stood up at an interview

[Bob The Random Boy Wonder]

Stood up at an interview? Oh, yes.

This particular instance happened about 2 months ago. Since it was a different department than the one I had trouble in the first time, I was making an attempt to go back to <former employer> as a systems analyst. People know that I know my stuff when it comes to technology, and I was told I was one of the "top candidates".

I called literally every day to check up on the app and even got up multiple mornings to go to <former employer> to discuss the app with the person who was hiring for the position. On my final visit, the woman in charge told me that she would be willing to give me an interview after she got back from vacation a week later. That sounds great, right? Imagine my disappointment and completely hidden anger when I found out a week later that that the woman in charge had filled the position the day before I had went in to talk to her, and she couldn't even be bothered to tell me she had filled the position. Instead, on that very day, she still told me she was going to give me an interview a week later!

Maybe I wouldn't have been too ultra-pissed, but I turned down two sure-thing job offers in the week I was waiting on the interview that would never happen.

I'm still livid over the experience. Unlike an SC who gets pissed at their cashier and tells them they're "never coming back to this store ever again!" and returns a week later, I will really never set foot in <former employer> again. They have screwed me over way too much. I've already let my friends know that they are not the reason I won't be returning to visit. They feel my reasons are justified.

Now <former employer> is even telling other potential employers when they call in for application references that the cause of my firing was my fault when they know it wasn't. The EEOC will do nothing since it has been more than 180 days since my termination--even though the defamation is happening now. How I will ever get another job with this going on is anyone's guess...

[JoitheArtist]

I hung up on him, fought traffic to get home and sent him an invoice for miles and time.

He responded to that with "i said sorry!"

How about you guys? Ever stood up on an interview?

You should have told him, "Thank you for making it clear so early on why I should never work for you!"

[EricKei]

Now <former employer> is even telling other potential employers when they call in for application references that the cause of my firing was my fault when they know it wasn't. The EEOC will do nothing since it has been more than 180 days since my termination--even though the defamation is happening now. How I will ever get another job with this going on is anyone's guess...

Do you have the original Termination reason in writing? If so, someone may be able to help with that...As for the Defamation -- it varies by state/area methinks, but in many, all a former employer is allowed to say about you is Yes or No to the question 'Did He Work There?'...And nothing else.

[Bob The Random Boy Wonder]

Do you have the original Termination reason in writing? If so, someone may be able to help with that...As for the Defamation -- it varies by state/area methinks, but in many, all a former employer is allowed to say about you is Yes or No to the question 'Did He Work There?'...And nothing else.

As far as any written reason for termination, the only thing I have is on file with corporate HR. Anyone who is terminated for any reason has a form filled out with two-digit generic codes for their termination. I don't remember the entire list (it's been more than two years since I've seen them, and they may have changed in that time), but they're generic enough for <former employer> to enter CYA mode and cause the employee to lose eligibility for unemployment.

Now the defamation part...that's where it gets hairy. <Former boss> is telling potential employers that I instigated a verbal argument with another manager and got fired as a result. As the many customer and CW witnesses who were there that day could tell you, that's not true. (Funny. <Former boss> was on vacation when this happened and didn't get back until almost a week later.) Of course, it's their word against mine in these situations, and I don't even get a chance to tell any interviewers what actually happened. Would you even think about giving someone an interview if you were told by their former employer they instigated something with a former boss--even though that particular story is as far from the truth as you can get? It's a totally crappy and wrong situation, but I can understand why nobody wants to interview me (and nobody will interview me) until this is taken care of for good.

You're right about their only option at <former employer> being a "yes" or "no" question to "Has Bob worked there before?"--apparently, that policy even extends to intra-company communications, according to a former store manager that they gave the boot--but <former boss> seems to be above that rule. I really wish the area leader that I worked for when I first started working at <former employer> was still there. I know this wouldn't be going on. Lots of people say it, but she was really the best boss ever.

[powerboy]

I hate people too, but at least they bothered to tell you you didn't get the job. Most companies don't even do that anymore, which I find really rude and unprofessional.

It is rude and unprofessional.

I have been stood up 2 times.

The first one, I was suppose to interview at 11:30am. Made it 30 minutes early, was told by the assistant that the position was filled the day before. Thanks for not calling and letting me know, jackass.

The second, it was set for the same time, different company. But the manager came out and told his assistant, that he was leaving early for the day. She she told him that I was there to see him, he didn't want to talk to me or anything.

[Sapphire Silk]

Oh yes, I have decided that, when I find work, I will email all those people who didn't even bother to reply and tell them "Since I haven't heard from you, I suppose I'm still being considered for the job you advertised in January 2011. I regret to inform you I have found other employment.".

