Headhunted for role I then didn’t get

[Sandun]

My manager left about a year ago. We stayed friends. Then a role came up at her new job reporting to her. She kept pressurising me to apply. Got others to contact me also. Eventually I went for it. Didn’t really want to leave current role to start but then got invested. Didn’t get the new role :( now feel down and a bit embarrassed

Was interviewed by my friend, spent so much time preparing - all for nothing. I feel the friendship is damaged

Would your ex colleague have got an introduction fee if you were successful?

I am not sure. Public sector so I think not

I can well imagine you feel like that OP. Have you asked your friend for feedback? Seems like a very odd approach from her - it's one thing to say 'there's a job coming up in my team, can't promise you anything obviously', another to keep pressurising you and getting others to do the same.

ive had same… however then realised they had who they wanted, but couldn’t give the job to them without showing they’d also interviewed others… arses!

Something like this happened to me once - external clients approached me to see if I was interested, then took me out for lunch to try and persuade me to apply, I was unsure about the role for a bunch of reasons but thought I might as well and see where it went, so I put together an application anyway. Didn't even get an interview. Still no idea why.

Ah , sorry it’s happened to others as well. I guess it makes sense from a business sit for them they want applicants to chose from, but just seems a bit harsh too

That’s not headhunting OP, you were invited to apply, we can’t headhunt like that in the public sector (usually, at least). A fair and transparent process has to be followed (though not saying it’s not abused by people who do want their friends to get a role regardless…). It’s not good they didn’t manage your expectations though, and I understand the disappointment, did you get some good feedback at least? I’d expect your friend/colleague to at least talk you through the feedback thoroughly so it was at least a useful experience for you.

You weren't head hunted. You were asked to apply for a job and didn't get it. You didn't want to leave your job. No harm done.

unfortunately I’ve done this to people, when they didn’t perform at interview. It’s very embarrassing from the other side too. You’re not alone x

Ah, public sector, they probably had a panel and a very strict scoring criteria, so if someone else came along who scored higher on the day you wouldn't have got it. Private sector, if she had some clout she could probably have swung it for you but they do like their rules in public sector when it comes to recruitment.

She should have set your expectations a bit better though.

Ah, I’m sorry. They will have had a strick scoring criteria, and it’s fairly likely your friend wound not have been allowed to score you so it will have just been on the other panel members. She almost certainly also feels utterly terrible, so try not to let it ruin the friendship. Can you go out for a drink to discuss what happened and clear the air?

It did happen to me once too. Not public sector, no public advert, headhunted, three interviews including an overseas trip, didn’t get it. So I really feel your pain.

Public sector don’t headhunt in the same way. They encouraged you to apply, but as i’m sure you are aware, government recruitment works differently. We had someone on temp promotion and of course we encouraged her to apply, but it’s open and fair competition and we needed an independent panel member. Unfortunately she didn’t get it, as other candidates who scored higher than her on the day. No reflection on her, or her ability to do the job, just strong competition. No need to feel embarrassed, many of us have been there.

This has just happened to me as well. I actually wasn’t that bothered about the role but she was quite insistent with me and now it feels really awkward.

Public sector recruitment is a different game. All done on points scored per question where I work. All competency based

Ooo, she got you in the door. They have to go through proper hiring channels and found someone who is a bit stronger. You can’t take it personally- just keep an eye out for similar roles .

I had to apply for MY OWN JOB in the public sector and wasn’t successful. An external candidate scored higher than me. Now that was embarrassing as I’d been succeeding in the role on a seconded basis for the prior two years. The guy they offered the job to was a twat who didn’t last long but performed better at the interview.

They need to get as many good candidates into the pool as possible. I've encouraged people (admittedly not friends) to apply and then someone better has come along. It made for an awkward feedback session but the drop off from 1-3 was huge so pleased I had 2 who was good and appointable in the mix.

This feels right.

Take the person who was successful and their team. "Manager opened the role for applications but just hired their mate, who didn't do well at the interview"

You're upset that nepotism did not happen

That's a bit crap - interviews are an imperfect process of trying to find someone who can do a job - assuming you could do the job - they had a solid candidate. I know this is meant to be perceived to be fair - but it's just stupid.

Anyway - we have pursued someone and put them through interview, which they were a bit petulant about - they got offered the job but I should have picked up on the petulance - that ended up defining who they were, I should have voiced my concerns - I learned lessons from that recruitment.

Perhaps it came across during the interview that you didn’t really want the role?

It’s possible that another candidate just scored higher than you.

Side note: Don’t become “friends” with your manager. It’s never a good idea