Phantom Jobs/Slow HR

Hmmm…

I had an interview a few weeks ago that is still hanging out there and it is irritating. All of the interaction was good- smiles, everything positive, they even used the phrase “when we hire you” a good bit.

Then nothing. I’ve followed up with the agent that set me up for it and she says that they just haven’t made a decision yet. Frustrating.

Here was the interview process for 2 previous jobs, one I received and the other I didn’t:

-1 I received. Given the interview b/c I knew the hiring manager. Flew to Cedar Rapids, IA to get GRILLED the next day. Interviewed 9 people, 8 of them in groups of 2 and the final was the big boss.

-1 I didn’t receive. Went through a pretty basic phone interview. Came in for the all day interview which started with a 1 hour knowledge based scenario test, then 3 interviews where I was grilled for 2+ hours each. Ended up being a finalist of 2 and didn’t get it b/c they hired a guy with 7 years more experience than me. Not quite sure why they allowed me to go that far if 7+ years of experience would be the deal breaker.

-1 previous job I got, the guy loved me but didn’t want to hire me b/c of my haircut…I cut my hair but I should have ran right then lol.

[quote]Captnoblivious wrote:

[quote]Derek542 wrote:

[quote]Captnoblivious wrote:

[quote]Derek542 wrote:
Yea the small ones get you to the big ones it seems like. However that is when things slow down, guys in the field want you to come work for them, but then HR slows it down.

You have been out of school now what 3 years? [/quote]

From grad school. I worked professionally for quite a while before returning to the ivory towers of academia…lol[/quote]
Yea I meant grad school.

What is your 5 year goal and 10?[/quote]

I’ve never really set a time frame. I probably need to sit down and do that.

[/quote]
Personally I think its important for career targets. And its not always about annual salary.

Corporation you work for
Experience level and scope of service

I am goal oriented and I believe it helps me move forward and not get stagnate.

[quote]ZJStrope wrote:
Here was the interview process for 2 previous jobs, one I received and the other I didn’t:

-1 I received. Given the interview b/c I knew the hiring manager. Flew to Cedar Rapids, IA to get GRILLED the next day. Interviewed 9 people, 8 of them in groups of 2 and the final was the big boss.

-1 I didn’t receive. Went through a pretty basic phone interview. Came in for the all day interview which started with a 1 hour knowledge based scenario test, then 3 interviews where I was grilled for 2+ hours each. Ended up being a finalist of 2 and didn’t get it b/c they hired a guy with 7 years more experience than me. Not quite sure why they allowed me to go that far if 7+ years of experience would be the deal breaker.

-1 previous job I got, the guy loved me but didn’t want to hire me b/c of my haircut…I cut my hair but I should have ran right then lol.[/quote]
Holy shit.

Update:

To date I’ve done 6 interviews and I have 4 more scheduled. 3/6 were internal hires. The non-internal hire, I really wasn’t a great candidate. I turned down a low ball offer for a position in an area with a high cost of living. The results are still pending from another interview.

What I have really learned with all these interviews is how to read an interview panel. The last interview most of the panel wouldn’t even make eye contact. I could tell from the start of the interview it was an internal hire. I met another candidate who was waiting to interview. We shot the shit for a while and he tells me he has done 3 interviews with the same group that were all hired internally. The hiring manager called me and I started chatting it up with him. He gives me the normal great candidates talk then spills the beans that they hired a weak internal candidate due to a powerful client being friends with the candidate…lol

From my experience, if you have a panel interviewing you who’s body language is disinterested or disengaged this is a bad sign. If the panel is hostile towards your qualifications this is another negative.

Thoughts on getting interviews. I have not received interviews for quite a few entry level positions. I have not written cover letters for most of the jobs I received interviews for.

And remember for most jobs requiring higher education. SHOW UP IN A FUCKING SUIT. I’ve seen many guys show up poorly dressed where the interview panel was better dressed than the interviewee. I was talking it up with secretaries and HR and they mentioned how poorly dressed some applications were.

I think the potential exists for generating good will from organizations and the individuals within the panel by showing up and blowing the interview out of the water. You might not get the job, but it is some face time with the administration.

I’m in a similar boat (outta grad school and hunting).

I’ve had split panels where half are really engaged and half don’t say anything until I prompt them for questions or ask something pertaining to that individual’s specific area. I believe there’s been research that interviews don’t really correlate with job performance.

I’ve had more interviews in the last month or two than a long time before that, so the hiring cycle is def. strong here.

I’ve yet to hear from 3 of them.

1 is government, though they said I should have heard from them some time ago… I’m guessing they found someone else and they’re waiting to see how the background check pans out.
1 is a university, I’m guessing something similar. I am slightly overqualified, but the chemistry of the interview was meh (this was the split panel)
1 his private, it’s still early in the process, so I can’t say one way or the other.

But I’m tired. If I don’t land something by the end of the month, my plan is to file for gov’t assistance, work the networking leads I have, volunteer some place, and substantially ease back the job hunt and breathe a bit. Sucks, 'cause I’m getting married soon.

[quote]SkyzykS wrote:
Hmmm…

I had an interview a few weeks ago that is still hanging out there and it is irritating. All of the interaction was good- smiles, everything positive, they even used the phrase “when we hire you” a good bit.

Then nothing. I’ve followed up with the agent that set me up for it and she says that they just haven’t made a decision yet. Frustrating.
[/quote]

Sounds familiar. I subcontracted for a guy who hired heavy equipment operators, fabricators, and some manual labor work.

This guy was grade A fucking prick. He really strung people along and did some devious things. He was also very shady about paying his guys.

