An embarrasment of possibilities...
April 13, 2016 1:19 PM Subscribe
Help me finesse interviewing for two different positions with the same organization, please. I have a preference, but I would be happy to be offered either.
More than a year ago I interviewed for a job at a university (professional staff, not faculty). Call it job A. It went well, seemed like a good fit, but funding for the position didn’t work out and it fell through. Last month, I applied for job B with a different division of the same department. Last week, I got a phone call asking me to apply for an opening (job C) that I hadn’t seen because it had closed several months earlier. The description was very similar to job A. I assumed that they wanted me for job C INSTEAD of job B. I applied, of course.
However, today I got a call asking me to schedule an interview for job B. The admin who was calling had no knowledge of job C. Should I mention job C at the interview? Call the woman who asked me to apply for job C to tell her that I’m also interviewing for job B? Just wait and see what happens?
Job B is a closer match to jobs that I’ve already held. Job C would be a bit of a stretch, but I’m confident that I could do it and I find the idea of it more exciting. It’s also a pay grade higher, although there may not be a huge difference. Not that I’ll necessarily get to choose between them, or even be offered one of them. But I think that my goal would be to maximize my chances for job C.
More than a year ago I interviewed for a job at a university (professional staff, not faculty). Call it job A. It went well, seemed like a good fit, but funding for the position didn’t work out and it fell through. Last month, I applied for job B with a different division of the same department. Last week, I got a phone call asking me to apply for an opening (job C) that I hadn’t seen because it had closed several months earlier. The description was very similar to job A. I assumed that they wanted me for job C INSTEAD of job B. I applied, of course.
However, today I got a call asking me to schedule an interview for job B. The admin who was calling had no knowledge of job C. Should I mention job C at the interview? Call the woman who asked me to apply for job C to tell her that I’m also interviewing for job B? Just wait and see what happens?
Job B is a closer match to jobs that I’ve already held. Job C would be a bit of a stretch, but I’m confident that I could do it and I find the idea of it more exciting. It’s also a pay grade higher, although there may not be a huge difference. Not that I’ll necessarily get to choose between them, or even be offered one of them. But I think that my goal would be to maximize my chances for job C.
Go and interview. If it comes up, then say that you very much want to work for the university and you're exploring different options.
Any large employer will be completely unsurprised about this. People apply to tons of jobs at the same place. When you get offers, then you can compare them. Until you've interviewed and met all the people involved you don't need to declare a preference.
posted by 26.2 at 1:30 PM on April 13, 2016 [1 favorite]
Any large employer will be completely unsurprised about this. People apply to tons of jobs at the same place. When you get offers, then you can compare them. Until you've interviewed and met all the people involved you don't need to declare a preference.
posted by 26.2 at 1:30 PM on April 13, 2016 [1 favorite]
I recently conducted an interview with someone who was also interviewing for two other positions at my company on the same day. This is completely routine and normal. I would mention job C if it comes up naturally in the conversation, but otherwise I would not bring it up.
posted by OrangeDisk at 6:06 AM on April 14, 2016
posted by OrangeDisk at 6:06 AM on April 14, 2016
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posted by hydra77 at 1:22 PM on April 13, 2016 [2 favorites]