So, in this last post I made, I mentioned that, on Friday, I had an interview that went extremely well. In this post, I mentioned that technical aptitude test was something that was next on the agenda.
I didn’t hear anything back yesterday, so I followed up with the hiring manager, and I got a message that reads like this:
Good Afternoon, Sorry for the delay. We have decided to move forward with another candidate for the immediate role. Skills challenge results were primary factor.
Having said that, really enjoyed meeting you and would love to stay in touch as we continue building out our various teams should there be something to revisit in the future.
Was a pleasure getting introduced and appreciate you exploring this.
All the best,
[Name]
Okay, here’s my fucking issue. They say “skills challenge results,” which I take it is referring to this aforementioned technical aptitude test, BUT THEY NEVER LET ME FUCKING TAKE IT IN THE FIRST PLACE.
Not only that, but they said they were hiring for multiple positions, so what happened there?
Extremely disingenuous people.
I am thinking of pointing out some of these things in a reply, but I doubt it’ll lead to anything so fuck it.
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There was likely never a job in the first place. They had an internal hire lined up, but probably have some sort of anti-discrimination policy that requires them to look at a couple non-whiteboys before they can get a rubber stamp.
Update: I decided to push back a little, and it seems like bro capped and said he mixed me up with someone who has the same name.
Exchange went something like this:
Me: “Thanks for the update… However, I’m a bit confused because I never actually did the technical aptitude test you mentioned in the interview, so I’m not sure what ‘skills challenge results’ are being referenced. Can you clarify exactly what you mean by that? Either way, I appreciate the time you took to meet with me. All the best.”
Him: “Hey, we apologize, we had another interview last week with someone who has the same first name as you and got mixed up. However, we did move forward with another candidate for the immediate role but would love to stay in touch as mentioned.”
Me: “Thanks for clarifying that, but that still doesn’t address my original concern: I was never given the opportunity to take the technical aptitude test at all. So when you said ‘skills challenge results were the primary factor,’ that can’t have referred to me. I’m not asking for the job at this point. I’m just pointing out that it seems like the process wasn’t transparent, and it feels like I was ruled out without actually being evaluated.”
Him: “We had another candidate with the same first name who did not do well on the skills challenge, I thought this message was from her, apologize for the mix up. Team just ended up proceeding with another candidate before we had you back out to take the skills challenge.”
To be totally fucking clear: I put my last name in my original message and left a signature with my FULL NAME INCLUDING MIDDLE NAME. So, how the fuck did you mix us up when I reached out for a follow up?
What the fuck?
They didn’t have a rejection letter template for people who were going to take the test but haven’t yet. Everything else in response is just an attempt to save face
Send the company a resume and cover letter, say you’re applying for the position of HR director/hiring manager, and cite your literacy level of being able to tell two names apart.
Oh yeah, average HR bullshit with having applicants jump through hoops just for them to pull the completely opaque decision out of their ass
You dodged a bullet
Hr barely reads names at all. The kinds of fuck ups I’ve seen from hr departments because they just go on autopilot could fill a good chapter of my book on corpo bs.
When I was doing hiring, the owner would sometimes decide to hire one person while I was in the middle of scheduling someone else for testing/a ride-along for the same position. It was embarassing to have to call them back and tell them we weren’t hiring for that position anymore.
They most likely had a nepo baby / good old boys club candidate in line and you were part of the farce that they “held open interviews”.
It’s just corpospeak, best not to take it personally. They are just responding so they can clear their Outlook inbox and drag away your email.
Sometimes they have a high performer already onboard who they want to promote, and need to put up a listing for policy.
But typically in those cases they don’t interview other candidates so I think you had a good shot on this one.
It’s a numbers game, and the market is dogshit right now.
Every posted position gets candidates falling over themselves with 5+ years experience in not only that role, but the roles below and above it and are overqualified punching down because of the current market. I have multiple competent peers unemployed for 6+ months applying to jobs 40 hours a week the whole time.
All that to say, it’s shit. But light at the end of the tunnel exists if you keep moving.
