So should we be miffed?

[pamelat]

My Dh was made redundant (again) at Christmas.

He applied for a job with a well known organisation (I won't name them) via an agency.

He went for an interview in London. £125 on the train, fair enough.

Interview went very well. Agency called and said that they liked him, that they wanted to talk numbers (salary) and that they were inviting him (and only him) back for a "an hour or so chat about his CV etc".

At this point we were reluctant to celebrate but could not help but feel

Second interview. £100 on the train.

The "chat" became a 3 hour interrogation by a nutter quizzing him about his primary school background (!), why he did not go to private school, me and why I study (?!), whether he enjoyed sports/running and finally conducting part of the interview in French to try to catch DH out (fortunately his year in Paris means that he is fluent in French).

The "chat" meant that he missed his train back, an extra £60.

The "chat" was meant to be with a woman who the role reported to (who DH had met in the previous interview) but DH had a message on his arrival to say that she had car trouble and could not be there. During the interview she popped her head in to interrupt the interview but did not even acknowldge DH or apologise for her non attendance.

The "chat" was conducted in an unprofessional manner with an 80's aggressive style interview technique and ramdom questions looking for fault. This is perhaps more suprising if you were to know the alleged credibility of the employer.

Anyway, finally today we get a call rejecting DH on the grounds of being "too pleasant"!

Don't you think that this is rubbish.

I told him to call the nutty man and challenged the decision, showing them "too pleasant?!".

He is simply deflated and feels that he has been rejected on incredibly personal grounds. And we are a lot worse off £ wise at a tight time.

So, did we get our hopes too high or were this company weird to allow the "no" to come as the result of the subjective opinion of one clearly crazy guy?

What b**rds! What a waste of time and money! Your DH should complain in writting to the head office of the company and name the man who took the interview and say that it was VERY unprofessional and the interview was conducted badly.
Hope your DP finds a job soon. That "company" would have been crap to work for anyway.

I agree with Ripeberry, he should write to HQ and complain. What a shoddy way to treat your DH.

That is awful on their part. I would be too.

yes, you have every right to be miffed - bad luck. However, I am dying to know which company it is....can you furnish just a leetle clue?

Your poor dh, and you. The interviewer sounds like an idiot.

YANBU. dh should phone human resources (or human remains as my payroll sister calls them).

Thank you. After the initial disappointment and shock, we were wondering whether we had just assumed too much but a "chat to talk numbers" sounds more than promising? (To us)

The guy who interviewed him (2nd time around) was incredibly direct but DH did not think that an interview was the right place to challenge him. He was also not British so DH wondered whether it was maybe a cultural manner. The HR woman who sat in on the interview did have to say "thats not really how we do things in England" twice in an attempt to reign him back in.

Apparently DH would work in a manner that would be too diplomatic for this company. I just dont understand why they invited him back and cost us so much money if he isnt the right personality for them.

YANBU. I would be livid!

Make a complaint definately.

He is thinking about asking for his train refunded from the 2nd trip down.

You said the interview had been arranged via an agency? In the first instance, I would get the agent on the case - I know they won't want to lose a potential client but they could ask a few questions, at least. "Too pleasant" is not feedback.

Then yes, I would write to the most senior relevant person you can think of and outline your concerns. Ask for renumeration of travel expenses, and ask for constructive feedback. Express your concerns re the interview technique - but try to be vaguely positive ("I would have been delighted to have had the opportunity blah blah"), so not all bridges are burnt if another job comes up there.

"too pleasant"
I can`t believe that what aload of bollocks

Would they prefer someone with aggresive attitude who talks crap

Feel for you and your dh

Your dh is too diplomatic for this company? Sounds as if your dh is also too intelligent as well for this company.

Number 1 - if it's a large company I suggest your DH rings up the HR dept (you mention an HR person) and request how to claim expenses... I trust you have the receipts/ticket stubbs? Get that done immediately.

Number 2 - DH needs to complain about the interview style. A polite letter to the CEO cc'd to HR should do the trick.

deffo complain to HR and to the agency. Request some 'professional feedback'.

Then follow it up with sending him junk mail for the next 5 years. Ring every double glazing and car sales company and give his number.

That'll do to be going on with.

Yep large company, doing relatively well for its industry too.

We have train stubbs from the 2nd journey only but to be fair the 1st was our choice.
The 2nd, I feel we were deceived.

I find the "too pleasant" strange as how did they expect people to be in an interview. I would assume that everyone is fairly pleasant in an interview?! In real life, DH is more than able to put his point across and gets things done, but yes, nicely. You don't need to be agressive/confrontational to be a success.

He has asked the agency to ask for refunds and to pass on feedback but I really don't think that they will They are a big client and the agency have said that they are shocked too.