Boss pulled a fast one

[JaneInVegas]

I'm very apprehensive about the new situation at my work. I've never had a great relationship with my boss, she is overly critical and exceptionally condescending. Every day I feel like I strap on a straight jacket as soon as I walk in the door, and wonder what she's going to be mad about today.

 

So we've had a vacancy at the office for a couple of weeks now. My boss's boss flew into town to help with the interviews. It was a long drawn out process weeding through applicants, but one in particular outshone everyone else by far. All the applicants had to do very detailed, specific presentations, and this one guy just blew everyone else out of the water. I liked him a lot.

 

Today one of my co-workers looked him up on Facebook, and lo and behold our normally painstakingly 'perfect' boss made the stupidest mistake, she had friended him on Facebook quite some time ago.

 

I KNOW that her boss would be absolutely infuriated about this, because he had been chosen because of his presentation, and now it's clearly obvious she had COACHED him and spoon fed him exactly what to say and do. If this wasn't some other boss it wouldn't bother me so much, but all of us in the office know exactly what this means ... we now have a mole amongst us. We've never been able to let our guard down when she's around, now with her extra eyes and ears, we're never going to be able relax in the least. Don't get me wrong, we all work hard and are not slackers, but this woman is someone who stands over our shoulder with a ruler to make sure we're busy every second of every hour. She reminds me of a Catholic school teacher.

 

I know at some point one of them is going to go "DOH! - Facebook!" and un-friend each other, so I made screen shots. Why? Well, I honestly don't know. I contemplated sending them anonymously to her boss, but what good would that do? The guy needs a job like so many other people, and it's not his fault he got stuck in the middle of this situation. I like him so far, I really do.

 

But there's this part of me that wants "Ms. Perfect" to get in trouble for trick bagging her boss, it would just make my day!

 

Work is going to be doubly unbearing now ...

[Star Gazer]

What exactly about this situation makes you think she coached him?

 

And why do you think coaching in this case is inappropriate?

[SadandConfusedWA]

Wow, you sure are jumping to conclusions. She might have friended him after the interview. He might have also sent her a friend request at some point after he got interested in the position and found out that she is the boss. You really don't even know if they had any contact past accepting friend requests.

[faf]

That's quite unprofessional even if it's only the perception of impropriety.

[green_tea]

Is it possible that your boss told her boss that she knew this guy already? If not, that is definitely unfair to the other applicants if she helped him out in any way, such as knowing what questions would be asked, and what the "correct" responses would be.

[Star Gazer]

Friends get friends jobs all the time. There's nothing unlawful, discriminatory, or wrong about it at all.

 

In the business world, it's just as much about who you know (i.e., established relationships and connections) as it is skill and performance.

 

I see no problem here at all, even if she did coach him.

[JaneInVegas]

Friends get friends jobs all the time. There's nothing unlawful, discriminatory, or wrong about it at all.

 

In the business world, it's just as much about who you know (i.e., established relationships and connections) as it is skill and performance.

 

I see no problem here at all, even if she did coach him.

 

I was surprised at the negative responses until I went back and re-read my post. I tend to condense things, and I left out a couple of key points.

 

First of all (per a different poster than I quoted above) the job did not become vacant until the 1st week of March. It was not advertised until the last week of March. I scrolled through his "older posts" on Facebook, they friended each other in early January.

 

Second, our company has a very strict 'no friends or family' policy (although I'm sure it has been skirted a few times) and while I suppose it's possible, I highly doubt she confided in her boss that he is her friend. They don't have that kind of a relationship, they are very cold and distant towards each other. However, I concede that anything is possible.

 

Third, this position pays $35.50 an hour. This guy hasn't done this kind of work for 10 years per his resume. I was a part of the screening process, and I was present at the interview. None of us wanted to include him in the interviews in the first place, but she repeatedly said, "I have a feeling about this one," and so he was included simply because she insisted. The position he has been hired for is highly specialized (level 5) and requires a lot of knowledge. He did everything perfect at the interview, and everyone - including myself - was blown away at how much he knew for someone who hasn't done it professionally for 10 years. He outshone other people who have only very recently been out of work. He had to have been coached. He was asked at the interview how he had managed to keep his edge for so long, and he said it was his passion. Looking back, I'm surprised that none of us saw the red flags. He was hired based on his presentation - and if I'm right about all this, that is totally misleading to the company. They have hired someone for $35.50 an hour when potentially he's really only worth $15.00 an hour. Maybe some of you would be okay with working with someone for a lot less money when they know only half as much as you do, but I'm not one of them.

