Job given to internal candidate?

[PrincessOfPreschool]

Is there a way I can find out if this happened?

Applied for a job a couple of weeks before deadline. I was very well qualified for it and it was not widely advertised so I don't think there would have been loads of applicants. I didn't even get an interview and I'm a bit surprised!

Obviously there could have been several candidates better qualified but I doubt it. I'm now wondering if they already had an internal candidate in mind and maybe interviewed one person who wasn't much competition. Can that be how it works? Would I ever be able to find it out? I'm really gutted to be honest and would love to understand what went wrong. What can I do? (It was in a private school, not a teaching role).

They are not obliged to tell you who they appointed or why.
(Although you may be able to tell in due course from either their website or linked in).

Given that you were not even interviewed, it is unlikely that it is a reflection on you personally.

Definitely let this one go.

I’m always weary of a short turnaround on closing dates. It’s a sure sign that they have someone in mind. I’ve used that tactic myself. It’s frustrating.

I also can’t understand why organisations don’t find a way of appointing internally when they have someone in mind. It’s such a lot of work to complete a good application form, and then there’s the hope and planning and all of the energy that goes into it, only for it to be a foregone conclusion.

My sympathies OP.

No they are saying they shortlist people who they might call for interview, then get references, those who pass references get interviews.

So OPs point is maybe the reference was bad and that’s why she didn’t get an interview.

Sorry missed that

a lot are now screened and shortlisted using AI

No harm in contacting whoever is named on the advert to ask why you weren’t shortlisted, especially if you met the person spec on the advert.

@PrincessOfPreschool you’ve got to get a thicker skin I’m afraid. Have you applied for any jobs in the past? This happens all the time you can’t be letting it get to you this much. Just because you applied doesn’t mean you get an interview.

In my work all jobs are advertised internally before looking for outside candidates.

It sounds like they have parents who might be suitable for the job. Their procedure probably means they have to advertise - hence it won’t be done ‘widely’. Having advertised they can then ‘select’ their preferred candidates based on whatever specious criteria they choose. It’s not about you at all and I’d just let it go.

You could email them and say how disappointed you were, that you’d be really interested in anything that came up in the future etc and, you never know, that might give you an ‘in’ in the future.

You’re overthinking it: would let it go.

When you say it ‘wasn’t widely advertised’ what do you mean? If you’re an external candidate and saw the ad then others could have too.

I would ask for feedback on why you were not shortlisted for interview.
Did you go through the person specification and evidence all the things it was asking for? If you did, they would have had to interview you t really but I guess private schools might make t their own rules. LA schools would be a fairer process.

I recently had this - I applied for a job that I really wanted and would in my opinion be a perfect fit for me. Even though I didn’t have all the experience. I believed I had enough.

I didn’t get an interview so emailed them to ask for feedback. They came back with some lovely comments and some great constructive feedback to help me.

Just email and ask. What’s the worst that could happen - they ignore you?

If thats how it works I'm glad I dont work in education, I just can't imagine in the private sector getting a request for a reference for someone another employer was thinking about maybe shortlisting for an interview.

Ime it would be very unusual to tell your employer you're applying for other jobs and employers don't give "bad" references anymore

Don't assume that, because it said in the advert that 'interviews will be held wc 5 May' that this is actually happening. They just might not have worked through the shortlisting process yet, and should probably give candidates at least a couple of weeks notice of the interview date.

If their closing date was only a few days ago, they just might not have had chance to properly review and sift the applicants yet. It won't be anything to do with references as they only ask for those for the successful candidate after interview.

Last job I applied for stated an interview date in the advert, but it was actually 2 or 3 weeks later.

The employer is not obliged to interview everyone who meets the essential criteria.

Think about the situation where some jobs have hundreds of applicants and dozens (if not more) of people who meet the essential criteria. They will just narrow the list down on other criteria.

Tbh, it would be pointless to ask for feedback as to why you didn’t get an interview. I mean some people don’t even get feedback if they failed the interview so it’s not really expected you’d get it. Also, the feedback is the result itself that if you didn’t get offered an interview then you weren’t suitable for interview. The most you could do is reasonably ask your own HR whether they do personalised or tombstone references. Other than that, there’s not anything you can do.

Most organisations don’t provide feedback to people not selected for interview.

The job market is crowded at the minute. A lot of companies use AI to scan CVs and applications, no idea what they are looking for as I haven’t had interviews for roles that were a carbon copy of what I was doing.

It may be that your CV or your cover letter needs some work, there’s loads of articles on linkedin or just generally about how to improve it. I would tweak them both for every job you apply for.

They don't interview everyone who applies

Just a wild guess but I think @PrincessOfPreschool was hoping for a little bit more than a statement of the bleeding obvious

I work for a big public body. We're very kern on bringing in external staff , new blood etc at the moment.

Ask for feedback. You may have been sifted out for something - education/ right to work/ or if any of your examples missed the mark/ looked like they were written by AI. Worth finding out for next time but I doubt it was based on the fact they had someone internal in mind- especially if it's a serious organisation. They would want competitive recruitment to hire the best.

Age is a very big factor in education. From mid 40's on, we're seen as dinosaurs. And if you dare to be over 50, practically unemployable.

I would call them up and ask for feedback on your application. It’s a perfectly reasonable request (they may or may not provide it).

Is there a reason for that in education specifically?

I'm nearly 52 😭.

Thanks for those advising asking for feedback. I'll give them to the end of next week and then ask for some feedback, if possible.

To PP who suggested they might interview later than expected, it can't be much later for a 4th June start date!

It was a detailed application form, not CV and covering letter. I evidenced all that they required.

I didn't hand my notice in for this specific job. I explained on the form that I handed notice in for half term as I am taking a term time holiday from 6th July (this school breaks up on 4th July). I was planning to leave my other job in the summer (after 5 and a half years there) so just made it half a term earlier so they could employ someone from half term and have cover at the end of term. I had to explain all this as the form asked how much notice I need to give (6 weeks) and this would have put me outside the 4th June start date.

My current employment has no HR, just a manager who does it all (family run business). They want to me stay till I go on holiday, allow me term time holiday and they want me to come back in September! It's all made me feel valued where I am but I do need to move on now before I get even older.

I didn't use AI as it was an application form and I've never used AI anyway. Maybe I should start!