Bizarre Interview Scenario

[poser765]

Does anyone read the posts after the OP in these boards anymore?

---------- Post added 2012-06-13 at 06:21 PM ----------

You know, I had something similar happen when appling to Home Depot for a job two summers ago. Out of a stack of literally hundreds of applications (most of which apparently don't even get read), I was given an in-store interview that went very well, then I was given a second one. I was then "preliminarily hired", given the proper paperwork for a drug test and told to go to a local clinic to get a urine test. After handing that in, I was told that I would go through a series of phone interviews with corporate and a decision would be made. I then had two phone interviews with corporate HR, and the HR representative told me she was very excited because everything I did in the process was done with enough urgency to suggest I was motivated and serious about the job (which I was ).

Got an email, I shit you not, one year and six days later from HR telling me they decided to pass.

Since then I had applied to about fifty other places and already got a job, as you might expect.

lol nice. Jesus, what a bunch of crap for a job at Home Depot. I guess I have heard that they are a great company to work for though. Lol A year later.

I have noticed that when I am desperately in need of a job a call back to an application is harder to find the the ark of the covenant. Now when i have a job HR bitches be callin me up at all hours of da night.

[Badpaladin]

I have noticed that when I am desperately in need of a job a call back to an application is harder to find the the ark of the covenant. Now when i have a job HR bitches be callin me up at all hours of da night.

That might actually be intentional. If they actually did need you when you were unemployed, they were still in a position of power. Now that you're employed, if they still need you then they have to appease you instead. Yeah, it kinda sucks.

[Rawt]

I don't understand how they went from treating me like it was in the bag to not responding.

Credit/Background check would be my guess.

[poser765]

That might actually be intentional. If they actually did need you when you were unemployed, they were still in a position of power. Now that you're employed, if they still need you then they have to appease you instead. Yeah, it kinda sucks.

Yeah I see what you meant. i think I was addressing the more metaphysical aspect of it. Sort of like fate has a bastard side.

[Catbrain]

Check your referees/references. They are often the last thing to come back and a reference that you thought should have been good, and that they expected to be good otherwise why would you include it, could have dropped a bomb.

It happens more than you know, get all references in writing, don't assume that leaving on friendly terms and knowing names and address is good enough.

[poser765]

Check your referees/references. They are often the last thing to come back and a reference that you thought should have been good, and that they expected to be good otherwise why would you include it, could have dropped a bomb.

It happens more than you know, get all references in writing, don't assume that leaving on friendly terms and knowing names and address is good enough.

I certainly wouldn't put anyone as a reference who would drop a bomb. lol hell most them would praise my glory like I am the second coming.

Now, previous employers...I believe they are required by law to ONLY give out dates of employment and rehire status. nothing more.

[Ebbikenezer]

I don't understand how they went from treating me like it was in the bag to not responding.

Anyone giving an interview ( who knows how) is going to represent the company/firm in a well-mannered, solid-gold sort of way. And they're going to give you the utmost respect and favorable outlook because they never know if they indeed will be needing you and calling you back in the future.

[golds]

Small businesses get tied up easily. It's very easy to over think the posibilities. They probably still will hire you and just got caught up.

[Flyingmoney]

Maybe you didn't get the job because they saw how clueless and insecure you are...

Infracted

[IxilaFA]

I certainly wouldn't put anyone as a reference who would drop a bomb. lol hell most them would praise my glory like I am the second coming.

Now, previous employers...I believe they are required by law to ONLY give out dates of employment and rehire status. nothing more.

Sure they are required by law, but how can they really enforce that? Your future employer can ask anything they want, and your last bosses could give them any information they want. Since you probably won't be hired if the info that comes back is bad, and odds are you'll never be told what was said in that interview (at least not truthfully), and you don't talk to your previous employer anymore, who is going to tell? You can't complain because you will never know what was said in the interview.

Besides the fact that a simple "No we would not rehire him" can damn you more than anything someone says. If anyone says they would never rehire you, that's a pretty bad sign.

[poser765]

It's really dangerous on the part of the employer to just assume they are in violation of state labor laws. lets say I tell you johny is a terrible bore and smells like cheese all the time and that's why we asked him to leave. You might be a professional who takes their job seriously and then decide to report me to the gubment. Now there is a good chance I am going to lose my job, and my company fined. Why would they take the chance. Human resource professionals are just that...professionals. Granted there are a lot of people out there in charge of hiring, firing, and other HR crap that are NOT HR.