 

He beat out other highly skilled professionals with just enough knowledge to fly high at the interview. He has been hired at a level 5 position, and I'm willing to bet he would flounder at level 2. He will be making more money than everyone else in our department, except for our boss of course. Is this fair? I know she wanted to do a favor for a friend, I get that. But should the rest of our department have to be bogged down by a non-competent employee just because she wanted to give her friend a high paying job? I'm sure she had 'good friend' intentions, but trust me, I'm also just as sure she wants to have a second set of eyes and ears in the office, she's that kind of a person.

 

I am very, very curious how the next few weeks will go. He is scheduled to start the 19th. If I'm right about all this (my gut tells me I am) I cannot imagine how he will be able to hide his inexperience.

[CarrieT]

I am very, very curious how the next few weeks will go. He is scheduled to start the 19th. If I'm right about all this (my gut tells me I am) I cannot imagine how he will be able to hide his inexperience.

 

You just keep doing the best you can as the situation is -- doing YOUR job. This sort of thing has been happening for generations; the only difference is the world of the internet has made it a bit more transparent.

 

You never know -- the guy might be brilliant at his job and will make all of you look and work that much better. Don't judge him on his friends (your boss), but only on the work he does.

[D-Lish]

My best friend got me my last job. She forwarded my resume to someone she knew and then coached me on what to say in the interview- because she had held that job in the past. She also gave me a raving recommendation.

 

This kind of stuff happens all the time, and it's not inappropriate.

[JaneInVegas]

This kind of stuff happens all the time, and it's not inappropriate.

 

I don't know if you read my 2nd post or not (I am notorious for skimming through threads, so I understand if you didn't), but I am going to have to respectfully disagree. Some jobs you can 'wing it' and there's not a lot of difference, but in our department we will have to be taking up a lot of slack for someone who will be paid a LOT more than we are. I seriously doubt he'll last for very long, unless my boss manages to somehow cover his butt. I have no idea how she thinks she can pull it off. I am not a corporate person that lives and breathes for the company, but still I find it disrespectful and dishonest for her to present a friend as someone who can perform at an expected level when he probably won't be able to.

 

One of my colleagues today said he thought it amounted to something like "stealing" from the company. While I wouldn't exactly go to that extreme, I understand where he's coming from.

 

It should be an interesting week, that's for sure.

[Malenfant]

In this case I think it is inappropriate.

 

Your main problem, and why I think its unfair, is that you wont be able to say anything bad about him if he performs badly. She will have his back and any attempt to reveal his shortcomings will not be taken kindly by your boss.

 

Its not necessarily a problem how he came by the job, but what it will be like for you with him working there could be a biggy.

You wont be operating on an even playing field. Sod the other candidates who didnt stand a chance, the real issue is you, and how this will affect your job.

 

Its a dog eat dog world. If I had been in the guys shoes, i'd be perfectly happy with the deception. You have to do what you can to get ahead.

 

Unfortunately, although it is probable that this guy will slip up somewhere, its also more than likely that your boss will cover for him. She has a vested interest in keeping this guy.

Even if its not malicious, any attempt to point out his shortcomings wont be taken well or lightly by your boss.

 

She'll make life harder for you, and thats the key of the problem. You know he will report back to her, and you also cant say anything against him because it wont do any good, and she'll be on your back even more.

 

Not saying he'll be rubbish, he might be great (lets hope so) so try not to resent him for it (i dont think you do anyway)

 

My advice would be keep looking out for another job. A situation like this wont resolve itself easily.

In the meantime, keep your head down. Good luck

Edited April 17, 2010 by Malenfant

[JaneInVegas]

UPDATE

 

Karma hath bit her on the tail bone ...

 

So he started on Monday. As of today at 3:00 pm he is officially unemployed again. As for my boss, she is currently being tightly scrutinized (and perhaps unfairly) over a project she was overseeing that went badly.

 

One of the higher-ups who was not present at his stellar presentation became suspicious when he Q&A'd him over some technical information he should have known. I'm not sure how all that went down, I was not present. However, I heard from several co-workers that he looked a tad baffled. So the higher-up did some digging. Apparently he had fudged on his resume and did not even have that one previous job experience which he claimed. With this piece of information in his pocket he went on a fishing expedition ... and come to find out my boss (who is married) has been having an affair with this guy (who is also married). I'm really not surprised they were able to find out so much in a very short amount of time, investigative work is one of our primary functions within the corporation.

 

I felt bad when I thought he was only let go because of his falsified resume (although not surprised) but I must admit I felt rather smug about the whole ordeal when I found out she was trying to get her affair partner a job, in a very underhanded way.

 

Karma ... it strikes just about everybody.