DISQUS

Evil HR Lady · 1 year ago

Jerry was a jerk. (I agree with your assessment of stress interviews as well.) But, my guess is that his veto got overridden by Joe. I wouldn't want to work for Jerry under these circumstances. Blech. Nightmare.

And teachers being lazy--ha! I used to teach one 8 hour class once a month and by the end of the day I was exhausted. I don't know how full time teachers do it.

The Engineer · 1 year ago

OK. I'm not an HR professional and don't play one on TV, but . . .

It may be that Sally is upset because she let a good candidate slip away by providing the wrong information and failing to follow up in the time frame given by the candidate. After going through the HR vetting process and completing an extensive interview / site visit, Sally dropped the ball. Engineers are in tight supply right now (across all disciplines) and many firms and industries are working hard to fill slots. If I was supervisor Joe and Sally was honest with me about why the candidate turned down the offer, I would be upset (making Sally upset).

I'd send a nice letter along the lines of what AAM suggests stressing that you liked the company, loved the field and possibilities, and thought Joe and you had connected well. Remind her that the offer was to work for Jerry, that you had confirmed that with her and asked for follow up, but faced a deadline. Let her know what the options are for you to leave your current "contract" and that you remain interested in other opportunities within the company. If you hear nothing, then "black hole" confirmed. Otherwise, you have all that preliminary HR stuff done and Sally can plug you into a position fairly easily at some future date. Both sides put a lot of effort in, one more letter is worth it.

HR Maven · 1 year ago

Great comments already. Here are a couple of my thoughts. Husband just started working for a Fortune 10 company as an engineer, after retiring from the Navy. He had similar experiences in the process.

We all agree Jerry is a jerk. I suspect that no one is good enough for his area. As for teachers, I wonder how he got his unhappy butt through school? Imagine being married to that loser.

During my husband's interviewing, he was 'shopped' around, as they worked to find the best place for him. One director spent the entire time telling him why my husband didn't want to work in his area. (For HR, this is just bizarre to me).

Here are a couple thoughts on what happened behind the scenes.

It is possible that Jerry got overruled on the hire. Perhaps he always talks like that to potential candidates. And another possibility is HR said, you fill this now or we pull the requisition.

HR Sally probably has double the work load needed to stay afloat. I am going to also swag that she was upset because you may be the umpteenth person who said no because of Jerry. And the company keeps him anyway. When my husband was navigating the hiring process, it was unclear with whom he should follow up - his 'contact', the hiring manager or HR. It was ambiguous at best. And it was painfully obvious that none of the talked to each other.

Here are my recommendations.

Write the letter to Sally. As already stated, highlight the fact that you were faced with a deadline and were equally disappointed that the timing didn't work out this time. Ask to keep the door open in the future.

I would also recommend that you drop Joe an email. Explain briefly that things didn't work out and when faced with a deadline, you had to make a decision. Ask for any advice that he might have to help you. If you clicked, he may have much more insight on how you can get in.

Lastly, congrats on your degree! That's no small feat. Check with your career development or any faculty who may have contacts in the company. It is SO much easier when you have someone on the inside who can help you translate what's going on.

Good luck with this!

Kurr_Mudgeon · 1 year ago

I used to work for Jerry. Jerry wanted to hire this fellow just so he could have the pleasure of firing him later on. Some of the Jerrys out there like to make their employees squirm a few months before giving them the axe and a bad reference to go with it. Always, when in an interview, determine whether the boss hates his employees or not. If so, decline the offer - always. No exceptions.

Rachel Robbins · 1 year ago

I think that HR and Joe wanted to hire you so they went ahead with it. I wouldn't feel bad for the HR lady because she didn't bother to call you back for a week to explain - that was just poor practice. I think it proves that you caught her in making a decision that Jerry wouldn't like and she didn't know what to do. If I were you I would keep in touch with Joe about your interest in the company and his department.

Big Picture · 1 year ago

Many angles to view this situation - my concern would be if you did get hired on at the company to work for anyone other than Jerry and then at some point down the road wound up with him as a supervisor. With all the vibes from the interview and the uncertainty that has followed, to me these would be signals to look elsewhere. And thank you for being a teacher - a most noble job !

jane · 1 year ago

Good suggestions to follow up with letter to Sally and Joe. The author did not mention if she sent "thank you letters" after the interview. It would make sense to write to the people she met and connected well with that she enjoyed meeting them, is impressed by the company, and is interested in the future job openings.

No need to worry about Jerry, whatever his game is, she made the right choice. And she should apply to higher than entry-level positions, on par with what has been offered to her this time.

class factotum · 1 year ago

Was Jerry an engineer? If not, what was he doing supervising engineers? If so, how did he ever get an engineering degree without passing at least freshman physics? Civil, mechanical, and electrical engineers all have to have freshman physics; EEs for sure take at least one more year after that.

Either way, the guy sounds clueless.

Just another HR lady... · 1 year ago

I'm sorry you had to go through that meeting with Jerry, HR should be auditing his interviewing process, he's going to terrify people right out of wanting to work for the company.

