[Long and weak]
I swear to OG I get no respect.
About a year ago there was a job opening at a large institution for an executive director. My company sometimes uses space in their facility and I am well known around the facility. The retiring director told me that he thought I was prefect for the job, and he would support me.
I applied.
The week before Christmas I got a phone call from their HR lady. The conversation when like this:
“You applied for this position.”
“Yes I did”
“Well I am sorry but you were not selected for an interview, but because you know about our operation we would like you to travel up here and help us interview the candidates that were chosen. I will send you their qualifications.”
:eek:
At this point I made some nice noises and said goodbye. However inside my head my brain was screaming WTF?
Needless to say I did not cut my vacation in Hawaii short so that I could fly at my own expense to help them interview guys that had qualifications that were inferior to mine.
Everyone I have told this too has had the same WTF? response as I did.
They offered the job to one guy, and he never called them back. [Nelson Muntz]A-Ha![/NM]
I found out later that one member of the selection committee was a buddy of the never called back guy, so he blackballed me. OK shit happens.
Anyway they keep telling me that they are going to re-list the job. Fine, I am willing to apply again.
While we are waiting for them to re-list the job, my friend the retired director sets up a luncheon with the president of the institution. The three of us go to lunch and they start asking me my opinion of the program. I give my opinion and point out where I see a big pothole. They agree that it is a problem. They ask for a solution. I think for a few seconds and offer a suggestion. Their response?
[Guinness Beer guys]
Brilliant!
[/GBG]
They ask for several suggestions and each time I offer a suggestion and get the same Brilliant as a response.
So I am thinking I am looking pretty good.
The head of the professional association that also is involved with the institution came to me that day and said “You know they are going to list that job again?”
“Yes”
"You will apply.
“Yes Sir!” By the way this guy is on the selection committee, again I think I must not look too bad.
So I apply, the application says they are looking for a start date of 10/1
I don’t hear anything.
I don’t hear anything.
So this week, I am in town, so I ask around the department. Nobody knows anything. So I take the bull by the horns and I go to the head of the professional association today and ask him what is up.
His response?
:eek:
"Didn’t you get a call?
“No”
“Oh no” I could tell by the look on his face that he did not want to be the one to tell me. Instead of 4 or 5 guys appply they had 10 this time, 3 of which had extensive experience in the exact field doing the exact job that was being interviewed for. They only offered interviews to the three top people. I was fourth. The interviews were last week. 
He was so upset over the fact that I was not told that I was no longer in the running he fired up his e mail and sent a very strongly worded letter to the VP telling them that they had dropped the ball, he was upset and that I was owed an apology.
OK here comes the rant.
Look I understand that there are other people out there that are better qualified then me for this job, particularly since this would be a career change for me. I don’t have a problem with that. What is cheesing me off here is the fact that I was not even given the courtesy of a phone call or a e mail or even a snail mail letter to let me know that I was no longer in the running. After all this is not a mom and pop 7-11 we are talking about here. This is a very large organization with a multi million dollar budget, and a full time HR department. This is an executive position; I was not applying for a job sweeping floors. I swear I must be the incarnation of Rodney Dangerfield. No respect, none what so ever.
I have never been treated so rudely by any HR department anywhere. A professional HR department would have sent me a letter, or at least a phone call. However, in this case I think HR must stand for Hardly Reliable.
::: Looks up::: Oh this is the pit, isn’t it?
Goddamn goat fletching, scum bag lazy assed good for nothing HR weinies. Christ on a pogo stick what do these assholes do between coffee breaks anyway? When I become king they will all be fed to the sharks with fricking laser beams on their heads.
Thanks for listening
R
Sorry to hear it.
This sort of story should be bookmarked for those occasions when HR-type people start threads about potential job candidates who fail to show up for interviews, or who “embellish” their resumes, or who apply for jobs they’re not qualified for. I know that two wrongs don’t make a right, but every time i hear employers complain about job candidates, i think of stories like yours, which i’ve heard from dozens of people in various different sectors of the economy.