Humility and the 48 Laws of Power.

I was giving some thought to the comments about humility in this thread. If you are familiar with the 48 laws of Power. One of the laws is never outshine the master. In the past, I have seen weak candidates hired by power hungry or incompetent admin to make themselves look better and to gain power within an organization. I’m not saying this is the case in any of the interviews I have been involved with, but it is definitely food for thought. Do you want to hire a highly competent shark or a less competent sheep?

[quote]1 Man Island wrote:
I’m in a similar boat (outta grad school and hunting).

I’ve had split panels where half are really engaged and half don’t say anything until I prompt them for questions or ask something pertaining to that individual’s specific area. I believe there’s been research that interviews don’t really correlate with job performance.

I’ve had more interviews in the last month or two than a long time before that, so the hiring cycle is def. strong here.

I’ve yet to hear from 3 of them.

1 is government, though they said I should have heard from them some time ago… I’m guessing they found someone else and they’re waiting to see how the background check pans out.
1 is a university, I’m guessing something similar. I am slightly overqualified, but the chemistry of the interview was meh (this was the split panel)
1 his private, it’s still early in the process, so I can’t say one way or the other.

But I’m tired. If I don’t land something by the end of the month, my plan is to file for gov’t assistance, work the networking leads I have, volunteer some place, and substantially ease back the job hunt and breathe a bit. Sucks, 'cause I’m getting married soon.[/quote]

Not hearing from jobs is fairly common. Government jobs are the absolute slowest from my experience. I would just keep interviewing, unless it becomes a financial issue. It does suck though.

When the going gets tough, the tough get going. lol

[quote]Captnoblivious wrote:
Humility and the 48 Laws of Power.

I was giving some thought to the comments about humility in this thread. If you are familiar with the 48 laws of Power. One of the laws is never outshine the master. In the past, I have seen weak candidates hired by power hungry or incompetent admin to make themselves look better and to gain power within an organization. I’m not saying this is the case in any of the interviews I have been involved with, but it is definitely food for thought. Do you want to hire a highly competent shark or a less competent sheep?[/quote]

Excellent book, and excellent point.
I’m still in school, but I remember this quote from an article about Illumina (they do genome sequencing):

Read more: Illumina Genome Sequencing Growth

[quote]Captnoblivious wrote:

[quote]SkyzykS wrote:
Hmmm…

I had an interview a few weeks ago that is still hanging out there and it is irritating. All of the interaction was good- smiles, everything positive, they even used the phrase “when we hire you” a good bit.

Then nothing. I’ve followed up with the agent that set me up for it and she says that they just haven’t made a decision yet. Frustrating.
[/quote]

Sounds familiar. I subcontracted for a guy who hired heavy equipment operators, fabricators, and some manual labor work.

This guy was grade A fucking prick. He really strung people along and did some devious things. He was also very shady about paying his guys.
[/quote]

Most of them (hr agencies) are pretty decent, mainly because you are their bread and butter, but I’ve heard of a few like you mentioned.

Since that post I’ve been called back to a company that I worked at for a few years until 2010 when we had that economic crash. I love the work, the guys are great and the atmosphere is relaxed/easy going- but get it done, which I also like.

Had my first experience with fast HR recently. Three swift interview requests and one swift job offer.

[quote]MattyG35 wrote:

[quote]Captnoblivious wrote:
Humility and the 48 Laws of Power.

I was giving some thought to the comments about humility in this thread. If you are familiar with the 48 laws of Power. One of the laws is never outshine the master. In the past, I have seen weak candidates hired by power hungry or incompetent admin to make themselves look better and to gain power within an organization. I’m not saying this is the case in any of the interviews I have been involved with, but it is definitely food for thought. Do you want to hire a highly competent shark or a less competent sheep?[/quote]

Excellent book, and excellent point.
I’m still in school, but I remember this quote from an article about Illumina (they do genome sequencing):

Read more: Illumina Genome Sequencing Growth
[/quote]

That was an interesting read. Thanks.

[quote]spar4tee wrote:
Had my first experience with fast HR recently. Three swift interview requests and one swift job offer.[/quote]

Congrats!

[quote]Captnoblivious wrote:

[quote]spar4tee wrote:
Had my first experience with fast HR recently. Three swift interview requests and one swift job offer.[/quote]

Congrats! [/quote]
Thanks, bro. The switch to IT has done me very well. I also should point out that I turned down those other interview requests because I already accepted the first offer. I had a hell of time finding and applying to engineering, computer science, and defense internships in the DC area. I switch to IT and everything immediately falls into place.

I recently landed what I would consider my dream job. Great pay, status, and stability.

I would say I definitely learned a considerable amount in the process.

congrats cap… always good to hear some good news

[quote]Captnoblivious wrote:
I recently landed what I would consider my dream job. Great pay, status, and stability.

I would say I definitely learned a considerable amount in the process. [/quote]
Sweet, dude. Congrats.

[quote]Captnoblivious wrote:
Humility and the 48 Laws of Power.

I was giving some thought to the comments about humility in this thread. If you are familiar with the 48 laws of Power. One of the laws is never outshine the master. In the past, I have seen weak candidates hired by power hungry or incompetent admin to make themselves look better and to gain power within an organization. I’m not saying this is the case in any of the interviews I have been involved with, but it is definitely food for thought. Do you want to hire a highly competent shark or a less competent sheep?[/quote]

I’ve often thought about this. I think knowing when to step up and when to keep your mouth shut is just a product of mastering social interaction (think AngryChicken level social interaction.)