I worked in industry long enough, to know better! I changed jobs enough times, to know better! Throughout the years, I had many conversations about job offer experiences, with numerous close coworkers, family and friends, who had worked in industry long enough, and who had changed jobs enough times, to know better! But I still fell for it!
I had an interview with a small startup company back in February. My former boss had kindly sent my resume, in early fall, to someone who used to work for him, and this hiring manger finally contacted me. He wanted me part-time and to start right away! But my schedule would not allow it! So I tried to talk him into giving me a summer job, and was hopeful that it would turn into a fulltime employment once I was done with school.
The job that he was considering me for, responsibility wise, was maybe 90% what I had done previously, and 10% what I am learning at school. So I thought, hopefully, as time goes, this would reverse, and my responsibilities would end up being 90% related to my graduate work and 10% from my previous experiences in industry. Still this kind of position was far from what I had in mind when I started school and what I am hoping to eventually land.
I tried to talk myself into being content with and somehow excited about this opportunity! I thought I could start with this position and after couple of years eventually move into what my original goal of going back to school was. I reasoned that the pay is great, and that since the company was located in the city and accessible by public transportation, I could delay getting a car, and thus financially I was going to be ahead.Plus I really liked everyone who I talked to, they were all intelligent, hardworking, and really cared about and loved their job. I thought it would be amazing to be part of such group.
In the interview day I talked to the hiring manager twice. He was the first person and then next to the last person I talked to. The second time that we talked he was talking to me as if I was one of them. That was not the case few hours earlier! He started asking me specific questions about how to go about solving the problem "we have", and asked what tools I needed and was going to use! I felt that he was trying to make sure that I had everything I needed before I started so that I could begin being productive from the get go! So yes, I was very excited!
Then I met the HR rep who started negotiating salary with me and talked to me about the benefits that I was not getting, lol, since I would be a temporary employee! She told me that when I become a regular employee then I would be eligible for benefits. She went even further and told me that the Memorial Day, the Independence Day, and possibly the Labor Day if I was still there, that were company holidays, I would get paid since I was a fulltime employee!
So yes, I truly thought that I was going to get an offer within 10 days. In my previous experiences, I had never gotten that far, and not gotten an offer! First of all, usually there was some kind of response within the first two weeks after the interview. It was either, we are making you an offer, or thank you but we feel that you are not a good fit for us. Of course there was also, we like to talk to you further, can you come for the second interview. And secondly after the salary negotiation and benefit explanation, there was an offer within a few days!
Anyhow, when I did not hear back from them within 10 days, I emailed the hiring manager, asking if I was still considered for a summer job. No reply! I waited a week, then I emailed the HR rep. She emailed me back, I think within 24 hours and told me that she had not heard from the hiring manager in this regard, and she was going to contact him right away, and would get back to me very soon. But she never did! I waited few more days, and emailed the hiring manager again. At that point I knew there was no offer, but I was just curious to know what had happened! I knew that I had impressed everyone and felt that from what I was hearing back they felt that I would be a good fit. However, I knew this job was not what I wanted 100%! So, yes, I wanted to know if they had felt that my entire heart was not in it! lol. Still no reply! At the end of March, for the last time, I left a voicemail for the hiring manager, thanked him again for his time, and asked him that I would appreciate it if he would let me know what had gone wrong. And still nothing!
When someone that I respect very much, refers me to someone, or refers someone to me, I try to be extra careful. Since I believe that at that point it is not only my reputation on the line, it is also the person making the referral reputation as well. It might not be entirely true, but that is how I feel. So part of me wanted to be told clearly that the company had changed direction and that my background and knowledge were what they were looking for at first, and also that my impression of the interview, that they were impressed by me, was not wrong!
My best friends talked me into informing my former boss, who had referred me to the hiring manager, what had happened. I was not comfortable to do so at first, but finally I decided to take my best friends' persistent suggestions. I wrote what I wanted to tell my former boss, then I called him, and basically read what I had written, lol. I tried to just tell him the facts, and take my disappointment and hurt feelings out of the conversation. My former boss was very surprised and told me that he was going to get in touch with the hiring manager and find out what had happened. I told him feel free to do what he liked, but asked him to please not purse it on my account! I told him that it was a done deal for me at that point and I had no intention of taking it any further!
In the past few weeks I have been checking the school's job posting site, and several other places, applying to summer and full time postings, but nothing. I also met with all the four professors that I had taken classes with this year, plus my academic advisor, and my soon to be thesis advisor, hopefully, and asked them if they know of any research assistantship opportunity for the summer to let me know. They all told me what I already knew, that it was a bit late, and all the positions were filled back in March. So yes, the month that I should have been busy applying and finding summer opportunities, I was dumb enough to be waiting to hear from that one place I had interviewed with!
I should have known that up until I don't get the written offer the job is not a done deal. Actually technically the company can withdrew their offer at any point, so I guess up until the first day on the job, when I sign the papers, the job is not a done deal! lol. But I truly believe that a job is not a done deal until the three month evaluation is behind me. Most companies do not specify the evaluation period, but on my previous jobs, up until I did not hear from my boss, that I was doing a great job, I felt that I was still under close observation and at any moment my boss could tell me "you are fired!" lol.
So at this point you might wonder with knowing all this, why did I read too much into the way I was talked to, toward the end of my interview day, to think that I had the job! I am wondering the same thing myself!
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