Rejected due to not being able to make the interview date
Discussion
Just had an amusing/slightly baffling experience:
Applied for a job. Got contacted by their HR team 1 day after the closing date to say I was shortlisted for interview and they were very much looking forward to meeting me. They said I would receive an email later that day with the interview date(s).
Email arrived, and the sole interview date was only 5 days away. It was a date that I could not make due to a significant work commitment of an all-hands site meeting that was arranged many weeks ago. Their email small print said to contact them immediately if I could not make the specified date.
I email right back to apologise for not being able to make that date, stating a significant prior work commitment, but saying I was free the 3 following days that week, or at any other later date at their convenience.
HR replied with quite a bizarre email saying something like “Oh well that’s a shame, we have withdrawn your application because you aren’t available for interview. We aren’t prepared to offer other dates. Good luck with your job search”
What?
At my current place of work, we want the best people that we can, and therefore meeting as many people as possible is key. You never who you might come across in an interview.
Some of our best hires have been from interviews where we have ended up talking about everything BUT the job they applied for, and hiring them as we knew they would be a great addition, maybe even in other roles.
That is why we offer the candidates a choice of dates, or even ask them to tell us when they are free.
My wife just confirmed that her workplace does the same.
So yeah, it’s just left me a bit confused that they wouldn’t even want to meet with me, given that my application and relevant experience would have knocked it out of the park, in a role that I can’t imagine too many people would be applying for, or have the experience they were looking for.
I can’t work out what they are up to.
Any thoughts?
Applied for a job. Got contacted by their HR team 1 day after the closing date to say I was shortlisted for interview and they were very much looking forward to meeting me. They said I would receive an email later that day with the interview date(s).
Email arrived, and the sole interview date was only 5 days away. It was a date that I could not make due to a significant work commitment of an all-hands site meeting that was arranged many weeks ago. Their email small print said to contact them immediately if I could not make the specified date.
I email right back to apologise for not being able to make that date, stating a significant prior work commitment, but saying I was free the 3 following days that week, or at any other later date at their convenience.
HR replied with quite a bizarre email saying something like “Oh well that’s a shame, we have withdrawn your application because you aren’t available for interview. We aren’t prepared to offer other dates. Good luck with your job search”
What?
At my current place of work, we want the best people that we can, and therefore meeting as many people as possible is key. You never who you might come across in an interview.
Some of our best hires have been from interviews where we have ended up talking about everything BUT the job they applied for, and hiring them as we knew they would be a great addition, maybe even in other roles.
That is why we offer the candidates a choice of dates, or even ask them to tell us when they are free.
My wife just confirmed that her workplace does the same.
So yeah, it’s just left me a bit confused that they wouldn’t even want to meet with me, given that my application and relevant experience would have knocked it out of the park, in a role that I can’t imagine too many people would be applying for, or have the experience they were looking for.
I can’t work out what they are up to.
Any thoughts?
You clearly have no commitment so they don’t want you.
(No commitment except for that which you’ve clearly and perfectly correctly shown towards the person who currently employs you!) They’re bonkers and you’re certainly better off not being part of their circus if that’s how their HR department works.
(No commitment except for that which you’ve clearly and perfectly correctly shown towards the person who currently employs you!) They’re bonkers and you’re certainly better off not being part of their circus if that’s how their HR department works.
57Ford said:
You clearly have no commitment so they don’t want you.
(No commitment except for that which you’ve clearly and perfectly correctly shown towards the person who currently employs you!) They’re bonkers and you’re certainly better off not being part of their circus if that’s how their HR department works.
My thoughts exactly. I would never mess my current employer around. I respect them and they respect me.(No commitment except for that which you’ve clearly and perfectly correctly shown towards the person who currently employs you!) They’re bonkers and you’re certainly better off not being part of their circus if that’s how their HR department works.
If I do get invited to attend a job interview, I will take a day of annual leave, as I have done previously.
I would take a dim view of anyone who bombs off work appointments or phones in sick, to attended a job interview elsewhere.
RayDonovan said:
From my experience, this is the sort of role that has been already given to an internal candidate but they needed to advertise externally for HR purposes.
Entirely possible. I’ve seen this before.If it is the case, just a bit annoying that they have wasted my time and the time of others, especially those who do turn up on the interview date.
It wasn’t like it was a simply case of sending a CV and covering email, it was a full on couple of hours worth of an application form where they want to know the far end of a every fart you have ever had, including the salaries of current and previous jobs.
Seems surprising given that they've gone to the effort to shortlist you for interview. If it was going to be that hard for the interview panel to meet then they at least should have said "Interviews will take place on 25th February" so rthat applicants had prior warning
I've seen it in the Public Sector (where the Unions insist on it for various petty reasons, unless it's a Union member who wants to apply for the job). Ive never seen it in the Private Sector though. It's easy to achieve however - you just put a single advert in "Falkland Islands Sheep Farmers Monthly" 
Mont Blanc said:
RayDonovan said:
From my experience, this is the sort of role that has been already given to an internal candidate but they needed to advertise externally for HR purposes.
Entirely possible. I’ve seen this before.Countdown said:
I've seen it in the Public Sector (where the Unions insist on it for various petty reasons, unless it's a Union member who wants to apply for the job). Ive never seen it in the Private Sector though.
Quite common IME if you want to ship someone over on a visa, have to advertise first to show there is no suitable local candidate.57Ford said:
You clearly have no commitment so they don’t want you.
(No commitment except for that which you’ve clearly and perfectly correctly shown towards the person who currently employs you!) They’re bonkers and you’re certainly better off not being part of their circus if that’s how their HR department works.
Agreed, and their HR department are stupid for not picking up on this. He's keeping a commitment to his current employer over a new job, and giving perfectly acceptable alternatives.(No commitment except for that which you’ve clearly and perfectly correctly shown towards the person who currently employs you!) They’re bonkers and you’re certainly better off not being part of their circus if that’s how their HR department works.
I'm sure there are still some monolithic institutions that still recruit as if it was the 1990s. Collect a large pool of candidates and go through several stages to narrow down the pool to a group they would start interviewing. May work if you're doing the milk round but anyone with any reasonable professional experience or a working career doesn't really have time for such games.
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