tuxedo cat Posted August 6, 2014 Share Posted August 6, 2014 I had an interview scheduled for noon today. I was supposed to be interviewing with a staffing agency recruiter who was hiring an assistant for a talent agency. I applied to the job yesterday and she had immediately responded to my email (like within two minutes) and seemed rushed about getting me into her office. She told me she wanted to meet me soon because the agency was already meeting people. A couple of hours before the interview this morning I got a short email from her that said, "I have to cancel our appointment today. I apologize." That was it. I responded, "Could we reschedule?" She wrote back, "The specs for the job changed last minute and it is unfortunately no longer a fit. I will let you know if other opportunities come up." I wrote back, "No problem, I understand. I was wondering if we might be able to meet at a later time so you could get a better sense of my skill-set for future opportunities? I've read rave reviews of your company's recruiting online. Thanks." (They are a temp to perm agency and people online wrote that she's a great recruiter). She responded with: "Let's talk next week!" I'm baffled by the last minute cancel. What could have happened? It doesn't seem at all plausible to me that the specs for the job suddenly changed. This is a standard entry level job that basically looks for an identical skill-set at every company. I'm concerned that she contacted my old boss, who badmouthed me. Or that she did a google search on my name and decided I was too old for the position at 30. Am I being paranoid? What's weird to me is how curt her initial email was, as if she didn't have any interest in retaining a good relationship. I don't think if she truly wanted to keep me in mind for future work she would have been so rude. That's why I'm concerned that she found something about me that she didn't like. Link to post Share on other sites
Kamille Posted August 6, 2014 Share Posted August 6, 2014 Straight up Tux, you need to start taking people's responses at face value. In this case: it is much healthier to believe the specs changed than to build a theory that a top notch recruiter somehow spent her time google stalking you. Both explanations are equal in plausibility. But, since one lets you go on with your day without feeling paranoid, choose that one. That way, when you do meet the recruiter when she gets in touch next week, you won't be feeling all weird. Do this long enough and your relationships with people will improve. 5 Link to post Share on other sites
Priv Posted August 6, 2014 Share Posted August 6, 2014 It actually seems like a very plausible explanation though I find the first email a bit off. The company maybe had a few interviews, didn't like the results they were getting and changed their requirements. The recruiter seems busy though, which is probably a good thing these days. I would call, not email, next week for an appointment. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
MidwestUSA Posted August 6, 2014 Share Posted August 6, 2014 Yes, you're being paranoid. At the pace of things in NYC, her rejection sounds plausible, and her finals words "Lets talk next week!" probably mean exactly that. It's just highly unlikely that one boss's badmouthing (if indeed she is, my bet is she has forgotten you by now, and you haven't reached a point where anyone has NEEDED to contact her) is shutting you out of every opportunity in NYC. It's fast paced and highly competitive tho, so make sure you're always on your A game. If you let these insecurities and suspicions show, you'll be dooming yourself. (I thought your prior boss was a male? The one you moved in with? Not such a good idea in hindsight; live and learn). 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Eternal Sunshine Posted August 6, 2014 Share Posted August 6, 2014 Sounds like another candidate came up, either internal or had connections. Link to post Share on other sites
Priv Posted August 6, 2014 Share Posted August 6, 2014 Sounds like another candidate came up, either internal or had connections. Nah, why would the company say they changed their requirements if they went with someone else. Saying the job has been fulfilled would have been perfectly legitimate too, no reason to sugarcoat that. Link to post Share on other sites
pteromom Posted August 6, 2014 Share Posted August 6, 2014 It's a staffing agency. They are finding candidates for another company's job. It is completely plausible that the company called and said "Oh, we forgot to put on our form that the person we are looking for must (have experience in some obsolete or uncommon software, have experience in event planning, type 150 wpm, whatever). Something that took you out of the running. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
rester Posted August 6, 2014 Share Posted August 6, 2014 This all sounds completely normal. They may have found a candidate that fit very well and saw no need to waste any more time with interviews. Emails from busy people tend to be short and to the point like that. It's extremely common. Take what she said literally and follow up next week for sure. Link to post Share on other sites
pink_sugar Posted August 6, 2014 Share Posted August 6, 2014 Don't read too much into it. I've had things fall through the last minute with temp agencies a few times. One time, one of their clients I was working for just decided he wanted more experience and he sent a weird email to the temp agency all of a sudden saying they no longer required my services. It was quite sudden and unexpected, but the temp agency did their due diligence and got feedback saying their client would love to give me a good reference, they had just decided they wanted more technical experience. Then there was this other position they had tentatively found for me after that. I went to the interview and the guy basically told me he was going to hire me on the spot. A few days of runaround later, the client suddenly did a 180 and decided not to hire me for an unknown reason. But the temp agency said the company did not reach out to them for any other applicants, so they could have easily decided not to fill the position. Link to post Share on other sites
Author tuxedo cat Posted August 6, 2014 Author Share Posted August 6, 2014 Hm...I guess I'm just not used to these abrupt decisions. My job search in NY has been more fraught than it has in any other city, but that probably has more to do with the city than with me. Link to post Share on other sites
Author tuxedo cat Posted August 6, 2014 Author Share Posted August 6, 2014 (I thought your prior boss was a male? The one you moved in with? Not such a good idea in hindsight; live and learn). He was my supervisor, not my boss-boss. Link to post Share on other sites
pink_sugar Posted August 6, 2014 Share Posted August 6, 2014 Hm...I guess I'm just not used to these abrupt decisions. My job search in NY has been more fraught than it has in any other city, but that probably has more to do with the city than with me. Yes, large cities typically have a lot more competition job search wise. When I moved to a smaller area, I was faced with far less competition in my field of work. Link to post Share on other sites
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