Bad idea. Could get you flagged as a "never, ever hire." Believe me, HR's keep track of that kind of stuff. Blacklists DO exist, even though they're illegal.

I've never been stood up for an interview directly.

Six years ago I applied for a job on a cardiac cath unit. I met with the nurse recruiter, who interviewed me. The interview went well. She said she would forward my application to the director of the unit, who would decide whether or not the schedule a second interview. I was specifically told, "Don't call us, we'll call you."

Two weeks later, the director turfed the job to his deputy. The interview went well, and they scheduled me for a second interview with the staff. That went well.

Two weeks after that, they scheduled me for a final interview with the director, who still had to be the one to interview me. That interview went well. I thought I was sure to get the job.

During this time, my travel contract with an ER at an other hospital had ended. I delayed getting another contract while I waited to hear if I got the job. Two weeks after my final interview, I just couldn't wait anymore. I was starting to eat into savings, and needed to have a check coming in. So I called my travel agency and got a contract set up for the summer at the beach (yeah me! )

Two days later, the nurse recruiter calls to offer me the job.

Me: Look, I'm sorry. It's been six weeks since that first interview, and I haven't been working for the past four. I couldn't afford not to have a job, so I took another travel assignment. However, I would love to come work for you, and if you were willing to wait until September, I would love to take the position. But I made a commitment to my agency and the other hospital, and I can't go back on my word.

The recruiter assured me that was fine, she understood the interview process had been unusually lengthy. She called me back later that day and said they would hold the job for me until September.

Great! I said. See you then.

So off I go to the beach. I come home over a weekend a week later and get the following message on my answering machine,

"We have reviewed information from your prior employer and have decided based on your last performance review that you are not a good candidate for our organization. Thanks for applying, but we are rescinding the offer."

Fuckers. I got dinged on that performance review for missing staff meetings. Which I missed because it was a PART TIME job, and their meetings conflicted with my hours at my FULL TIME job. Which I would have explained, had they asked. When I worked at that place full time, I NEVER missed a staff meeting.

I learned two lessons.

1) NEVER give a prospective employer a copy of a performance review. If they insist, walk.

2) If they seem like they are stringing you along, they probably are. Don't hold your breath. Take the sure offer.

In retrospect, I'm actually glad I didn't get that job. I hadn't lived in this area very long and didn't know what a hellhole of a place it was to work. When I got back from the beach I ended up with an ER job at another hospital that, while it had its problems, was a better place to work. I also got hired as a part time clinic instructor at the community college where I now teach full time.

The CC hired me full time after working there only two months. If I'd taken the cardiac cath job, I would never have gotten the teaching job, and it is without a doubt the best job I've ever had

[EricKei]

I looked; you are right, the company had a policy about what to say, as there are no actual *laws* regarding what a former employer can say about you aside from "it must be true"; thus, to go after them, you'd need proof that he's full of it. The thing is, you may be able to make some headway by talking to the company itself about his violation of the policy. Those policies are normally in place to stave off slander lawsuits.

These FAQs may help lead you to some more concrete information.

http://jobsearch.about.com/od/backgr...yerscansay.htm

http://labor-employment-law.lawyers....ights-FAQ.html

[Pagan]

I hate people too, but at least they bothered to tell you you didn't get the job. Most companies don't even do that anymore, which I find really rude and unprofessional.

That has always bugged me. How hard is it to print out and mail a "Although you have excellent qualifications" letter?

I've got one better. I had an interview on 23 June, I thought it went well. Not a pharmacy tech position, but I needed a job. The guy said that he would be in touch one way or the other by the following Wednesday (29 June) because he hates that, too. As of today, 2 weeks past that, I still haven't heard anything. Which is fine. I got, and accepted, an offer as a pharmacy tech yesterday. Which pays waaaay better than that other job (Better hours and I don't have to deal with the public, too!).

I won't do it, but it is very tempting to dig out that guys phone number and call him out.

[Dreamstalker]

in many, all a former employer is allowed to say about you is Yes or No to the question 'Did He Work There?'...And nothing else.

A few months after I'd been fired, The Jerk told my job coach flat-out over the phone that I "wasn't cut out for retail work" followed by a list of what I supposedly did wrong (I was in the room with her and heard it). She seemed mystified as to why I saw anything wrong with that.

[RedRoseSpiral]

I had an interview about a month ago with Target and the interviewer stood me up. My interview was suppose to be at noon and the interviewer left at 11am. I was told to call back the next day to reschedule. I didn't.

[Bob The Random Boy Wonder]

(see post)

Thanks for the links! I looked them both over and found a very effective way to hammer down some concrete evidence would be to try something from the About.com link: have someone else call in as a potential employer and see what they're really saying. It's not as if I don't already know what's going on--I've been told by people inside and outside the company that it's going on, and company policy dictates against this in the first place--but it will be paramount to any decision I make to go after them.