For the most part i DO agree that a status of not rehire-able can be bad, being strictly objective it is not a damning thing in your past. All sorts of reasons to be on the no rehire list.

[IxilaFA]

It's really dangerous on the part of the employer to just assume they are in violation of state labor laws. lets say I tell you johny is a terrible bore and smells like cheese all the time and that's why we asked him to leave. You might be a professional who takes their job seriously and then decide to report me to the gubment. Now there is a good chance I am going to lose my job, and my company fined. Why would they take the chance. Human resource professionals are just that...professionals. Granted there are a lot of people out there in charge of hiring, firing, and other HR crap that are NOT HR.

For the most part i DO agree that a status of not rehire-able can be bad, being strictly objective it is not a damning thing in your past. All sorts of reasons to be on the no rehire list.

Most HR departments don't get in contact with each other that in-depth. Let's say John from HR Department A and Bob from HR Department B have a conversation regarding John hiring Bill:

John: Now, is there anything in Bill's past that could reflect poorly on his ability to perform in this capacity?

Bob can answer 1 of two ways. He can say "Well, the only details I can give you is that I would not rehire him." Or Bob could go over-the-top, without realizing it, and tell him: "Bill wasn't a professional worker, was constantly late, and could never turn in projects on time."

In Situation A, Bob and John hang up, with no further words said. Bob's not going to pursue legal action against somebody who just phrased a question very vaguely. In Situation B, John will immediately think that Bill is not hire-able, not that Bob wasn't being professional. The fact that you think somebody from a company is going to waste THEIR time to track down an HR guy from another company that might not even be in the same state, makes it seem like you have a lot of confidence in human nature; That professionals will always be professional no matter what.

And I would like to see one reason that not being re-hirable wouldn't be a bad thing. You either got fired, left under bad circumstances, or weren't very good at your job.

[stabetha]

I've had background checks take several weeks to over a month (through the F.B.I./T.S.A.). while your waiting don't stop looking for another job, you can always tell someone you got a better offer.

[poser765]

Most HR departments don't get in contact with each other that in-depth. Let's say John from HR Department A and Bob from HR Department B have a conversation regarding John hiring Bill:

John: Now, is there anything in Bill's past that could reflect poorly on his ability to perform in this capacity?

Bob can answer 1 of two ways. He can say "Well, the only details I can give you is that I would not rehire him." Or Bob could go over-the-top, without realizing it, and tell him: "Bill wasn't a professional worker, was constantly late, and could never turn in projects on time."

In Situation A, Bob and John hang up, with no further words said. Bob's not going to pursue legal action against somebody who just phrased a question very vaguely. In Situation B, John will immediately think that Bill is not hire-able, not that Bob wasn't being professional. The fact that you think somebody from a company is going to waste THEIR time to track down an HR guy from another company that might not even be in the same state, makes it seem like you have a lot of confidence in human nature; That professionals will always be professional no matter what.

And I would like to see one reason that not being re-hirable wouldn't be a bad thing. You either got fired, left under bad circumstances, or weren't very good at your job.

Before I get to in depth in my defense let me say a couple of things. 1) I'm not really sure why i am so adamant about debating this with you and 2) My idea of what is legal could be WAAAYYY off base. In other words I have no idea what I am talking about.

Now in your example the way I understood it was going over board on why you wouldn't rehire is not legal. That simple. they may do, but they are not allowed to do more than just the rehire and employment dates.

Now why would being re-hirable NOT be a bad thing. lol I don't know, man. i'm just saying I wouldn't rule someone out because of that until I knew more about it. Perhaps from the applicant. Some places will hire contract workers and then sever ties with that contractor at the end of the term. Some people will not re-hire if less than two weeks notice was given.

An anectdote. I recently quit my job. Gave them 4 days notice. Yeah, yeah, not the most professional thing to do, but I assure you I in NO WAY burdened ANYBODY. I was a VERY, VERY small cog in a very big wheel. I am sure I am not re-hirable, but I dare say we parted ways under less than OK terms.

[IxilaFA]

Before I get to in depth in my defense let me say a couple of things. 1) I'm not really sure why i am so adamant about debating this with you and 2) My idea of what is legal could be WAAAYYY off base. In other words I have no idea what I am talking about.

Now in your example the way I understood it was going over board on why you wouldn't rehire is not legal. That simple. they may do, but they are not allowed to do more than just the rehire and employment dates.

