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Interviewer lacks integrity?

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Anonymous

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Interviewer lacks integrity?

I had a very interesting experience with an interview I recently had.

The interviewer was part of the leadership team and I thought went okay - not great but okay. Please note I had a screening interview prior. And the screener no showed for the first interview and told her recruiter she called me 3 times (never called, never showed up on my caller id, didn’t happen). I probably should have stopped the process at that time but decided to move forward as I am in between jobs right now.

A day later, I received a voice message from the recruiter stating that they were not moving forward with me but asked me to call her about feedback and the role. I thought that was atypical but decided to call with the insistence of my adult son. I didn’t want to call initially as I was just going to move on at that point.

I called the recruiter back and she reiterated that the company was not moving forward with me, but also went into detail and gave me feedback from the interviewer. Feedback that I did not ask for.

She told me the interviewer said that I thought it was a different type of position ( which is not true as their ad clearly lists the responsibilities for this role), that I asked her a question that she had gone over at the beginning of the conversation (also not true as she was trying to camouflage the reason the position was open) and that I failed to articulate strategies used to solve a particular problem even though I gave her 5 concrete strategies.

I was dumbfounded as this recruiter was telling me all this because first of all I didn’t ask for feedback and second of all what she was saying was untrue!

Long story short, I asked the recruiter via email to completely withdraw my application. I wouldn’t want to work for a company that lacks integrity now or in the future, and also a company that has that type of recruiting process in place.

There are so many unethical people out there, it really makes me sick to the stomach.

Also, I am not clear on why it was handled this way. I have never experienced anything like this before.

Any insights would be appreciated.

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21 Comments

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  1. Joan Williams, Senior Talent Acquisition Specialist

    Some companies are not well run companies. Some people are bad at their job.

  2. Anonymous

    No insights. It was a bad experience and not at all a fit.

  3. Anonymous

    You did the right thing. You are better off moving on.

  4. Jessica Ferland

    A few things:

    1) Sounds like you dodged a bullet, so take a deep breath and be happy that your time with these people is over.

    2) She asked you to call her for feedback. You didn't have to do that. But you sound surprised that you were provided feedback on that call

    3) See #1

  5. Anonymous

    OP here - you are right. I didn’t have to call her back. My son persuaded me to do so as he thought there might be a consideration for another opportunity or at least a venue to keep the lines of communication open. Anyway, you live and you learn.

  6. Anonymous

    She wasn't as surprised about getting feedback, as much as she was about the feedback being totally not what happened.

  7. Anonymous

    This company sounds unethical and dysfunctional. Be thankful that you found out now.

  8. Anonymous

    Could the recruiter have been giving you the feedback to gauge your reaction as a check on HER gut feeling that something wasn’t right at that company? I agree with the others - you dodged a bullet. But your honest feedback helps the recruiter gain a clearer picture of the inner workings of the company

  9. Anonymous

    It sounds like they got the interview notes mixed up with another candidate. Try again.

  10. Afo Ogbeyalu Kalu

    That was the impression I got as well.

  11. Anonymous

    It sounds like they don't know what they're doing. I usually have to beg for feedback and I still don't get it. But you clearly dodged a bullet!

    I would post your experience on GlassDoor so the company (CEO) - and other candidates - can see what's happening in the recruitment process.

  12. Ruth Robbins

    We need more than 'trust instincts.'there needs to be some legislation enforcing decent hiring practices, with accountability through sites like Glassdoor or other online platforms. It might slow down the hiring process initially but recruiters and hiring teams need to adhere to some good practices in recruiting and onboarding.

  13. Susan Grant-Suttie

    You did the right thing!

  14. Anonymous

    This is shocking to me because up until I read this post, I thought it was against the law for recruiters to give feedback on interviews. I guess it is just common practice that they never do that (and would certainly never do that to someone they were not hiring.) I would take it as a sign from the universe that I dodged a bullet.

  15. Anonymous

    Against the law? why...generally they never give you feedback because they don't get any or the hiring manager doesn't give the why.

  16. Anonymous

    Well you definitely made the right decision for you. Generally I advise folks in the screening call to find out why the role is open- is it a replacement for someone who quit,failed or was fired? Is it am addition to the team because- there is a lot of work, too many complaining customers, etc. Or is it a completely new role where they have never hired someone into it before. Find this out. Then you should ask what the interview steps are and do they have a structured interview or is it just random people who come into the process. You will know then what you are in for. Most often the messy processes are ones where the role is new or there has been a failure in the position before. Also if they have interviewers that are from other teams they often don't truly know the nuances of the job and then the interview is sloppy. Don't shoot the messenger by the way, the recruiter actually did a good thing by giving you feedback which you can use to filter out other companies that won't fit you either. Many companies just send a blanket reject and say nothing. Good luck in your search for a better home.

  17. Alison Perrin

    Maybe the recruiter was trying to figure out what is going on as well. They are probably dealing with a lot of untruths making their job difficult.

  18. Explorer825351

    The recruiter let you know they had feedback, you called to receive said feedback. Stop dwelling and move on.

  19. Linda McCurry

    Be thankful you dodged that bullet. It sounds as though there is a lot of dysfunction at that organization and you got to see it in action.

  20. Anonymous

    She sabatoged you maybe to hire her friend

  21. Anonymous

    Wow!! So, first of all, this organization is relying on someone that should be a solid part of the recruitment process and, who's pretty much a liar, to find qualified leads for its positions. Secondly, to have the audacity to offer feedback, (negative) when it wasn't warranted or requested?? I'm about as dumbfounded as you are about this one.

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