On the 21st of December which was a Tuesday I e-mailed my resume to a few places. The very next day I received a call and the person in charge of the department that I wanted to work in calls me and says the general manager saw your resume and wanted me to call you and schedule you to come in for an interview, what day would you like to come in? I told her I can come in anytime, just tell me a day and time and I will be there. So she asked if I could come in the following Wednesday at 12:00 and of course I said that was fine. Well I got there a few minutes early and when I walked in the lady that was supposed to be interviewing me hands me an application. I fill it out and give it to her and the part of the app where it says what days are you available to work, by mistake I didn't fill out that part but I told her I preferred mornings. And she says well we are full in the morning. I told her that if I had to choose morning or evening shift I would prefer mornings but if you need me to come in the evenings I can do that, I'm pretty flexible, and if you need me as a sub for the mornings I can do that also. And she says, I will give you a call. At that point I was kind of confused because I went in for an interview not to fill out an application. Because I could have done that anytime, maybe I should have said something but I didn't. I waited a few days and called and left a message and still haven't heard anything. I just think this is really weird, if the manager wanted me to come in for an interview, why didn't this lady interview me? Should I call the general manager and find out what's going on? Because I think I left the message with the person at the front desk...maybe they never gave them the message. What should I do?
Definitely call. And it's pretty much SOP to have all applicants fill out an application -- even if they have already submitted a resume. You'll never know if you don't call. Be procactive!
I'm a corporate recruiter -but most of 2010 I was unemployed so I distinctly relate to that side of the fence as well.
Sounds like the 'interviewer' really doesn't know what she is doing-it's probably not her main position and sounds like no one has versed her on dealing with candidates. My guess is when you told her that you wanted morning and she said they were full she stopped listening.
I think she's doing the bare minimum to make her life easier. Which is really crappy.
I would go over her head and contact the GM. I'd send a nice note explaining the situation, expressing how you'd love to work there, etc, etc..but you had a strange experience and detail it...that way if she shares the letter you aren't calling the person out and make waves for you if you should get hired.
Hopefully no matter if they want to interview you or not, the GM will reach out to you and apologize at the least. If not-you don't want to work there.
I would absolutely call... the squeaky wheel gets the grease ;)
I like Cate's reponse and really you have nothing to lose and everything to gain. It definitely sounds like the lady who was suppose to do the interviewing didn't know what she was doing or simply was being lazy about the whole thing. She may even have told the General Manager that she did conduct the interview, you never know. Maybe she considered taht brief conversation to be the actual interview. I have a feeling that if you don't contact the General Manager you'll always wonder what exactly happened.
It never hurts to call and ask. The worst that will happen is they say no thank you. :) Good luck J.!
Never hurts to ask. You want the job, go after it! Good luck!!!
Was this an employment agency that you applied to?
A 'temp' type agency???
If so, then yes, you do fill out an application when you go in... then based on that, per your application etc., then they have you interview if you fit what they are looking for.... because they screen the applications. First.
BUT, they told you this was an 'interview.' Which they did not do.
So I would be curious too....
**ADDING THIS: Also, many "companies" use an HR Staffing Agency... to 'screen' their applicants for jobs. This is common. I used to work in HR.... and at a staffing agency for Corporations. This is what they did. Many Corporations... do not do 'screening' themselves, nor the initial "interview" first, nor the application processes.
can't hurt/ they can't eat you as my husband has always said. it might cause the lady to say "oh yea" go for it. R.
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I work in HR and recruiting is a main part of my job. If you applied at some place small, I will tell you that they have people recruiting who have no clue what they are doing. Still, tread with caution about how you approach this. A call to remind them of your interest or a note expresses that you are eager to hear from them and willing to work XXX shifts is more than fine. Please don't "explain" anything- it makes you look defensive and it may come across that you are insulting their current staff (no way to win friends!!)
It sounds like you have already called once. One more contact is fine, but if you call back a 3rd time, you are going to start making the oposite impression than what you want.
I'd also evaluate the impression you made the morning you came for the interview. Could there have been any reason that they made a hasty first impression? If you showed up late, were not dressed professionally, etc. they may have felt you were not the person they were looking for and changed their mind. You seem tech savy, so you may want to do some google searches on interview skills just as a brush up.
Best of luck to you!! I have been in your shoes and I know how stressful and frustrating it can be.
I'd call back! The worst that can happen is they tell you that they're not interested. In today's job market you need to stand out and if I were you, I'd want them to know that I was really interested in the position.