Now why would being re-hirable NOT be a bad thing. lol I don't know, man. i'm just saying I wouldn't rule someone out because of that until I knew more about it. Perhaps from the applicant. Some places will hire contract workers and then sever ties with that contractor at the end of the term. Some people will not re-hire if less than two weeks notice was given.

An anectdote. I recently quit my job. Gave them 4 days notice. Yeah, yeah, not the most professional thing to do, but I assure you I in NO WAY burdened ANYBODY. I was a VERY, VERY small cog in a very big wheel. I am sure I am not re-hirable, but I dare say we parted ways under less than OK terms.

I just think you assume too many things about human nature, and businesses in general. If an HR department is, say, overworked and has to hire a candidate out of 5 potential people, they're not going to waste much time on fine details. If 3 people aren't qualified, 1 person has a "will not rehire" on their application, and the other has a clean work record, glowing references, and the needed skills, then that person is going to get hired. I know personally I would not waste time asking the other guy why he wouldn't get hired, considering I probably wouldn't get an honest answer anyways.

There is a reason these interviews are conducted, and there is a reason these guys are paid to conduct the interviews. They know how to catch the liars, the frauds, the people that don't deserve to be there. The downside of such efficiency? Sometimes people who honestly deserve the job don't get hired. But not being hired isn't always a bad thing. There's always someone more qualified than you out there at whatever job you could potential be doing.

As for your personal situation, if you mentioned in the interview that you left with 4 days notice, and had a good reason (ie, the work conditions were deplorable and disgusting, I was being accused of something I didn't honestly do, etc.) then I would consider hiring you. If you neglected to mention it, however, and I contacted your past employer, I wouldn't hire you. It's a red flag that you didn't mention the job in the interview, and I'm not going to waste any more time when this next candidate has no issues.

EDIT: As far as the first two things you posted, don't worry about #1, we all have things we want to talk about and discuss. This is simply a discussion, not every discussion where a disagreement is encountered is a debate, or an argument (though many like to think it is). #2, I'm pretty sure it is illegal. My point is more that I don't see anyone actually taking the time to report it, considering that both sides can potentially benefit from exploiting it, with very little risk.

[poser765]

I'm on board with you sir. I really think i am. I politely aqueous to your view point. lol I think the only point I was trying to make was said earlier. they can't say much in a prior employment check and can be a lot of trouble if they do...AND get caught.

[Stuffs]

Got an email, I shit you not, one year and six days later from HR telling me they decided to pass.

Im honestly surprised it was still in the system

[Pellaeon]

You know, I had something similar happen when appling to Home Depot for a job two summers ago. Out of a stack of literally hundreds of applications (most of which apparently don't even get read), I was given an in-store interview that went very well, then I was given a second one. I was then "preliminarily hired", given the proper paperwork for a drug test and told to go to a local clinic to get a urine test. After handing that in, I was told that I would go through a series of phone interviews with corporate and a decision would be made. I then had two phone interviews with corporate HR, and the HR representative told me she was very excited because everything I did in the process was done with enough urgency to suggest I was motivated and serious about the job (which I was ).

Got an email, I shit you not, one year and six days later from HR telling me they decided to pass.

Since then I had applied to about fifty other places and already got a job, as you might expect.

Wow all that to work at Home depot in the USA? I applied at a local Home Depot store here in Canada a couple years back and just had two in person interviews then I was hired (and no they dont require a drug test here in Canada for Home depot) and had to do tests both on computer and by paper but I ended up quiting anyways because the pay was quite crappy for one and two in regards to forklifts in the store they made it sound like the second you saw a forklift driver you have to drop whatever it is you are doing and act like a freaking airport ground control guy with sticks to direct customers away from him etc.

[Laize]

I don't understand how they went from treating me like it was in the bag to not responding.

Welcome to the real world. HR is full of humans too and humans don't usually like delivering bad news.

[Stalemate]

They served you cake, and you ate a big piece. I'm afraid this is what happens regularly. I had a similar problem myself a while back, I did an interview, I know it went well and I did nothing else except wait. I never got those jobs. When I got my stuff together I ended up doing multiple interviews a week and got a job in under 3 months. Granted I did this all before I graduated college and had some 'wait' room, the best thing you can do is write them off, forget about them, and hit up more jobs. If they call, then you got a surprise.

When I was just starting college, I applied to Old Navy as asset protection, it was in november and I got a call in may asking if i would come in for an interview.