If employers want candidates to jump through all their hoops and be professional, then they need to reciprocate. Nowdays, too many employers fail in some of the most basic courtesies, and your case is a perfect example. You were the fourth best out of about ten candidates, and they didn’t even have the sense of professional courtesy to let you know that you missed out on the interview. Assholes.
Seriously, even CEO’s have to apply through HR?
Anyway, it sounds like you were cut from the process for stupid reasons and I’m sorry to hear that.
At any rate, it all made for an excellent OP that will doubtless raise your standing among the Dopers who happen upon it, and that’s worth a little somethin’ somethin’ isn’t it?
I wanna tell ya, I get no respect, no respect at all…not even from my wife. Just the other night I told my wife I wanted sex…she left the room to give me privacy!
I wanna tell ya…I went to the dentist, I said “Doc, my teeth are yellow!”…he told me to wear a brown tie.
I wanna tell ya…
– Rodney Dangerfield
(Hope that cheered you up a little, Rick.)
Thanks for all the responses.
Starving Artist 
You brought a smile to my face. Thanks.
threemae Not CEO (I wish) about 3 or 4 steps below actually.
mhendo I will keep the bookmark handy in case that ever comes up.
Thanks for the kind words. I has having kind of a pity fest tonight and you have made me feel beter.
Why couldn’t the committee be composed of dopers?
Go figure. It happens to HR professionals interviewing for executive HR positions at HR departments with other companies. (That’s a mouthful…)
Yes, it happened to me, the HR person going for an executive HR position elsewhere. Three in-person interviews, one phone interview.
Nice noises made all around, enthusiastic responses, wow, you’d be outstanding in this position, blah blah blah.
After the last in-person interview comes the enthusiastic round of handshakes and “We’ll be making our decision inside a week” spiel.
A week goes by. I decide not to call at the exact one-week mark; I decide to give it another 48 hours before I contact them.
I sent an excruciatingly polite e-mail to the VP asking about the status, thanking him for the interview, yadda yadda. Nothing.
I leave a voice mail two days later. Nothing.
I knew as soon as the full work week went by that I wasn’t going to be receiving an offer from them but decided to see if they were going to actually call me back. In the meantime I accepted another offer and watched the e-mail to see if they were going to respond.
After three weeks had gone by, I decided to give them a little poke. I called the main number and spoke to the HR administrative assistant. I explained to her my e-mail and phone call had gone unanswered, and could I trouble her to find out the status of that position for me?
So, she takes my number and tells me she will return my call.
Later that afternoon, she does and she tells me that the position was offered to another applicant.
I told her that Mr X and Ms. Y, the execs with whom I’d interviewed, had informed me at the last interview they’d be making their decision inside a week and would contact me - I let her know that it spoke volumes that none of them could be bothered to call me or return my messages.
I thanked her and hung up. I was pretty surprised because they’d been good about communication before - but when they made their hiring decision I was immediately no longer worth their time.
I agree; too many employers these days are completely lacking in the basic professional courtesies. If someone takes the time to attend an interview, at least let them know it if you choose another candidate.
From my experience, there ain’t no such thing. Most are comprised of a bunch of monkeys flinging shit everywhere they go. Keep that concept and image in your head when you deal with them and you’ll be much happier.
Well, that might be your problem right there. If the director thought you were Prefect he probably considered the position to be beneath you.
Um…I went to an interview for an AA job around here, and they sent me a ‘no’ letter. (When I did some sleuthing, I found they had given it to an internal applicant.) But if they could be polite enough for an AA job…
I just don’t get this kind of random rudeness? Do people not realize it leaves you with a bad taste in your mouth? That you’re inclined to remember that sort of thing?
Thanks for the compliment, but no. This job would have been a streach for me. I spoke at length about it with the former director and his feeling is that he and I are kindred sprits and that I would take the department to the next level as he put it.
Oh well, life goes on. It sucks some times, but it goes on.