Interviewing is like Dating

A lot has changed since I lasted posted. I am back in the States and very domestic, living with a cat and two dogs. I am currently job searching – great fun during a recession I promise you – and friend searching. The friend searching is more fun, but more on that later. This post is dedicated to the tedious and frustrating experience of job searching.

This last week or so have been harder than I expected. When I was describing my feelings to Marisa I realized that to the uninformed ear, I could be talking about a guy! Hypothesis: Interviewing is like Dating. Let’s check out the evidence….

Interview/Date 1 – The Booty Call

This scenario is reserved for part time gigs. Just like part time boyfriends. I have interviewed for a few jobs recently that pull this move on me. They act all interested when I meet them, give me forms to fill out, and tell me I’ll be on the next schedule. I leave feeling great about myself, and planning the outfit I’ll wear for my first day. 

And then I don’t hear from them for two weeks.

Out of nowhere I get a call asking if I can work this weekend. As in two days from now. One friend once got a call asking her to work that very night. She hadn’t even had training! Sometimes we jump at these offers and rearrange our schedule to show up at the new job. Other times we say we have prior commitments, but could we start next week? Sure, they say, no problem.

And then I don’t hear from them for two weeks.

Just like the guy or girl who forgets about you, except when their main squeeze is busy, these jobs treat us like booty calls. Sadly, usually I play along and end up working just once in awhile, hoping that I’ll make the regular schedule.

Interview/Date 2 – Who Rejected Whom?

I recently interviewed for a job that I knew I did not want. I walked out of the office and thought to myself, there is no way I would end up taking this job if the company offered it to me. Just like a bad date where you run from his car to your apartment door in an attempt to get away as fast as possible. I then had a call for a second interview; I agreed against better judgment because I thought to myself, maybe there will be a chance to transfer to a better position down the road. If you have ever agreed to a doomed second date you will understand why this was a fatal mistake. There are two possible outcomes. Either you will be hopelessly pursued via email, text and Facebook for the next month, or someone will have to awkwardly end it.

In my situation, I was faced with the obnoxious, Who Rejected Whom Scenario. Despised by everyone on the dating scene, it also occurs in the corporate world. After two interviews and learning that the company was paying mere pennies (I could have made more a year bartending) I told multiple friends I would never work for this company. To my chagrin, the company emailed me saying they had chosen another candidate for the position. Sure, I didn’t want them, but how dare they not want me!

Interview/Date 3 – Love at First Sight….For You

This scenario is extremely sad and frustrating. I faced this one last week, as did Brie. We went through multiple rounds of interviews, jumped through several other hoops, and in the end, had good feelings about the companies. Just like that guy or gal you go on several dates with and are feeling like it could really go somewhere!

And then - absolute silence.

Both Brie and I attempted to follow up. Last we both heard, the companies would be in touch with us. We waiting for contact and when none came, we called and emailed. We remained professional and did not acting like a love-obsessed teenager. Never heard a peep from these companies. Eventually we took the hint and stopped attempting to make contact. Overall I was pretty upset, not only because I wanted the job, but also because they did not have the courtesy to tell me they hired someone else. I mean the job I didn’t want did! If they were avoiding conflict, they could have simply sent me an email and ignored any responses. Having gone through such an extensive interview process I definitely expected something. Anything to tell me that I wasn’t so unimportant they had already forgotten about me. Lesson learned: Call that guy or girl you want to end things with and give them the respect they deserve.

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These are the interviewing scenarios. There are several employment scenarios I will write about later, including The Blah Relationship and the coveted, Mutual Love at First Sight. I just needed to get the frustration of bad experiences off my chest and let people know that you are not the only ones getting treated unprofessionally. My only hope is that the perfect job is out there and it is only a matter of time before I share Mutual Love at First Sight with a great company.