Breadcrumbing
Long story short, been experiencing serious breadcrumbing in the last year and a half. At least 3-4 opportunities that went to 3rd/4th interview, then excuses as to no offer (going different direction, no funding, kept interviewing, etc.). Two large companies in particular, and one via a staffing agency (which was not their fault, but their client's).
It is hard to be excited for new interviews after these experiences. I don't express these sentiments during the interviews, I've worked on what to say, how to say it, etc. I prepare for all interviews and 99.9% of the time feel like I did my best and the rest is up to the interviewer.
In all reality, I want to ask HR professionals in large companies this hard question: If you, or the department hiring manager, already know who you WANT to hire for the position (internal, known candidate, etc), why go along with positive feedback/further interviews with other candidates that you already know you are not offering the position to? True nepotism aside, sometimes you have to post jobs for positions you already have someone in mind for. That being said, why do you encourage those other candidates like they have a shot (when they don't)?
Anonymous
07/27/20 at 11:40AM UTC
**from OP**
Responses all make sense. I want to thank everyone who took the time to post. I think my biggest take away: No matter how much an HR rep/interviewer may tell you they like you, to reapply to new postings in the same department, etc., that is not an expression of wanting to hire you outright, just a matter of further enriching each applicant pool. That is neither right or wrong, but to not read into it, even though it SOUNDS like you have some sort of foot in the door, don't put too much stock into it.
Thank you! Have a great week!
Colleen Ferrary
Our biggest mistake is undervaluing our ability
131
07/26/20 at 6:57PM UTC
I'm so sorry you all are finding similar challenges. I've been on both sides of the situation- staffing for clients and acting as an HR for a fast-growing company, and being the very last interviewer looking for the "right" candidate for a role I need filled. Our company is focused on helping people very much like all of you every day. With Covid, it's getting more competitive as the numbers of applicants are 10X greater than they were 3 months ago.
Here's what happens:
It's not malicious at all. It's really expensive for a company to make a bad hiring decision so they usually bring 3-4 candidates to the final rounds of interviewing. It wasn't that you were not qualified, but that you weren't the best fit for them at that time. It could be anything from your qualifications compared to the other candidates, something that you said or a vibe that you gave answering a question that didn't "feel" right, the amount of money you wanted, etc... It does NOT mean that you were not an amazing candidate. I had one company tell me they chose one person over the other 3 because "he was more of a nerd than the rest and he seemed like he would just fit in better." Another said, "She didn't want it as much as the other candidate."
Here are some tips to help:
* Record your interview practice sessions. Many times you'll hear what you're doing wrong. Sometimes you'll need a trained ear to help you figure it out. It's really hard to assess yourself. Before you spend money on a career coach, try it. (Funny story, I was coaching a 40-year-old man and told him to record himself. He called me from his car one day to tell me he almost ran his car off the road while listening to his playback. He said he was so BORING that he put himself to sleep while he was driving!
* Don't fall prey to overconfidence. Many people feel so confident by the 4th interview that they think they've got the job in the bag. Trust me, great leaders are generally better interviewers who say less and listen more. While in corporate America, I turned down 80% of the interviews that my team had already interviewed 4 times. It was incredibly frustrating. Even when I invited the original employees to interview the candidate with me a second time, they always sat dumbfounded and always said, "That was NOT the candidate they met previously."
* Know your interviewer. Do your homework before each interview. Know what's important to them. The art of discovery includes learning about what the next interviewer is looking for before you get invited to interview with them.
Sarah Macholdt
135
07/26/20 at 3:45PM UTC
This just happened to me as well, though I attributed it to COVID- related hiring freezes. It's hard to know what (if anything!) you did wrong when you get radio silence after the second or third interview!
Laura WoodwardHuman Resources Professional in Boston MA.
34
07/24/20 at 6:58PM UTC
I am an HR Professional but have worked in smaller family owned companies so I can not speak to posting jobs with someone already in mind. I look for applicants outside the company when I could not find the talent from within the company. It is a waste of time and resources to go through the process of posting for a job, interviewing applicants only to have someone already in mind. This might be how big companies do it but to me it is a exercise in futility.
Anonymous
07/23/20 at 2:27PM UTC
I’m in a similar place. I know one of the reasons I’m not competing and there is absolutely nothing I can change about it. I’m in my late fifties. I can keep graduation dates off my resume and do a dozen different dances. I can dress cool and act cool, but I still don’t look like other applicants. And why should I need to?
There are other factors too, I’m not clueless. The point is, between Covid19, age discrimination, a late in life career transition, and 10 months of frustrating job search, I’m one ladder rung from falling into the abyss. I can’t do it anymore.
I’m not sure how I will solve this but I’ve gotta come up with a new plan.
Ellen Guido
16
07/29/20 at 2:45PM UTC
I absolutely agree. It’s very disheartening. I have been searching for another job as well going on five months. I am in the same age group and all of the roadblocks you are facing are very real. I enjoyed working and I, just as you, are great at what you do. I feel like I am wasting my time and should give up...but I don’t. I hope you won’t give up either.
Anonymous
07/23/20 at 12:42PM UTC
This has also happened to me several times. I’d be interested in seeing responses to this.
PSMarketing is my jam
149
07/22/20 at 3:40PM UTC
I would love to ask the same questions. So much of securing a job is not what you know, but who you know.
