Today’s guest post is from Molly Buckley who is a social media & marketing professional, a comedian, and an all around awesome woman.
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I’ve been unemployed for five months. I wasn’t always unemployed. In fact, I used to have a great job teaching English to a bunch of crazy 10th graders. But, in June, I quit my job, packed my bags, and moved to North Carolina — and began what I now call the Dark Ages — a time where finding a job is next to impossible.
That brings me to my story. After three months of searching, I came across a job that was perfect for me. It was like spotting that hot guy across the bar and saying, “Bingo! That’s the one.” The job was actually considered a paid internship working for The-Foundation-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named as the lead on a social media and traditional marketing project. It was 20 hours a week, $1,500 a month, and exactly the position I wanted. I would be able to work for The-Foundation-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named, get great “real-life” experience working on a large-scale project, and I’d still have time to pursue my own business.
I applied for the position and almost a month went by and I heard nothing. I did the follow-up thing with The-Foundation-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named and got the run around for three weeks, “Oh, so-and-so is out of town,” or “Well, we’re still sifting through applications.” Great.
Another week passed and finally, my phone rang. I got an interview! I was PUMPED. I picked out my best suit and mentally prepared myself to knock the interview out of the ballpark. After my first interview, I knew walking out of that office that I had rocked it. I felt empowered. I felt good. I felt hired.
Well, a week went by and… nothing. Ergo, being the ballsy woman that I am, I followed up, again, with The-Foundation-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named. The next day I get a call that they would like me to come in for a second interview, this time with the CEO, the very next day. Oh man! Time crunch, but that’s okay. I’m a pro now. I knew I had it in the bag.
I arrived at my second interview, once again, with confidence emanating from head-to-toe. I was told the CEO “couldn’t make it” so I was meeting with someone else in the marketing department. No biggie, I thought to myself, just a teensy snag in the rope. As I answered their questions, one of the interviewers even noticed that we were alumnae of the same sorority in college. “AWESOME!” I thought. A fraternal connection. Yet I maintained my cool, my calm, and my professionalism. I walked out of that interview just waiting for the call that I got the job. It was like seeing the hot guy at the bar a second time and knowing that this time, we were going home together.
A week went by. Nothing. Four more days went by. And I got an email. A bulk email. From a secretary. Looking back, it was as nice as rejection emails could be. The-Foundation-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named wanted to thank me for my time, but that they had decided on a candidate who more closely matched their job description. Except, it appeared as though the secretary had made a goof and forgotten to BCC all the applicants — so there was my name, amidst a bazillion other names being rejected.
I was crushed.
Then three minutes later, I got not one, but TWO “RECALL” emails from The-Secretary-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named asking for the email to be deleted. Too late lady, I already read it. You can’t recall something that someone has already read — unless you are a Man in Black and you have a flashy-memory-eraser-thing. The emails were the exact to the one I had already burned in my brain, rejection and all, only this time, with the word RECALL.
Clearly The-Secretary-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named knew she wasn’t supposed to send the FIRST email to the applicants with email addresses and names showing. Then three minutes later, I got ANOTHER rejection email. This time, The-Secretary-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named remembered to BCC her recipients.
Look, Foundation-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named, I got it. I didn’t get the job. You didn’t need to send me FOUR bulk emails to reject me. I can read.
Three days later, my phone rings and I see on the caller ID it is The-Foundation-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named. I didn’t answer — I’d let them leave a message. You know, play hard to get. I listened to the message and the caller asked me to call her back ASAP — her voice seemed cheery. I obliged. I took a leap of faith and thought – Yes! The hot guy at the bar made a mistake and wants me after all.
So, I called The-Foundation-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named and was told, “Molly, I wanted to thank you for your interest in The-Foundation-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named, but we have decided to go a different route with the project.”
*CAR-SCREECH-NOISE*
What?!?! Are you serious? You sent me FOUR emails and now you have to CALL me three days later to tell me, too? Thanks, but no thanks.
In the end, I probably wouldn’t have wanted to work for The-Foundation-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named after all. But still, rejection stings.
I’m still on the hunt for a job and I know, just like with men, the right one will come along soon enough. I just have to be patient, and not crazy.
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You can find Molly on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and performing at DSI Comedy Club. You can also find her having drinks and eating olives with her new BFF, Laurie Ruettimann, in the Raleigh-Durham area.