Regarding burning your bridges, just from my own HR persective, honestly anything do with recruitment never "upsets me". It's not personal, it's just work. If someone declines, I am sorry that it didn't work out, but know it's not personal, and I will tend to try and at least find out one or two of the reasons why they declined. Sometimes there is something I can do (i.e. Jerry's behavior), sometimes not (i.e, money).

If Sally is a professional, perhaps she was just stressed about trying to fill the position and having to try to deal with Jerry the idiot. I would agree with sending a note to thank them (Sally and Joe) very much for the consideration, and that you were not uninterested in the company, it's just that the timing was not right. I might also stress that you really enjoyed meeting with Joe and hoped that you might have the oportunity to work together in the future. (don't mention Jerry)

As an aside note, Sally is not giving people enough information when she makes her verbal job offers (i.e. who the person would actually be working for! lol)

Emily · 1 year ago

I had my first "stress" interview about a month ago. I applied for a position that sounded really fascinating, and I went in for the first interview with my would-be boss. Seemed to go great but got an email the next day -- one of those form emails saying thank you for my time, but they received many qualified applicants and I was not chosen.

Next day, got an email from HR apologizing for a mix-up and asked me to come in a few days later for a second interview. I was set up with a panel of three people and they just drilled me. Telling me the guy I'd be working for is an asshole, is demanding, is impolite, and asking me how I'd deal with that. Asking me about if I have thick skin. Asking me like I was an idiot if I knew that there was a difference between marketing writing and journalism, and criticizing me for thinking I could go from one to the other. They stressed that their is no political correctness there, that everybody gets made fun of, that you can't be weak, that they have no dead weight there, etc. Then they said I would basically be a workaholic. One guy said he goes home from work and turns his computer on and works three more hours. They slammed me with other difficult questions ("Are you an idea person? What do you do if your boss comes to you with a bunch of ideas and wants you to do something with them." Um, what?), rhetorical questions that they expected me to answer, and saying things that made me feel stupid.

I left thinking...so you're going to relentlessly make fun of me, you think I'm an idiot, you just told me that my boss is an impolite and demanding asshole, you want me to work 24/7, and I have to have thick skin or I don't fit in here? No thanks! Upon getting home, I emailed the guy I had the first interview with and told him the company just wasn't for me. He said he was very disappointed but appreciated it because having a good fit is key to a successful job.

It was the first time I'd ever gone through an interview that humiliating or difficult. I talked to my mom's boyfriend that evening who is an executive and does a lot of hiring, and said some companies use that technique to see how tough you are, but I don't think I'd want to work somewhere that tests people that way. I am so not my best in that kind of situation!

Wow, sorry so long. Sally's story just really resonated with me because of this recent experience!

Darren · 1 year ago

Whatever answer Sally might have come back with, I agree that you're better off not working for Jerry. I doubt he treats employees any better.

Angela Victor · 1 year ago

A new study of 1,000 workers in Europe found that stressful jobs accounted for 45 per cent of new cases of depression. The factors which the scientists isolated as being especially important were excessive demands on the job and extreme time pressures. Not only did they find that these workers, with an average age of 32, were experiencing a high percentage of job-related stress-induced depression, but there appeared to be a 40 percent increase in reports from workers of job stress. http://www.xanax-effects.com/

Just Another Manager · 1 year ago

"The Stress Interview" wow. That may explain an interview I had a year ago. I had a GREAT interview with the actual manager that was recruiting me, I then went into the next level to deal with principal and ops manager.

Early on in the interview he became upset that I was not more excited about the possibility of working there, asked me who I thought I should be directing my words to, who was the decision maker in the room and I should be careful who I address my questions and answer to. I told him as both of them were there wouldn't it make sense that both of you are in this position - but if this something I need to be aware of why don't you just tell me if you think this is important at this time.

As a 50 year old, with a background in management and former business owner, I also grilled those two in that interview asking them about their background, how they got started in this industry and to what did they attribute their success in such a competitive environment. The man came up with purely ridiculous answers at which he expected others to laugh (but we just sat there with blank looks on our faces because we did not understand why he was responding the way he was). He let me know that he did not like that I was not going gaga over the interview and doing everythng I could to convince him that I was right for the job. I told him that I did not yet know that is the case, that is why we are all here in this interview and that I need to learn more about the company and the job - obviously I'm here to interview you as much as you are to interview me. He was stunned. I also told him that he is not talking to somoene right out of high school so my reactions and style are going to be from a level of my background as opposed to an entry level candidate. While I tried to give it every chance, after about 30 minutes of this I just wrote this guy and the job off. Started to end the interview - and he would not let it end! haha! Had to drag it on so that he could be the one to end it. OK, Mr. Man, hooray for your ego you get the last word.

Well, I went home, and 30 minutes after I got home, called the ops manager, and said although I appreciate the opportunity I didn't think it was a good fit and would continue my job search elsewhere. She started to say OK, I understand (she was there in the interview also and could see what this bozo was like) but I could hear him in the background telling her to ask why - so I told her: an experienced businessperson handles themselves differently in an interview than someone fresh out of school and if he can't deal with or recognize this that tells me what I need to know about the job and the company.