I was called in for a second interview.

18 Comments

1. JillAugust 16,2023 at 3:31PM UTC

   I don't view this the same way as you are looking at it. This is an opportunity, they thought enough of your skillset to talk to you in person. So you didn't get the original role, but the company has an interest in you. Personally I don't think the online experience is as valuable as the an in person experience we you can look at the interviewer eye to eye and also get a flavor of their culture.

2. AnonymousAugust 16,2023 at 3:47PM UTC

   Our HR vets the applications but doesn't reach out to candidates. That's all on the hiring manager. Based on the applicants HR sent to me as "competitive" vs who they sidelined (one of whom ended up being the perfect fit for the position), HR had zero understanding of what I needed for the role. For a company that uses HR for the first pass or two, I can see this happening for specialized positions. One applicant wrote a cover letter about her experience in a vaguely related field with one of the job duties, but that was 5% of the position and she had zero experience with the 75% of the job that was most critical. HR thought she would be a good fit. <shrug> After reading many of these stories, I'm relieved that we have so much control over who we interview.

   If the actual hiring manager said you wouldn't be a good fit for that role but liked you enough to recommend you be considered for others, I would count that as a positive result and likely worth the effort you made to show up. Good luck!

3. Lisa KahlerAugust 16,2023 at 3:51PM UTC

   Exactly what happened to me! The role I applied for needed slightly different background than what I have, but I was hired into a different role!

4. AnonymousAugust 16,2023 at 5:16PM UTC

   This happened to me yesterday!!!!! Huge corporation but I have to look for the new role. No immediate transfer available.

   I worked at a position but was let go as not a good fit

   Over this crap

5. Sue Gordon- retired Career CoachAugust 16,2023 at 7:29PM UTC

   Whelp you sure don't want to work for her!

   If the other roles report to her, I would keep looking. This is so inconsiderate-- assuming there was no interview before being told you weren't a fit. If you'd been asked several questions, then it's not so bad.

   Yes, it can work out to be hired for another role than you initially applied for-- just don't take it if she's the manager and she ditched you before speaking to you. For that, she should have cancelled the interview and saved you the hassle. Good luck!

6. Lisa KahlerAugust 17,2023 at 6:07PM UTC

   Sorry, but I disagree. The fact that the manager still feels she could bring value to the organization is a good thing!!

7. AnonymousAugust 19,2023 at 12:30PM UTC

   Yes. I have been called in for interviews only to be told "We don't want to hire you" right then and there. Major waste of my time.

8. AnonymousAugust 19,2023 at 12:37PM UTC

   At the company I work for we’ve done this twice recently and both new hires were put in positions that better suited them. They are both fantastic and we knew we wanted to hire them. This is a positive thing if they are recommending you for another role.

9. AnonymousAugust 19,2023 at 1:06PM UTC

   I once got a call back that I wasn’t right for “this role” but they stressed that I would be great at the company. About 5 weeks later they called to offer me a different position without another interview. It can work out sometimes.

10. GirlBossanova934974August 19,2023 at 1:10PM UTC

    This so called "next higher-up" manager is an unmitigated disaster. I wonder how she ever slid under the management door and got to the position she is in. I don't know. Maybe this is a new cultural thing or a mark of rank inexperience? You as a manager owe it to the person you are interviewing to review their resume in detail BEFORE any meeting (phone, video, or in person) and have questions ready to go. You are PREPARED! You are representing your organization. Not reading the resume is already a red flag. Having a candidate drive to your location and completely wasting their time shows off your organization as sloppy, unprepared, and NOT ready to do business. I would steer clear of this company. No doubt they tolerate other such seriously problematic behaviors. And yes! I have seen this before. The next thing you find out is that managers routinely skip meetings they don't feel like going to, employees have low morale, and there are serious absenteeism issues.

11. Rae WagonerAugust 19,2023 at 2:38PM UTC

    Respectfully, I think you’re making a number of assumptions here and jumping to conclusions. Perhaps this person knows of other roles that are opening up that are a better fit. Perhaps this person has a wider-scope view of what all is going on in the company.

    I myself have had a person come in to interview for a position and knew they were not the right fit for that role, but PERFECT for a new role I was in the process of creating. She worked for me for I think 8 years and was flourishing when I left.

12. AnonymousAugust 19,2023 at 1:35PM UTC

    I went and interviewed for a recent job and got called to come back to interview for another job. Turned out after interviewing with the first manager, she realized I would be a better fit for a position in another department and notified that manager. The departments work closely. I got that job and she was right. That other job was more what I prefer.

13. Shelly EdwardsAugust 19,2023 at 2:43PM UTC

    You dodged a bullet. It sounds like this person may be difficult to work for and disrespectful of your time. Time to move on.

14. AnonymousAugust 19,2023 at 5:58PM UTC

    At the large tech company that I previously worked for, we actually had an option in our interview de-briefs to note that a candidate would be a good fit for the company but wasn’t a good fit for the specific role that they interviewed for. Often, this had to do with a difficult personality on *our* side that we knew the candidate would have to work with, and we were concerned about their ability to be successful when dealing with that person. Or sometimes it had to do with them having great experience overall but lacking some weird niche thing that we felt they really needed to have for a specific role.

    Those candidates were put into a preferred pool for other managers who had roles that could be a better fit.

    Now, candidates who were labeled as such were always told over the phone by their recruiting liaison. Having someone drive in for this was really unprofessional.

15. AnonymousAugust 20,2023 at 1:59PM UTC

    that's rude to me, but ok. honestly, i am discovering that companies/HR, etc are so rude these days, making poor use o our time, etc....your gut is telling you something. Don't chase this too hard, ok?

16. Cindi WilkesAugust 27,2023 at 6:46AM UTC

    I couldn’t agree with you more! I feel exactly the same way.

17. Whitney Osei-AkintajuAugust 20,2023 at 2:57PM UTC

    The thing is that HR only usually knows the high-level workings of the role. They rarely know the day-to-day tasks. If you met with higher ups, they may understand ths inner workings of the role a bit more and what is required. I have had this happen to me and it did indeed work in my favor. I got a role in another department that was a better fit for my skills set.

18. Cindi WilkesAugust 27,2023 at 6:41AM UTC

    I had almost the same thing only even worse. I had a phone interview and was overqualified for the job. She told me on the phone I had the job. Could I come down and just fill out paperwork. Then she said, “I’ll call you tomorrow to work out the details. “No call.” So I finally called her the next day at noon she got back to me at 4:00pm and it was sort of surreal, in her chipper happy voice she said oh I’m sorry I just was so busy yesterday and just finished hiring someone. So I asked if she could tell me what was the differentiating factor. She said she just got her application a week in before you and I’ve been negotiating with her all week. So I guess I was the backup. But still the whole thing was very rude to waste my time and make me run around at the last minute. I was a department manager in a large advertising agency. I was always honest with my candidates and treated them like I wanted to be treated. I was so shocked , but she said things are always moving and changing so you never know what may happen. Here’s the absolute best: She said we really need to get you back as a client. Which I haven’t been since 2009…are you kidding me???? Do you want me to transfer you to the receptionist? Are you kidding? When I hung up I thought, wait did that really just happen? I was upset for a couple days and went through about every emotion and berating myself trying to figure out what I could have done better. Finally, even though it was a job I really would have enjoyed, I decided that I probably dodged a bullet. Even if she were to call me, whether I had a job or not, I’d say no thank you. I was always very concerned about my employees, that they were getting what they needed, and had a open door policy. I’m also proud to say I never once treated anyone who interviewed with me like that. So I think I dodged a bullet. I may not have a job but still have my integrity and would never do that to anyone.