until your first day when you are getting paid. Ask them to confirm that the offer is uncondtional before turning down other jobs / handing in your notice. If it's conditional on checks then they need to hurry up do that so they can give you an unconditional offer. Don't settle for less.

I would get some legal advice. If you've already started training then I would argue that you had already started and need to be paid for your time plus your notice period as they've breached the contract. But only legal can advice you on this.

And normally you don't fail because you've given your neighbour as reference they usually come back to you and ask for your previous employer / education and at a push a character reference.

This happened to me. Three interviews, the last one being to make a verbal offer. Everyone really happy with my experience, attitude etc. The guy I interviewed with said I was the strongest candidate they had seen, I’d worked with him before and he had wanted to approach me for a job for a long time but didn’t think I wanted to move.

Did all the pre-start stuff because the official letter was “just a formality,” I was even sent some project stuff to start looking at because they wanted me to hit the ground running.

Two weeks passed and I had no letter. Phoned the agent who chased it up and he came back and said they wouldn’t be making an offer. Turns out that somebody I had worked for previously knew the big boss of the company I was going to work for and they had a chat over a game of golf. It had been a short term job I had with this company and there were some serious issues which I had raised with the owner, on the assumption he hadn’t known it was going on, as this was part of the role they had taken me on to do. Turns out he wanted me to turn a blind eye to it but I refused. Employment was terminated with a mutual non-disclosure agreement which I was happy to sign and abided by. The boss clearly didn’t think he needed to stick by it and told this other guy I was difficult, argumentative and not a team player.

As it turned out, a far better job came along soon after so he did me a favour. Especially as the team I would have been working for has since been decimated and I’d have been made redundant within months of starting. It was a great example of the saying “what’s for you will not go by you”

Onwards and upwards. There will be something out there for you. Not great timing but I have everything crossed that something will come along. Don’t let this (or anyone here) knock your confidence, you’ll get something else.

I think it’s not the employer who gets the results quickly, it’s the people who administer the tests (I sat mine recently). There’s an issue at the moment because these tests are usually administered alongside the citizenship tests and they are snowed under with them and have a backlog so they’re taking their time to go through.

Extra tutoring is a good idea, I even know graduates who needed a bit of extra help.

I don’t blame you for not having the skills either, there was a very long period under Labour when teaching of basic skills was very neglected in favour of being creative and children doing enjoyable activities rather than bothering with dull stuff like apostrophes and percentages.

I worked in a uni for much of the 00s and it was quite frequent we would see students with extremely poor maths and English skills. They just weren’t taught them.

OP if the job required you to pass the test, you should have realised you could not be employed without it.

Can you take other posters advice and practice the tests online and then arrange to take it privately? Then you would already have the qualification to apply for another role.

If it helps a relative had to re-take and she has a grade A English Language A level. Sometimes it’s just what happens on the day.

I’d also think about who else you could use as a reference, a Neighbour could be a problem unless they know you professionally. Although, I’d add that if this was the issue you should have been contacted to provide an alternative.

I wonder if the real issue is your lack of recent experience with job application etiquette? Not your fault, but attending for a job, having failed the required skills test and having a neighbour listed as a reference looks like poor judgement. Are there any access to work type courses local to you?

Good Luck - I’m sure the right opportunity is there for you.

Other members of the Governing Body and I _
will hope to attend
hope to attend
will be hoping to attend
hoping to attend

Awful question. Named member of the governing body and I will attend end of. Hope doesn’t belong anywhere near it.

OP if the job required you to pass the test, you should have realised you could not be employed without it.

But the OP says 'I saw the results and got slightly lower then the required mark so was worried. But never heard anything and they said that they put you on a maths and English course anyway.' and 'I have been asked to do some online mandatory training'.

Plus 'Yes I did have the job confirmed in writing which I signed and confirmed.'

All of these things suggest pretty strongly that there was a job offer.

Unfortunately if it’s a requirement though, you can’t really hope that it’s OK because “I never heard anything”

If you applied to be a bus driver having failed your bus driving test, you couldn’t hope that would be OK could you?

Sure, but there's still 'they said that they put you on a maths and English course anyway.', which strongly suggests that they don't consider the test the be-all-and-end-all. Plus 'I have been asked to do some online mandatory training'. and 'Yes I did have the job confirmed in writing which I signed and confirmed.' These last two suggest serious problems with the employer's communication and organisational skills. The OP has essentially worked for them for free already and, as someone else suggests, it's possible that legally she could be considered to have already started and that they breached the contract.

Maybe Darling

I’m guessing it’s more likely that the OP was given an interim offer letter subject to satisfactory checks, which is certainly common practice within healthcare and I would imagine that education could be similar. Whenever I make a verbal offer to someone, I am really clear that it is subject to checks and explain that although they will receive an interim offer letter, they should not hand their notice in until the checks are back and they receive their final, formal confirmation offer. In practice I am in regular telephone contact with potential employees during this phase to walk them through it.

Even if further education and development is offered if the requirement is to pass the basic skills test and the OP hasn’t done that, then she doesn’t meet the job criteria and can’t fill the position.

I agree that it sounds like there was poor communication from the school, but again, I think the OPs lack of experience in applying for jobs, has led to her misinterpreting an interim offer with conditions as a final and firm offer.

That’s why I think the OP should look for opportunities to help her to navigate the job application process.

Do you have to sign interim offers? That seems dubious to me. What exactly are you signing up to if the offer could still be withdrawn?

Sometimes - yes, to confirm your intention to take up the position and allow online access for pre-employment training. In practice though, I think a good potential employer should be in regular contact with their employee. Not least because, even if someone confirms that they want to take up a position, they can still walk away if they choose!

It’s a shame the OP wasn’t asked for her results at interview, then this whole situation would have been avoided.

In practice though, I think a good potential employer should be in regular contact with their employee.

Yes, this is the crux of it really. They've handled it very badly.

"Next time don't do any training until your first day when you are getting paid."

This isn't always possible. Colleagues of mine had to go to an induction day that was held a few weeks before their job started.

"And normally you don't fail because you've given your neighbour as reference they usually come back to you and ask for your previous employer / education and at a push a character reference."

Yes, exactly. If they wanted a different kind of reference they should have said so.

A word of warning, never turn down a job*
Surely you can only string along other offers for so long though

This isn't always possible. Colleagues of mine had to go to an induction day that was held a few weeks before their job started

Induction days should be paid for. But at minimum you should have an unconditional offer which will mean they are less likely to mess you around and a person can seek compensation if it is later withdrawn.

"A word of warning, never turn down a job*
Surely you can only string along other offers for so long though"

Yes, and it becomes quite unethical as well to be telling two different employers that you're coming to work for them.