The invisible hand that hates me

March 5, 2009 9:01 AM

A job I was interviewing with suddenly declined further interviews due to an internal reference. I know no details, but my actual given references and my resume are solid. Is there anything I can do to figure out what happened?

I don't really care who gave this reference, and I can't think of anyone who works there who would do so. But it's driving me absolutely crazy that someone - i don't know who - said something - i don't know what - that prevented me from getting a job that was otherwise ideal, and was otherwise very much in progress.

What I'm concerned about is if there's a specific issue that I'm not aware of that I need to be correct, or if this is merely a personal issue. The company statement is that someone there who knew me stated that I "would not be a good fit for their environment."

It's a small tech community here, and the skill set I work with (mostly UNIX, Perl, and PHP) is comprised of even less people, so jobs that fit those requirements are few and far between. This environment seemed particularly ideal, so it does sting a bit. Especially when even getting a foot in the door these days seems so difficult.

I suppose my real questions are, is there any way to find out exactly what happened? Is it even worth it? And how in the world can I stop obsessing over his?

posted by MysticMCJ to work & money (17 comments total)

In general, no company will tell you the exact reasons why they've declined to hire you for fear of litigation.
posted by reptile at 9:07 AM on March 5

I'll recommend some followup reading of "What Does Somebody Have to Do to Get a Job Around Here?" which I recently took out from the library and found somewhat enlightening.
posted by reptile at 9:09 AM on March 5

This happens pretty often. What I'm guessing is that someone looked at your resume and saw that you worked somewhere and at the same time as someone they knew, and called that person for a private reference. That person didn't like you for whatever reason.

To be honest, I'm shocked that they even told you about this at all - that's a REALLY dumb move on their part.
posted by deadmessenger at 9:11 AM on March 5

Sorry this is ignorant on my part, but are you sure they didn't mean someone internally was referred for the job? i.e. they're giving the job to someone who already works there, so they no longer need to interview? What specifically did they tell you?
posted by peep at 9:20 AM on March 5

A lot of times I think that someone there who knew me stated that I "would not be a good fit for their environment." really is code for "my brother/cousin/friend would do better at this job" I don't really think this is a slam on you specifically but just someone internally might have been vying for this position or trying to get the position for their buddy. Any manner of lies could have been told to accomplish this or maybe no lies were told internally and this is just the party line they hand out in these situations.

In the place I work many people have not gotten a job or an interview specifically because someone higher up in administration was lobbying for their kid to get that specific job. Its crappy and it is a variation of good ol' boy network but it happens. It really does all come back to who you know and maybe someone else looking for this same job just knew someone in a better position to get it for them.
posted by ejazen at 9:21 AM on March 5

It was specifically a bad reference, that slipped out. So I don't think that it was cover for something else, like already having hired someone internally.
posted by MysticMCJ at 9:22 AM on March 5

To be honest, I'm shocked that they even told you about this at all. -- Ditto. I wouldn't try to find out more from them.

If you actually want to know whether there's a problem with your work style that you're not aware of, you could potentially claim you're taking (or actually take) a leadership or management course where they require you to solicit feedback about your strengths and challenges from others by sending an email questionnaire to a dozen colleagues. I'm sure you could find one online (one google term: "360 degree feedback;" it's kind of a trend).
posted by salvia at 9:39 AM on March 5

I don't know that "not a good fit" is necessarily a bad reference. I'm guessing this person used to work with you and knows your working style. Maybe it's really stuffy there, or disorganized, or some other quality that they think you wouldn't like. Yes, it could also be used to mean they don't like you, but I don't know that it's definitely that.

I can't imagine it would be too difficult to find out who it was, or at least narrow it down. I know in my industry it would only take a couple phone calls to find out which ex-coworkers of mine now work at any particular company. Maybe the person is someone you hated and really would not want to work with, in which case they may have done you a favor by stopping you before you took what would end up being a miserable job.
posted by boomchicka at 9:45 AM on March 5

Call your references and ask them. That may be the shortest path to knowing, if in fact it was one of them. If it was a "friend of a friend" thing you may not have a way to find out at all.
posted by rhizome at 10:00 AM on March 5

This would drive me crazy, too, but ultimately I don't think you will ever know what happened. A wise friend of mine told me a long time ago, "You will never know why don't get the job and you will never really know why you DO get the job. You just get the job or you don't." Don't make the decision personal. If you're worried about your current job performance, request a review and ask for feedback from superiors.
posted by hecho de la basura at 10:14 AM on March 5

I was wondering if your name was common enough to confuse you with somebody else.

Then I clicked your profile.
posted by stubby phillips at 10:17 AM on March 5 [8 favorites]

Consider yourself lucky. You might have ended up working for someone who already hated you or the job was actually not a good match for you. In either case, move on. You won't get answers from them.

If you want, you probably should ask your friends & former coworkers if there are things you need to work on but don't mention this experience.
posted by chairface at 11:53 AM on March 5

Re: my name

Funny thing, I actually did get a resume from someone sharing my name before, who happens to work the same field. I have tried to bring that up as a possibility.
posted by MysticMCJ at 12:14 PM on March 5

I knew someone ("Alice") who, in the same situation, had a friend ("Bob") pretend that he was from the HR department of a new employer who was calling around, checking on references for recent applicant Alice. Bob was cadgy about the employer's company name, citing confidentiality, but indicated that the firm was located somewhere far away, but that the job tasks were XYZ (which were pretty similar to the tasks for the position Alice had been rejected from). It was sneaky, but Alice found out who was giving the negative reference, and just cut that person out of her reference list.
posted by jasper411 at 12:14 PM on March 5 [6 favorites]

Sneaky but smart, Jasper411; I'd encourage you to go a similar route, Mystic. Duplicity here is entirely called for.
posted by incessant at 1:42 PM on March 5

I second jasper411 if you think you won't get found out, only because not knowing your detractor would necessitate finding entirely new references so you don't direct HR to a bad apple again.
posted by zoomorphic at 4:47 PM on March 5

Going with the "internal reference" idea, it's entirely possible that someone you interviewed with at the company recognized a difference between your working style and the group you would be working with. In which case they saved you from The Job From Hell.
posted by exphysicist345 at 5:04 PM on March 5