What do you do?

Guys the civil engineer is getting mad

So I had my 2.5 hour technical interview yesterday. It was more of a hang out for 2 hours, listening in on some trouble shooting calls, get a tour of the place, and the server room which was pretty cool, and then about a half hour of technical stuff. All seemed to go well, and I figured I'd get a call today talking about getting hired. Nope. The manager I'd be working under was out all week on vacation, and now they are seeing about maybe having a lunch or something so I can meet him first before any decision is made. So yet... another step. Wtf!

I know less than nothing about IT. Seems odd to ask the gotcha questions about minor stuff. I assume that would pretty much be covered if you have a decent work history, no? Do they not ask what projects you have worked on and what you were responsible for? I like those because as soon as they leave I can call someone and ask if what they worked on turned out worth a shit or was a nightmare, without really mentioning names.

The gotcha questions are a way for people to assert their mental dominance over you. The excuse is to make you think more, but they're bullshit.

Borzak_sl said:

I know less than nothing about IT. Seems odd to ask the gotcha questions about minor stuff. I assume that would pretty much be covered if you have a decent work history, no? Do they not ask what projects you have worked on and what you were responsible for? I like those because as soon as they leave I can call someone and ask if what they worked on turned out worth a shit or was a nightmare, without really mentioning names.

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Gotya questions are for people who suck at actually interviewing candidates. Instead of talking over their work history and making sure the candidate has a deep understanding they just ask trivial bullshit that should be featured questions on "Can You Program Better Than a 5th Grader?"

A problem in the IT industry is there is an extremely wide discrepancy of talent so it makes interviewing somewhat more difficult. The field and technologies is constantly in flux so there is a good chance some kid out of college with 2 years of experience would actually contribute better than some old guy with 20 years experience. But there is also the chance that kid with 2 years experience never learned how to actually write production code so it would be better to get the guy with 20 years experience. Its all a crapshoot.

So, I should find out tomorrow whether or not I got the job I've been interviewing for. The most recent step was a week ago where I had the 2.5 hour on site technical interview. The 3 prior interviews were all over the phone. I think things went well and then I hear late Friday of last week that they now have to have a meeting this week about whether or not my manager has enough time to take on someone with my experience and skills. Wtf?

I interviewed with everyone of these people and all of them had technical questions and never once questioned by technical abilities but instead moved me on to the next interview. Now at the end they question my abilities? It makes no sense.

Alarm bells would be ringing in my head by this stage, they sound like a right clusterfuck operation. Unless it's a large corporation as they're all fuckwits as a matter of procedure.

Called the staffing agency at 4:30 to try and figure anything out. Goes to voicemail and I get a text immediately saying he will call me as soon as he has any news. He expects to talk to the company tonight. So now I'm doing more waiting knowing full well that the meeting to determine my job status has already been done.

Feels like a play by play, I apologize. Just anxious about whether I have a job or not.

No need to apologise. I can only imagine how you feel, I'd be unable to stop thinking about it.

Yeah, sounds kinda like office politics are involved. Which they really should shield you from until you're being paid.

Doesn't mean it's a clusterfuck. Just means probably somebody doesn't wanna piss off jim and maybe didn't think it entirely through.

I got kind of dicked around with this position too.

It took them like a month to figure out if they even had a budget for someone in that position, they had to create a new position here, etc. Even in the end the recruiter told me it was between me and another guy - I mean, I appreciate the transparency but it seemed unprofessional to tell me that stuff.

Even though it's a long process, they obviously saw something. They're worried about your lack of skill since you're right out of school and trying to figure out if it's feasible to take you on knowing that you'll need some time to ramp up.

Crone_sl said:

Called the staffing agency at 4:30 to try and figure anything out. Goes to voicemail and I get a text immediately saying he will call me as soon as he has any news. He expects to talk to the company tonight. So now I'm doing more waiting knowing full well that the meeting to determine my job status has already been done.

Feels like a play by play, I apologize. Just anxious about whether I have a job or not.

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I hire a lot of people...I've been in IT a long time. This is hitting warning bells, but it sounds like the recruiter is stringing you out AND the company is disorganized.

I'd start looking into your other options...Never focus on one thing, but have a pipeline in place. Silver bulleting and tunnel visioning is the classic mistake people make...The recruiters and hiring managers are not invested in you and are not your friends. Build relationships with them, but don't rely on them.

Good luck with the job...but don't let it hold you back from other options.

My suspicion is they are waiting on another offer and are stringing you along. It could be they are being honest, but strong leaders know that the answer is Yes, or No...Business is ultimately binary and when fuzzy shit like this happens it is usually because they are hedging their bets.

Cad_sl said:

But there's nothing really wrong with that. Ya'll take this shit way too personally like "If I'm not their #1 choice I'm not interested" like it's your fucking prom date or something. So what they're looking at 2 guys and gave another guy an offer first? If you have no other options anyway, then wait. If you get an offer, you wanted it anyway, so go to it. You guys always act like princesses with your "if I'm not first choice fuck that I'm not returning their calls, if they want me they can treat me with respect!"

Welcome to business!

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Agreed.

Cad_sl said:

But there's nothing really wrong with that. Ya'll take this shit way too personally like "If I'm not their #1 choice I'm not interested" like it's your fucking prom date or something. So what they're looking at 2 guys and gave another guy an offer first? If you have no other options anyway, then wait. If you get an offer, you wanted it anyway, so go to it. You guys always act like princesses with your "if I'm not first choice fuck that I'm not returning their calls, if they want me they can treat me with respect!"

Welcome to business!

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Cad laying down the fucking truth..

Hey man I fully accept that I was candidate number 2 and I accepted it.

I just thought it was unprofessional for the recruiter to tell me about the cage match going down at the company.

In my situation, they do the hiring through this staffing agency, and I've been told there is no one else they are considering. They have screened, and interviewed others, but none passed the technical screens, and none others are being offered right now. This is at least what they tell me. Can believe it or not.

I think I agree with Iannis, that even though it seemed perfectly clear to me and others what my skill level was, and what was gonna be expected of the manager (mentoring), it sounds like they just wanted to make sure.

I didn't end up getting a call last night, but got an email this morning that the staffing agency is just waiting to speak to the manager, and they will let me know as soon as they have news. Subject of the email even was "Sit Tight!"

Brand_sl said:

My suspicion is they are waiting on another offer and are stringing you along. It could be they are being honest, but strong leaders know that the answer is Yes, or No...Business is ultimately binary and when fuzzy shit like this happens it is usually because they are hedging their bets.

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As a manager, why the fuck would you put multiple candidates through the process Crone has been through? That's just annoying. I can't believe they have multiple candidates going through multiple 2.5 hour interviews and shit.