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{ 26 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi Laurie –
Thank you for sharing Molly’s story. There are too many stories like these where companies are mistreating their candidates. Companies are not thinking about their brand and how not treating candidates in the right light affects their overall business. You never know who Molly might know that could help them down the line! Companies need to make their candidate experience stellar and roll out the red carpet!
Have a great day!!
Best –
Chernee
Doh!
Candidate experience tends to be low on the priority list for most companies in a “buyers” market. This is insanely wrongheaded, but it is the nature of the beast. In the military we talk about the cold equation, and too many times candidate experience falls into that realm. It costs money (think of scale, many companies process over 100,000 unique applications a year, and interview over tens of thousands of people) and time. Both of which are luxuries many companies that have had to scale back don’t have.
This in no way makes it right. Cases like yours I beleive are extreme, but they do happen. The error that many companies make is they fail to quantify and express the dollar value of candidate experience. I would encourage you to read my blog entitled “Every Candidate A Customer” to show how that quantification can be accomplished.
End of the day though, remember, you went in wanting a job and forgave them a lot of sins early on, based on your desire for the job (waiting, no straight answers, interview change ups), so feel good that you didn’t get the job, would you want to work for an outfit that can’t keep it’s crap together? Also, the short cut to encouraging organizations to change their practice is to kick them in the financial stugots. Don’t contribute to the foundation, don’t buy products from the companies that don’t have first class programs, and tell your friends to do the same. I’m sure your mom told you that sticks and stones may break your bones, but words will never hurt you. Dollars are the sticks and stones that companies and organizations heed.
Also, best of luck with your comedy. I’ve worked for to many years in stand up and improv, and it will be the most rewarding aspect of your life, I promise!
just think of the kind of crap you’d encounter if you did go to work there…the experience a candidate gets with a company while interviewing says so much about how that experience might be once working there. Takes a long time to get you through the process=takes a long time for the company to make a decision/manage change; communication is disjointed and disorganized (like your experience)=everyone is walking around with their head in the clouds; no communication at all=no regular communication with employees…etc etc. Not sure why recruiters/companies still don’t get the fact that what a rejected candidate says about an organization has more impact on a brand than what an accepted candidate says…good luck on your continued search!
Hiya Laurie (yes I’ve moved position, still in HR journalism though!)
Great post Molly: goodness me, the ineptitude with the email. Never understood the ‘recall’ – you can’t unread something.
Job hunting to me is almost like a dark art. You want it, you need it, you persuade yourself this is the one… and then it falls by the way side and you scrape yourself up only to fall for another one. You pour your life and soul and tears into another application and try to stop yourself working out how much you would make if somehow you got paid to apply – because for the hours and energy going into it, it may as well be a fulltime job.
You start making superstitions about it. Do you need to include ‘feature ideas’ even though they haven’t asked? Should I really send it at 11pm? If I send it in three days before it’ll be a cert. Yup, crazytown.
But when it goes right and it IS the one (usually this one is found when you think you’ve reached the pit of despair) it seems so worth it. Of course it’s worth it. When I was at school I was told I would not enjoy my job. I immediately made it my job to enjoy my job. And I do.
Stay sane in the crazy job hunting world… and good luck with the funny.
the situation was obviously handled very poorly, and i sort of understand not wanting to burn bridges or fall under some sort of “complainer” label to future employers. however, if this is truly an outrage then why grant the foundation anonymity? why not put the people involved on the spot? why give them a free pass to continue doing it? why not give others a heads up who are considering working there?
this story is great for a laugh/cringe, but leaving out some of the facts just makes it more likely the cycle will continue.
What I find interesting from these stories is that HR acts as if they hold all the cards. You may now, but not forever. As this story illustrates candidates are looking for a “relationship” and if they are treated well, just like in marketing/sales, they’re friends, neighbors, people at the drug store, Facebook and blogs are going to hear about it. The old marketing adage applies…treat a customer well they may tell 2 people, treat one poorly they will tell 10.
This is a courtship process. With some reports saying 60% of workers are looking to turn over when things improve there is lots of opportunity to scoop up some talent by those companies who understand treating people well matters.
Molly, when you are done having cocktails with Laurie, pop over to San Francisco and have a few with me!
