Since you kids were all so delightfully helpful last time I needed help, I decided to bug you again.
Okay, so this interviewing process has been a shit show since day one. The very first interview was unacceptably late, the second was on time, but all other aspects of it and everything else since then fell in line with the initial shittery and have been a clusterfuck as well.
Interview one was **forty **goddamn minutes late. The interviewer explicitly stated after our second interview that he was interested in pursuing me as a candidate, and that he would e-mail an assignment that day. It came six days later. After completing the assignment, we scheduled a phone interview that never happened. He sent an e-mail explaining he’d be an hour late, as he was tied up, but he didn’t even call an hour later. I e-mailed him a wtf, then we rescheduled for the next day, but he didn’t call again, and this time without a phony e-mail even pretending he would call.
This whole time I’ve been keeping in touch and following up with this bullshit, but I am goddamn sick of this.
So two questions. 1) Should this fucked up process be the biggest red flag in the universe? This company is the real deal, I know. They’re not some backdoor operation, offices on three continents and all that jazz, but this interviewing process is a mess. Being a big stable company doesn’t mean it’s a good one. 2) Would you just throw in the towel amid all this bullshit, or would you continue staying on top of this?
The position itself seems hella cool, and the assignment I was given was a sneak preview into the gig which I enjoyed, but this right here is some serious crap. Maybe it’s a great position at a shitty company. I’ve *had *great positions at shitty companies, and fuck that.
Perhaps you can try and find out how integral HR is to what you’d be doing regularly? It’s entirely possible that their HR is shit-in-a-can, and it doesn’t matter to them because they have so many applicants, BUT, just because HR is crap doesn’t mean your job will be likewise once you get into it. If you will be mostly away from them, then it shouldn’t matter too much whether the interviewers/HR peons can’t tell their ass from their elbows.
I believe that you should be interviewing and assessing them as much as they are assessing you. Is this the guy you’d be reporting to? If so, then fuck no. He has demonstrated a lack of respect for your time and a lack of professionalism, not to mention being a hot mess of disorganization. This is the face he shows when he’s trying to woo you? Nope. No way. Listen to your instincts.
It might be their HR department as a whole, but I’m inclined to think his actions reflect on him as an unprofessional more than they reflect on the company. But I agree, as above, that you do NOT want to work with this guy in any capacity. If it is a great opportunity, which you seem to think (and which I think you are capable of judging), and you don’t have to work with this guy at all, then I hope you don’t let his inaction deprive you of a great job. Grin and bear it, unless he’s going to be a vital coworker or your boss or your boss’s boss. I’d vote to drop it like a hot potater if that were the case.
I think it’s time to end it and look for a good position with a good company who have hired good people in HR. If you decide not to pursue this, maybe send an email to that guy’s supervisor, advising them of how badly he’s performing his duties.
I wouldn’t have to work with him, as we wouldn’t even be in the same office. That was one thing that kept me feeling less annoyed this whole time, the idea that he specifically didn’t have his shit together, but it may be all good if I started working there and didn’t have to rely on him. But now I wonder how this kind of hot mess can even be tolerated, and if it’s tolerated out of everyone.
Also, I don’t even know what to say anymore if I e-mail him to follow up? The last one went something like, “Sorry that we weren’t able to speak yesterday, for reason’s that still aren’t clear to me. The time you selected works great for me, so if you can actually be bothered to fulfill your end of the bargain, let’s reschedule for that same time the following day.” This time I can’t think of anything other than, “Are you going to call me or not, dickhead?” which probably won’t work.
Forget about the delays. People are busy. They probably have to fit in a lot of interviews in too little time. It’s not that unusual. It’s not a strong indicator of what the work environment is like. And a work environment where timelines are delayed isn’t necessarily a bad sign either, unless it’s something you just can’t deal with. It could be a sign of pathological disorganization, or a sign of a successful burgeoning company.
Go ahead with the interview process. If you don’t want the job, the time to make that decision is after you’ve received an offer.
I don’t agree with this at all; yes, people are busy, but that isn’t an excuse to be very late for a scheduled interview, and be so flaky about further interviews and follow-ups. What MeanOldLady is describing is either very rude or, as you say, pathologically disorganized, not simply busy.
WTF? Best in what way? Obstacle to competitiveness? Rewarding mediocrity? (Sorry if this sounds harsh, it’s on of those illogical things in life that really bugs me).
If you believe all employees have the same talent level, sure. If, on the other hand, you recognize that there are X% of people that kick ass and get a ton of stuff done, then you will find that their typical cookie-cutter approach to employee compensation hampers competitiveness. I’ve been at places where I had to fight tooth and nail to compensate/keep people that were twice as productive as the average worker, it’s pretty illogical really.
I just got an “I’m sorry for sucking” e-mail from him. I suppose going through with another interview couldn’t hurt, so I’ll do it. Still, being busy is one thing. Being late is one thing. Just flat out not calling and not saying anything about it until the next day? That shit cray.
If you were reporting to him I’d say dump them. But since you aren’t, this might be personal and not corporate. Have you spoken to the people you really are going to work for and with?
We’re very busy also, and we are doing lots of interviews, but no one has ever been late to one, even someone who is usually late to everything. The selling goes both ways, and you want to give a candidate a good impression for reasons pretty obvious given the reactions in this thread. I organize interview schedules, and anyone pulling what this person pulled would never be allowed to go anywhere near a candidate ever again. But if you are not going to be working with him, don’t let him keep you away from the company.
I had a similar experience once - three interviews, all of which I was left waiting at reception for 40 - 50 minutes. I stupidly accepted their offer. I lasted two weeks, the company was just awful in every way. Only job I have ever quit like that.
I’ve not spoken with anyone who I’d be working with, although I’d like to. This guy’s dickery might be a reflection of his personal (terrible) style, or it might be a glimpse into what the company functions. I can’t tell. That said, it can’t be any worse than wear I am now. My boss is an EPIC CUNT. But *that *said, I don’t want to go from one shitty company I hate to another. Feh.
And I will disagree with your disagreement. People are crazy busy these days, at least where I work. Get some perspective. The interview is the single most important thing to the interviewee. It may not even make it into the top five for the interviewer.
aesop – who spent half his Saturday, yet again, logged in from home to try and stem the avalanche of critical emails accumulating in his inbox.
I can understand that; I usually work in accounting departments, which are chronically understaffed and running to keep up with deadlines. That said, “busy” means that it might take a couple of days to schedule an interview, and then another couple of days to get back to a candidate about the results; it doesn’t mean show up 40 minutes late for one that you’ve already scheduled. It doesn’t mean take six days to respond when you said you’d take one day.
WTF? Being busy is no excuse for this interviewer’s bullshit. If something critical comes up, it takes roughly thirty seconds to send a courtesy email to cancel. And no, “you didn’t make it into my top five important things” is not an acceptable justification for blowing off an interviewee.