Job-seeker goes through 4 interviews only to learn they were never a real candidate in the first place: 'I was a prop in their internal politics'

• 
  via Mina Rad

  _{Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.}

• Just found out why I didn't get the job after 4 interviews. I'm actually shaking with anger right now

  I need to tell someone about this because I'm so furious I can barely type.

   

  Remember a few weeks ago I posted about interviewing for this senior analyst role? Four rounds of interviews, took half a day off work for the final one, whole presentation, the works.

   

  Got the rejection email two weeks ago. Standard "we've decided to pursue other candidates" bull****.

   

  Today I'm getting coffee near their office and I run into one of the guys who interviewed me. We chat for a minute and he seems kind of uncomfortable.

  
   

• 
  via Tim Gouw

  _{Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.}

• It's rare that you get so far in an interview process and are still left in the dark. Sure, the company isn't beholden to tell you certain information, but you probably appreciate getting to be in the loop. But sometimes you find something out that you would rather not have heard. Then you wish you hadn't gone digging around in the first place. That's what this job-seeker was experiencing when they found out a piece of information that they wished they hadn't. Keep scrolling to read what happened here and see what you think about it.

• He finally goes "Hey, I'm really sorry about how that went. For what it's worth, I voted to hire you."

   

  I'm like "Oh, thanks, I appreciate that."

   

  Then he says something that makes my ***** boil: "The whole thing was BS anyway. They'd already decided to promote Rachel internally but HR made them interview external candidates to 'validate' the promotion. You were never really being considered."

   

  I just stared at him.

   

  He keeps going: "Yeah, they needed to show they looked at outside talent before promoting her. You and the other external candidates were basically just there to make the internal promotion look legitimate. Really messed up, sorry you wasted your time."

   

  I did FOUR interviews. Took time off work. Prepared for hours. Turned down other interview opportunities because I thought this was promising.

• 
  via Amina Atar

  _{Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.}

• Applying for a job takes a lot of time and effort. This candidate even had to take time off work to do so, which is not uncommon. Maybe you even had to do some auxiliary work, sample materials, or trial shifts. This isn't anything to sneeze at. And sure, you can't expect to be hired for every job you apply for, but you can expect a little respect from the people in charge. That's not what this employee experienced, and they were tired of being treated like they didn't matter. Nobody wants to be a part of someone else's ruse. Keep reading to see what happened.

• 
  via Unsplash+ (Getty Images)

  _{Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.}

• All so they could check a box for HR and justify promoting someone they'd already decided on before they even posted the job. I was never a real candidate. I was a prop in their internal politics. The guy could tell I was p****d and tried to backtrack like "well you never know, maybe it was close" but it was too late. He already told me the truth.

   

  How is this legal? How is it okay to waste people's time interviewing them when you've already made your decision? Just so you can tell HR you "considered external candidates"?

   

  I want to blast them on Glassdoor but I'm worried it'll hurt me professionally. But I'm so angry I can barely think straight. Has anyone else been a "fake candidate" like this? Is this a common thing companies do?

  -u/MainStock8156

Tags

Also From Memebase

Daughter-in-law bans mother-in-law from her house after she went through her trash to prove she's a wasteful wife: 'She grew up with nothing, so I tried to be patient.'