I would take this up with corporate, but they are downright useless when it comes to this kind of stuff. The last time I called corporate, they accused me of making up a policy I was reading directly out of the company handbook. Yes, you read that right: they accused me of making up a policy that they put into the handbook themselves just so they wouldn't have to hear my case. Ooh, if I just had five minutes to talk to the CEO...

A few months after I'd been fired, The Jerk told my job coach flat-out that I "wasn't cut out for retail work" followed by a list of what I supposedly did wrong (I was in the room with her and heard it).

I know how you feel. I was called a dumbass by the district manager several years ago in front of an extra-large crowd of Christmas shoppers because I didn't know how to work a piece of equipment that had just arrived that day. Thankfully, that DM abruptly left the company about three years ago.

[SecurityWench]

I got strung along with job interviews once. Ironically, it's for the same company I work for now. (I was applying for a different store in the same grocery store chain.)

Interview #1 - Go into store, wait for interview. Nobody has any idea who I am or why I am there. When I tell them the manager's name that scheduled the interview, they say that said manager just went on vacation.

Interview #2 - 20-minute sit-down interview with manager who went on vacation.

Interview #3 - Asked to come to a group interview with 10 other people.

After no call backs, was told by a classmate (was in high school at the time) who worked for that store that they had filled the positions. So I had to hear from someone other than the employer. Classy.

As for my current job? One sit-down thirty minute interview, hired same day. Bam.

--

This one is a witnessed. A friend of mine, B had been in dire straits for a while, and really, really needed a job. Another friend, D who was a head chef in a restaurant said there was a position open. She applied and waited for word from the restaurant.

She waited. And she waited. And she waited. Finally, she called and said "Look, I can't just keep waiting around to hear if I have this job or not. I could be using this time for other interviews or finding other offers."

She heard back, "Really? We told D a few weeks ago to tell you the position had been filled." Needless to say, they fell out of favor with each other.

[Dreamstalker]

I was strung along for an interview at a computer store I've been chasing for some time.

#1: Get scheduled, show up, the computer system crashes hard (it wasn't me, I swear ). SM finds me, explains what happens and asks if I wouldn't mind waiting until he finds out how bad it is. I do. For over an hour. Finally I find him and explain that I have to leave and could we reschedule. The situation is understandable (stuff happens), but a bit annoying.

When the interview does finally happen, it starts out for a position I didn't apply for. It went okay, but the entire experience was pretty unprofessional and I never heard anything back (come to find out the GM of that store was replaced a few weeks later, so there may have been something else going on).

#2: A year later. This is where the job coach (JC) sticks her nose in things. She came with me to the first interview; the whole thing was very surreal. Basically she sat about 3 inches away from me on one side and each time the interviewer asked a question that I had to pause for longer than a second to think about, JC would give me this expectant look that due to her proximity I could not ignore.

That went well (despite JC), JC decides then that she will handle all contact between me and the store. That strikes me as a bad idea on a few levels...she's trying to get me hired as part of a grant program (which I don't think was sufficiently explained prior to the interview), but it seems to me to say to the company "this person needs someone to help with an interview, can they handle working with people?". She proceeds to call them a few times a week.

Meanwhile, I get called in for a second interview by the tech department manager (I did this completely on my own). That goes very well and I get to the point of discussing salary and hours with SM.

That's when it just fizzles out. I have no idea what happened or who dropped the ball; I suspect that JC somehow found out and tried to get her paws in things again. That, or she just pissed someone off by calling too often.

[BroSCFischer]

How about you guys? Ever stood up on an interview?

Not quite. I was scheduled for an interview where my mom worked. Her boss' secretary called to reschedule it, because she couldn't come on the original day. Then on the RESCHEDULED day, I was informed by one of the supervisors that she wouldn't be in that day, after I had been waiting for about 10 min. I then had a 5 minute interview, and was given a brief tour. I was waiting for the interview longer than both combined.

All told I was there less than 1/2 hour, and most of that was waiting. It was the most ridiculous thing for a supposedly professional organization (hospital). I was insulted (the whole thing felt like it was staged, as if it was a complete waste of time) and my mom was insulted.

What's worse is that I not only could do the job, but with my hotel background I was somewhat experienced in the type of work they did in that department. On top of that, (per my mom) there was a lack of competence in anything but computer solitaire in the dept. (she was constantly getting yelled at for being too efficient).

SC

[Skeen]

I haven't lived in Oz for 3 years now and I STILL get rejection emails occasionally from jobs I applied for in 2007.

Thanks for the email, I guess, but you could have tried to get them out faster. Like, before we decided to move to the States because we couldn't find jobs in Oz.