It’s an awesome feeling – the highs of job searching give rushes of adrenaline and confidence abounds. It’s necessary to feel this way because confidence is a key emotion that you need in an interview. So take that euphoria and use it to your advantage – like I did in this interview that I’ll share with you as part of my “Tales from a Job Hunter” series…
I was pretty pumped for this interview – it was at a company that several friends and contacts also worked at and on a big account. The job had come to me by way of a recruiter, who’d come recommended from a trusted source. It sounded interesting – a mix of an account manager and social media strategist. It’d be a big job, with two roles in one, but it would be a growing opportunity as well.
I discussed salary expectations with the recruiter up front – the company had initially had a lower number in mind so the recruiter declined presenting me for the role. (Note: THAT is a good recruiter – see my post on Working with Recruiters for more tips). The company then decided they could go higher with salary, and so there I was in my interview attire, waiting in the lobby to meet the hiring manager.
The hiring manager was very nice, and we talked about the company and the account for a bit. Then we began talking about the role. The statement “the job description isn’t an accurate representation of what this role would be doing” made my stomach roll over with anxiety. The hiring manager went on to say that in addition to the two roles stated in the description, this person would be responsible for two more job functions. Four job functions in one role?
A few things crossed my mind while sitting there:
- This job would be impossible to do well. It would be very difficult to succeed. Who wants to start out somewhere being set up to fail?
- The company didn’t know what they were looking for – being unable to clearly define a need would lead to a frazzled and stressed employee with trouble prioritizing
- Who would be my boss? Would I report to four different people? How would I learn?
- This job is for someone right of college who doesn’t know any better – it’s a “catch all” position
- What a waste of my time! What a waste of their time! I was NOT happy when I left.
I immediately wrote my recruiter to explain the situation – her time was also wasted as a result of the company’s inability or lack of desire to put out an accurate job description. The recruiter suggested I email the hiring manager about my concerns. I wrote a very polite, but direct and honest email to the hiring manager inquiring about many of the points I made above. We then agreed that this position was not going to be a good fit for me.
While I was glad to have made a few new contacts, ultimately this was a bad use of time for all involved parties. It could have easily been avoided if the company had taken the time to think about their true needs and then write the job description.
Have you ever been in this situation? How did you handle it? I always find it best to take the high road, but I will admit that I was fuming on the inside at the time – and still find it an unfortunate happening.
Check out the other posts in this series:
Tales from a Job Hunter: Introduction
Tales from a Job Hunter: Working with Recruiters
Tales from a Job Hunter: The Bait and Switch
Tales from a Job Hunter: HR Fails