Didn’t get job

[tiredsotired6]

I’ve been working as a temp for one company for over a year. They’ve been very happy with my work, giving me a lot of good feedback. A few people (including the manager) have said they would really like me to be on permanent staff as I do a great job.

Anyway, a few months ago a perm role came up, which was essentially my role to the letter. Having had the good feedback I decided to apply as felt I had a very good chance.

As I’m sure you’ve already guessed, I didn’t get the job. I’m now feeling like my confidence has been shot and my manager was just leading me on.

The new person has now started and seems fine but no better than me at the job. Worse still, I’ve been asked to help them out if they have any questions about how to do the job that I’ve been doing for over a year.

The result is that a job I used to look forward to every day has now left me feeling deflated and upset. I now dread work and generally just feel my confidence has been shattered.

AIBU and WWYD?

I wouldn't be training the new person, OP. Not out of any malice towards them, but if the company thinks I'm not good enough to do my own job, then surely I'm not good enough to train someone else to do it.

I do feel for you OP, but just wanted to pick up on your rigid process point.

The rigid process is designed to promote a meritocracy and fairness, not just handing a job to Sarah the office temp who just so happens to be the SM niece.

I’ve been in a vaguely similar position and with hindsight dodged a bullet.
Afterwards, when asked questions, I’d sometimes politely respond: I’m not sure/to confirm ask x mgr’ - if I’m not good enough to promote then I’m not in a position to give SLT level instruction.

Feedback given in that failed interview was very helpful as I accepted (then and now) that I hadn’t performed as well as I could have.

I was internally poached with full interview process, shortly after on the basis of the projects I had run in that role anyway - they did me a favour.

Understandably upsetting. Get your cv out there and get another job, it'll be satisfying to be able to walk away from this one.

This thread explains how odd other companies are, re how they hire etc.

If you are working with an agency in your current role, it may be that they would charge your company a fee (finders fee) if they took you on? This may have swayed their decision if so.

So was that minor issue something outwith the interview? Like you were filing spreadsheets in the wrong place or started at 9.05 instead of 9am because of childcare issues that’s now sorted. Or something similar? And they used that against you? My question would be why are they using something against you when interviews are about performance at the interview?

I don’t think they will ever hire you. As someone else said it could be the agency finders fee is putting them off. It can be thousands. It’s probably your job they’ve hired for as you suggest.

If I were you I’d leave. Go back to the agency and see what they have as you feel gutted at what’s happened and you don’t want to stay. Sign up with another agency if necessary. They are just getting all your info and skills passed onto the the newbie and then will sack you anyway. So I’d pay them back for not hiring you by leaving asap, providing the weeks notice or whatever obviously.

This is hard for you, but shows your lack of understanding of the hiring process. The rigid process is the thing that matters, employers have go by the interview only to be fair to all candidates, they can't score you on other knowledge of you. That is how hiring works. One day you will be on the other side of the desk and you'll look back on this and understand. The good news is you're good at the job, start looking for another one and remove yourself from this place.

I think a better evaluation system would be something that incorporates both previous experience in the role along with performance in interview. It's good to avoid nepotism but also isn't fair to discount a candidates proven ability that managers have very often observed through their own experience in working with them.

I'd collect the feedback and move on somewhere else if it was me. Would definitely depress me for a few days though not getting the job.

It's the manager's role to onboard a new recruit and not yours so you should redirect queries their way. If asked, just say that you haven't finished the task you're on so can't do it. However, maybe they could as part of the onboarding process & their duties as the new recruit's line manager.

Send your CV to as many recruitment agencies as possible and leave the job. Work to your contract and do nothing more than that. The company has shot themselves in the foot by not hiring you.

I remember that. Being asked to go onto a permanent contract. It is a far wiser recruitment process: witness someone doing a job well, getting on with current team versus judge them by how they answer a STAR question.

It can be upsetting. I was once passed over for promotion for some spurious reasons, and the shock when I resigned a few weeks later was bizarre. Onwards to something better is always the way OP, you are not valued enough.

I got feedback (after requesting it) and it was just a minor issue that I’ve already resolved. In other words, something they could have raised ages ago but never did.
It would be good to understand this more; was the feedback related to something from doing your job? Was it a specific error, and why do they seem to think it was more significant than you do?

My employer gave a job to a woman who on paper and at the interview scored very well & was articulate. However, she failed her probation after having it extended because she couldn't do the job. She talked a very good interview but that was all she could do, it was just bullshit.

That’s really shit op, I’m sorry. If that was me I’d leave - wouldn’t be able to come back from that myself. Also, presumably they factored in that you might leave if you didn’t get the job, and still didn’t appoint so they can’t be that keen to keep you. I’d try for more feedback from the hiring manager, although you not get anywhere, but what was the deciding factor for them. As you say, I’d far rather take someone who I know can do the role, than risk an unknown, so they must clearly feel this person is worth the risk. Good luck with getting useful feedback, and getting a new role if you decide to move on.

