Backhanded compliments when you don't get a job

[SongsOfDragons]

ETA for SongsofDragons: That sounds suspiciously like code for either "we don't like your lifestyle", or "the other guy goes to our church".

Dunno about churching; they did interview a couple of internals though...

As for lifestyle, I was talking about the skully cake I was making for Hallowe'en...maybe one of them was on a really strict diet?

[Racket_Man]

So... they try to come up with some comment to soften the blow. And that's a tall order, because they are in fact rejecting you. Small wonder that a lot of them come out with something off-tone. Small wonder that the rejected is inclined to interpret whatever they hear in the context of rejection... But if you're the one being rejected, that last bit is something you can do something about.

The problem these days is IF they even bother to reply. Heck that started at least 15 - 20 years ago and has only gotten worse now-a-days. back then it was VERY frustrating to not at least get a form rejection letter.

[Mental_Mouse]

I can appreciate the frustration of not getting a job, but here's the thing: These days, anybody with a job offering is going to get swamped with applicants. Even after weeding out the blatantly unqualified or inappropriate, they are going to have more people they could hire, than they could possibly afford.

What that means for you, is that fairly often, you're not going to get that job, for no fault of your own. What it means for them, is that for no fault of their own, they need to tell a fair number of their applicants "sorry, nope". Being decent human beings, or at least aware that "what goes around comes around", they want to do so as nicely as they can. After all, they might have more openings later, and they don't want to burn bridges.

So... they try to come up with some comment to soften the blow. And that's a tall order, because they are in fact rejecting you. Small wonder that a lot of them come out with something off-tone. Small wonder that the rejected is inclined to interpret whatever they hear in the context of rejection... But if you're the one being rejected, that last bit is something you can do something about.

ETA for SongsofDragons: That sounds suspiciously like code for either "we don't like your lifestyle", or "the other guy goes to our church".

[SongsOfDragons]

Ye gods, my last one was several months ago, but this week I got a response that broke me for a day.

Admin-based, non-customer-facing role in the same company that Housemate works in and I have worked in before. Skills impressive, qualifications good, work history good, brief chat with regards to fitting into the small team was good. But in the end they 'went with someone with a stronger character'.

So I'm a weakling. Thanks. I won't be applying when you put up your second vacancy after the other assistant leaves in two weeks.

[Nunavut Pants]

A former co-worker of mine was laid off at the same time I was. About a month later, they lost someone that made her skill set very much not redundant. So they went back to her, hat in hand, asking for her back.

Her old manager asked what it would take to get her to come back. She named a figure that she thought was just a starting point for negotiations, well above what she had been making. The manager counter-offered $(what_she_said + 15%_more). Then he got this look on his face that she was pretty sure meant "Oops, I hope she didn't hear that."

She got the extra 15%....

[ladyjaneinmd]

I found that mean "We think you'll ask for too much money because of your skill level"

I once had an interview where the boss asked me how much I wanted. I finally decided to go for the moon and named a number. He said, 'Oh, that's a little higher than we can afford', so I said, 'Don't be afraid to make an offer! Right now I'm unemployed and making NOTHING'. He made an offer, I took it, and that turned out to be one of my better jobs. I didn't last there more than 5 years, but it was a great stepping-stone to the next job, which led to my current fantastic job.

[jedimaster91]

Please stop telling me my credentials are impressive. If you were really that impressed, you'd hire me.

Hubz recently made it to the final two applicants for several positions before the employers chose the other candidate. Very frustrating for both of us.

[SongsOfDragons]

A recent one for me was "Whilst your work history is impressive unfortunately we've decided to hire in a different direction." Or something like that. Means they hired a recent graduate - and as I checked on their website a few months later, they'd up and moved the job to Denmark.

Years I've been working on the oft-spouted conundrum of getting experience to get the job I want. Now that I HAVE said experience, they're hiring uni noobs. Where was this attitude ten years ago?! Arseholes.

[Pixelated]

I found that mean "We think you'll ask for too much money because of your skill level"

That's really funny because when they asked what salary I wanted, I said "My last two employers [in this field] were paying me X dollars an hour."

And they both stared at me for a minute and then said, "That's too little."

[Nashida]

I've gotten the "We can't afford to pay you what you're worth, will you settle for less?" when applying to several early learning centers in the area. A few actually expected me to take a pay cut less than what I was making at the time, for a higher leveled position than what I was working at the time.

Sorry, no, I'm this skilled/experienced for a reason.

[Arcus]

I found that mean "We think you'll ask for too much money because of your skill level"

[Shyla]

I assume it's a way of saying "We think you'll quit right away because the job is stupid and you'll hate it." I think they should stick to "Sorry, we hired a different candidate."

[RealUnimportant]

Translation: "you seem to know your onions, which means we can't fleece you like we can someone less qualified/experienced."

There's a lot of it going around, one of my friends has been going on a couple of interviews per day for the past couple months, and has become heartily sick of hearing about how overqualified they are... Yes, they are well qualified in the field; that's why they're applying for jobs in that field!

[Pixelated]

"We think you'd be wasted in this job."

That's what I was told after my last job interview. I was one of two finalists out of 30 applicants, which was nice, but not as nice as if I'd gotten the job.

That's what they told me when they called me to let me know the results of the interviews (and I do give them points for actually letting me know, rather than just fading into silence like most employers do).

But please don't tell me I'd be wasted in this job. This is the job I went to school for two years for. You know where I'm wasted? At The Mothership. Which is why I'm trying to get out.