Hey – thanks so much for reading my story!
@Chernee: Thanks for the kind words – and you’re right, candidates can be a company’s biggest asset or greatest enemy. You never know who I could come across down the line!
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@HRPufnstuf: I love that idea of “every candidate a customer.” It’s so true. I feel like that because of the way the economy is right now and the way the job market is, employers feel like they can give candidates the run around. And many employers are even turned off if they know you have applied for other jobs. I want to say to them, listen – you have other applicants – you can’t put all your eggs in one basket. It’s crazy to think someone has only applied for ONE job in today’s market.
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@Charlie: great point. And I have to keep on the bright side with that – I probably wouldn’t have wanted to work there in the end, but it is hard when you’re unemployed to see that right away. I’m getting there! And thanks for the good luck wishes!
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@Shawn: That’s a great point and something I toyed with as I wrote my story. However, because I am facing the realities of a tumultuous job-seeking pool, and because of the well-connected community that The-Foundation-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named is in, I do feel concern and a little bit of uneasiness that I would be ostracized for speaking out. It’s not something I necessarily enjoy, but it is a reality I face. I don’t want one experience like this to affect me getting a job later… or hopefully, sooner. I hope that makes sense.
And thank for the comedy props, guys! Keep it real!
-Molly Buckley
Oh my goodness, so true, Leanne. I try to break that adage and tell 10 people if I have a good experience, but you’re right, I will definitely let people know if I have a bad experience. Unfortunately, going back to what I was saying to Shawn, there is that fear in today’s market that if you speak out against someone because of a bad experience, that it could affect my job-seeking experience.
It’s the evolution of the process. Thanks, Leanne!
-Molly
@TwirtyGrrl: absolutely! I’ve never been to San Fran and I’ve always wanted to go. I’ll definitely let you know when I head out west!
Molly –
I do hope there comes a time when candidates don’t have to *fear* telling the truth…the whole truth. And I completely understand why now is not necessarily that time.
Good luck!
It’s stories like these that make me weep for the reputation of the recruiting function
Things I’ve witnessed or experienced:
-Getting a rejection letter after I got the job
-Getting a call from a corporate recruiter while working at the same company
-First day on the job, find my name in the candidate database…there I am…interview notes and all…for everyone in HR to see.
-Inviting a candidate back to interview after he had been spectacularly rejected just days prior
-Getting a rejection letter minutes after applying
All of these faux pas could be solved with development or better use of technology. We need to get it together!
On behalf of my profession, I apologize for such a horrendous experience.
I think you could make a sitcom out of this situation. One has to wonder if the people in charge of branding this foundation have ANY idea what kind of ridiculous bungle their staff made of this. I continue to be boggled at this sort of thing. There’s zero excuse for it.
I think that candidates aren’t out on the internet revealing the names of the guilty for the same reasons that HR types aren’t doing it. If you’re ID’d as a whistleblower, you’re going to have a whole lot of trouble getting hired or being part of the inner circle of goings-on at the office. I’m sure that’s why a large share of us lurk the internet under pseudonyms.
Or the same reason so many companies shy away from Facebook and Twitter. They want full control and approval of their message. Gatekeepers (& corporate legal) just don’t make for effective social media.
What creates job opportunities is the fact that there is a 30% turnover rate in executive positions. This does not mean executives are necessarily getting terminated, they could be getting transferred, promoted, leave for another opportunity, the company could be purchased and re-managed or the company could be expanding domestically or internationally or just be re-arranging the deck chairs. In any case the national average is a turnover rate of 30%, which means if you look at 100 companies and an average transition time of 120 days there is approximately 10 job openings at any given time. This is often referred to as the “hidden or non-published job market.”
@Ben: Don’t worry! I haven’t lumped my bad experience with The-Foundation-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named into a category with all companies. I know some places do it right! So no worries
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@Carmen: No need to apologize! I’m sure that there are experiences out there that are wayyyy worse than mine – it’s just hard when you are starting to feel desperate for employment!
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@H Aria: That’s so funny that you say that because someone else said that it sounds like a sitcom. Ahhh, I guess life IS a sitcom! And my thoughts exactly, on being the whistleblower. I don’t want to be seen as that – I just more want to share my experience to let other candidates know that it isn’t okay for you to be treated like that during the process. Candidates deserve respect just like companies deserve professionalism from the candidate.