I’d find it very hard to help them. I’d have to work up a series of standards - first is I do my work first. ‘I’d love to but have a lot to do if I want to leave on time’ second is I’d leave on time. 3rd is a set of replies to basically say no professionally ‘oh that is just the way I worked out, I think it’s really individual and you’ll work out what suits you best when you look into it!’

So sorry OP but turn this round and into an opportunity to start looking elsewhere. You deserve a permanent position which gives you benefits. Contracted hours only from here on.

Was the minor issue related to your interview performance, or something related to the actual job you have been doing for a year?

If it is the latter, and they didn't raise this issue/provide feedback with you at the point that it occurred so you could resolve the issue, they are being completely out of order. All feedback should be timely and if they hadn't previously raised it, how would you know that there was a problem?

I don’t think they will ever hire you.

I agree. All I would say though is that they shouldn’t have led me on in the first place by saying they’d love me on the team. It raised my expectations and makes the fact I didn’t get it even harder.

The same thing happened to me - I was told before the interview that the job would go to the person who gave the best answers to the interview questions on the day and that me working the role already did not guarantee me getting it. The job went to someone else, they said was a close call between me and the other person but their answers to a couple of the questions were better than mine.

Twenty years ago you would have just been given a permanent contract and that would have been that but now employers have to be seen to give everyone who wants the job an equal chance of getting it which means advertising it and interviewing all the suitable candidates - political correctness.

I wouldn’t say your Manager lead you on, it’s normally more than one person’s decision to make, I was interviewed by my Manager but also someone from HR at Head Office who didn’t know me and it was a joint decision between the two of them. Of course you think the person who got the job is rubbish at it, you’ve been doing the job for a year and they have just started. You are also feeling bitter that you didn’t get the job which is clouding your judgement.

Lose the negativity, starting thinking positively and put all your focus and energy into finding a new role. You are not getting this job now, time to accept that and move on. There is a better job out there for you - I ended up getting another job earning much more money than the job I didn’t get, better location and less hours.

The latter. It was the first I’d heard of it. And exactly, I wasn’t aware there was a problem until they told me after I didn’t get the job. Now I’m aware I’ve made immediate improvements as it was something easily fixable.

Part of me wonders whether at the end of the day, it’s that my face doesn’t fit (but that’s obviously not something they would tell me!)

Could you say that you don't feel comfortable training the new hire because they obviously have concerns about your performance so you don't feel that you are the right person to deliver the training?

If you are signed on with an agency, go back to them and ask if there are any other suitable jobs on their books.

I was told before the interview that the job would go to the person who gave the best answers to the interview questions on the day

I wasn’t told this. But it sounds like common knowledge and something I should have known.

I think the only positive I can take from this is that it’s made me determined to find a permanent role with more security. So I will start applying very soon.

OP, was this role an additional role?
That is to say you still have your temporary contract position?

Asking you to train up would ring alarm bells with me that you’re going to be terminated as soon as the permy is considered ready.

Asking you to train up would ring alarm bells with me that you’re going to be terminated as soon as the permy is considered ready.

This is my big worry too.

I completely agree with you. Of course they should hire the temp who already knows the job, and is doing a great job. At my last place of employment we had permanent staff and a zero hour contract pool. Lots of external unknowns applied for a permanent job, and one from the pool. She was perfect because she'd already worked for us for 2 years and good at her job. The manager said she wasn't as good in the interview as another candidate. They gave it to an unknown who turned out to be a lazy character, who left 9 months later.

We all felt sorry for the right candidate as she'd been encouraged to go for it. She ended up doing less hours for us, as she picked up hours elsewhere. Which was a shame as she was reliable and knew her stuff. I actually think the manger thought it best to get someone external because we'd still have the the other working in the pool. Whereas if she employed the pool staff then we'd still be short staffed in the pool.

I'm sorry this happened to you. It's normal to feel rejected and horrible about it. I'd carry on working there while looking for another job, as you'd rather be permanent.

I can give you a really honest answer as someone who has been that manger.

there is often lots going on you might not know about. expectations of the role might’ve varied. The role might be changing. They may feel as good as you’ve been, they want something different from it.

Good feedback means a huge amount to the receiver but is often easily given out and may not reflect overall performance.

some managers are not great with constructive feedback either

if you're a temp, they won’t invest much in the long term outcomes of your role. Good for you might look slightly different to someone else

i had the same thing last year- the person had got the company out of a hole (short staffed) and was competent and pleasant. He was incredibly helpful and his customers loved him.

as a manager, I needed more of a self starter with longer term vision. It’s not even massively fair to expect that from a temp, but he wasn’t giving it. The customers loved him because he spent the time you’d spend improving and setting strategic direction helping them with their day to day work. He thought this was the role, and after 12 months it was too late to reset expectations.

i note you say the new person is no better at you than tasks. I think this is to be expected. When you get to an interview stage everyone you interview should be capable of doing the job. That’s a minimum. The selection is often on cultural fit and future plans, and the wider team needs.

what you should do (and what he did) was to bank the experience, leave and start a fresh

but do be aware temps don’t get the same investment from the company perms do.