Although at the end of the day, transparency, I believe, is really important for the long-term success of both candidates and companies.
-Molly
I know I’m just reiterating what everyone else is saying, but you REALLY REALLY dodged a bullet on this one.
I had kind of a bumpy road to where I am now (which is the most awesome job every and career happiness that I never thought could happen). There are a few things I’ve learned along the way. 1) It really is about the relationships – your best chance for getting a job is from someone you know. 2) It really doesn’t matter how good/smart you are. You just can’t be a total idiot. As long as you can get along with the best/smartest ones, you’re golden. 3) You need an advocate. And you appear to have one in Laurie. You need that one person to vouche for you, give you a hand up, make that phone call for you, whatever.
You seem like a really nice person, and that will take you far. Keep your skills sharp, keep looking for that next opportunity, and be thankful that you don’t have work with monkeys, I mean people, who don’t know any better than contacting the rejections five times.
IMHO – You dodged a bullet
Molly -
Thank you for bringing this issue to light.
I went to http://www.the-foundation-who-shall-not-be-named.org to express my discontent on your behalf. I got an auto response that stated “…the social media and traditional marketing position has been filled and you have not been selected…”.
Bastards….I feel your pain first hand.
Keep fighting the good fight!
- Dave
As I often note, the dirty secret of hiring and HR is that it often gets way down the priority list of companies and can be handled with shocking lack of tact and ability. This doesn’t surprise me.
I recall one company that kept dragging me on for months as the position changed constantly. When I got a job I still can’t remember if they ever gave me a proper rejection.
@Jim: You’re so right. Companies are always changing and so their actions may not have been intentional, or even purposeful – I mean, she did try to RECALL her goof email
But in all seriousness, I don’t place 100% of the blame on the company – I like to think of it more as a fault of the system? Or maybe I just wasn’t the right one.
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@GenerationXpert: Thank you for the kind words. And yes! Laurie has been a great friend and advocate. It was hard moving to a new state, not really knowing anyone, and trying to find a job, but when I met Laurie we shared a lot of the same feelings and beliefs and we’re both newbies to North Carolina!
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@David: Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Fool me three times, well, you can’t, you ain’t gonna fool me again.
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@Steven: I’m not surprised at all. A lot of times I hear from managers, higher-up’s, and big cheeses that they have such a large list of applicants that going by the book or taking the extra time to take care of candidates sort of gets lost in the mix. Thanks for your comment!
Molly, I feel your pain. I’m astonished at how horribly The Evil Foundation bungled what should have been a pretty simple, easy process.
As someone who spent most of last year on one side of the career divide, and most of this year on the other…I can tell you nothing is more frustrating as you try to crawl out of unemployment hell than to see people who ARE working do their jobs so poorly and inefficiently.
It’s ironic that an entity that is hiring for a social media position does such a piss-poor job of notifying candidates – you know, social communication in its most basic form? Then again, the Evil Marketing Company that I applied to for a Social Media position didn’t have the grace to communicate with me, either. Perhaps it’s a case of the shoemaker’s children have no shoes?
@Patrick: sad but very true. I’m glad to hear that things are going well for you now! It gives me hope that I, too, will soon find employment.
As a fellow job seeker also out for the past 5 months, your story made me laugh – more out of recognizing the truth of how may job seekers are treated. We all read the same advice: The rules of job hunting have changed; make sure to be that super-perfect candidate, watch what you post on the internet, it’s an employer’s market, etc. As one of the posters said above, looking for a job has become one of the “dark art” (if only there was a Harry Potter-like solution…) You think you moved to a backwater in N. Carolina? Try looking in NYC!
So what I want to know is this. When are employers going to stop hiding behind the excuses of being overwhelmed, inundated with resumes and (ironically) being short staffed, and actually get back to job seekers in a timely, professional way? Or how about getting back to us at all?
And we’re supposed to keep smiling and stay positive…
As I scrolled down to the bottom of this page, I see that your next post may address this topic (LOL!) You go girl!
Good luck in the job search and keep the faith that there are still a few professional and nice people out there.
@Debbie: so true. Thanks for the note! If only there were a Harry Potter horcrux to solve everything, right? Good luck with your job search!