Thursday 20 February 2020

Bounce

A week ago I learned that I was unsuccessful in my application for the new job which has been created to encompass my duties and some added extras. Nobody else was successful either and I'm not sure if that makes it better or worse. Is it good that I wasn't passed at the post by a stranger to the team and the work? Or is it awful that I wasn't considered suitable even in the absence of competition?
I was hugely disappointed but there's no point dwelling on that, I stayed in a position I knew would become redundant because I wanted the opportunity to try out for the new one and now that door is firmly shut.
I don't really know what to do next. People blithely talk about me getting another job but I was trying to get a job for aaaages before I landed this one and it came through a friend. I'm not at all confident about my chances in the market place.

My young (ex) office mate thinks that the whole recruitment process will be dropped and I will remain in the job I'm doing. The idea has some merit, I have seen that happen but at the same time, there has been a great deal of investment into developing the new job description, interviews etc. It would be silly to waste all of that.

I can't remember the last time I found life even remotely easy and I don't think I expect a free ride but a bit of a break would be nice

34 comments:

  1. I don't really know what to say apart from "That's a bummer."

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    1. Yes it is. I'm ok, just updating everyone

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  3. I see you have the same spammer that I had.

    So sorry you had your hopes dashed Kylie but maybe they have "rethunk" the position. I do hope so.

    XO
    WWW

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  4. Oh Kylie. I am so very sorry. I wish I could offer more, but oceans of caring are flowing your way. I hope you do remain in your job but...

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    1. I was about to hand in my notice and then I remembered I like to eat!

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  5. I wish you well on your search.

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  6. Is there anyone involved with the recruitment for this job who you could ask for a candid assessment of what skills or attributes you lacked? (unless you want to hold off in case they rethink the position after all) It's not a crime to want to know where you did not meet their expectations; you can present it as a desire to improve your skills or experience for other future jobs.

    Also - and this is an important point - it's not a given that every organization knows what they're doing in terms of hiring (or anything else), no matter how much paper they shuffle or who they hire to write a job description. Good intentions to change things are frequently undermined by lack of ability on the side of the folks in charge of making those changes. It happens all the time, not only in non-profits but also in government and in businesses. The ability to know how to translate what they think they need (and they may be wrong!) into a good job description and then hire the person best suited for it is a skill in itself and perhaps those in charge of this job change are falling short.

    And all of that still doesn't mean you will magically get the reworked position after all, or that they'll stick with the old position instead. But you have one more block of experience to add to your resume now. Tell everyone you know you're looking for a job, if you haven't already. Is there an organization that helps people in job searches (explores your aptitudes, suggests new kinds of jobs that fit your aptitudes that you might be unaware of, helps with resumes, connects folks with available positions, etc.) - we have such an organization here that helps people re-train, helps find funding to do it, etc. It may be a government body or a non-profit.

    Having said all that (all of which you may be quite aware of already), I'm so sorry this job application didn't work out in your favour. It's brutal to be rejected for a position most of which you were already doing, and doing competently. It bruises the self-image no matter what the circumstances or explanations are - no matter even if it's the result of poor skills on the part of the hiring group. It's hard to brush it off and try again. I hope with all my heart that you will find a job that uses your empathy and compassion and intelligence and good humour.

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    1. Thanks for that, Jenny. As way of explanation they said " you have admitted to being weak in some areas".
      My IT skills are about what you would expect from someone who has developed only what they need and never had formal training so I assumed they were referring to that, although I have shown the willingness and ability to learn.
      We really never know how recruiters think: I landed my first job when the recruiter thought the better candidate would be ambitious and leave but she didnt think the same of me!

      It was brutal but their cards are on the table now and that works in my favour

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  7. Yikes, didn't know that would be so long, sorry

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    1. you had a lot to say and you said it well. Don't apologise

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  8. Very sorry to read this Kylie. What a blow. I have some idea of what you are going through as I am turning 60 this year and, if I lost my job, it would be almost impossible to get another. I kind of did lose it 2 weeks ago because they shut the education centre where I work due to OHS issues - closed, just like that! As a casual lecturer on rolling 5-week contracts for the last 3.5 years they only need to give me 2 hrs notice and that's it, no work. Luckily I have a very loyal boss who has found ways to keep me on until we sort out where to go. I have signed up for cert IV in Mental Health to give me more options. At 59 I really don't want to be doing this, but I have no super to speak of and pension isn't looking great. Let's hope your young colleague is right and you get to stay on. Sounds like you were doing the job fine. I think management get a bit carried away with ideology sometimes. Pity they don't realise how hard it is on the individual when they play around with their ideas.

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    1. Hi Dr Michelle,
      I'm casual so there's no obligation to give me notice, either. Fortunately my supervisors are human enough to at least keep me in the loop a little bit.
      I'm glad youhave a loyal boss, these kinds of situations are so tough on everyone, the only way to make it work at all is through basic goodwill and humanity.

      It really sucks that we seem to reach our employable use-by at 45 or 50 but need to work until nearly 70. Whose idea was that?

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    2. Absolutely. People have become expendable in this country. I really hope you get your job back. If your employers want more skills that you don't have, could they train you? Could you suggest that to them?

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    3. I have expressed a wish to do some study and they almost falling over themselves to help with that, which I appreciate, but i need to work as well

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    4. Maybe you could do both Kylie - part-time study and part-time work? I started doing some RPL for a Certificate IV in Mental Health this year. I am an art lecturer 2 days a week in a maximum security prison (sorry if I have mentioned this before) but I am trying to broaden my skills base in a complementary field to move sideways if I need to. Not suggesting you need to do anything like that, I'm guessing your employers just want you to have some extra skills for your job.

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  9. I applied to jobs at a university, all of which I was qualified and over-qualified for. One day, I was about to miss a deadline to a university , applying for a job. So, I drove to the school 60 miles away and went to the office where it needed to be. I arrived 15 minutes befrore the deadline and asked a young girl who appeared to be 12 yo and talked that way. She and another girl said they were going through the applications and resumes to determine who was actually qualified. I was furious that they knew nothing about hiring, applications, or who might be over eligible. I left furious. I did not get the job nor did I ever apply again when freshman decided my fate. I would consider you to be an asset since you know most of the job. Go to someone and learn more about programs on the computer. At least you would not look like a deer in the headlight when you first saw the program on the job. Good luck. Do not quit...lol...until you decide you can live well without eating.

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    1. The difficult part about the computer is I know what I need to but they want someone who can do trouble shooting for everyone else and troubleshooting is so varied.

      I understand your feeling about having your fate decided by a freshman.

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  10. My best wishes that you stay on in the current position .

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  11. So sorry to read that you didn't get the job. I think you deserve a break as well - hopefully in the coming months you'll get one.
    Sx

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  12. This will sound like a platitude, but my stepmother used to say, "It's always darkest just before the dawn." So while you're current situation admittedly is less than optimum (translation: stinks), it must mean, according to my stepmother's saying, that dawn is pretty close.

    From my mouth to God's ears.

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    1. I have often consoled myself with that saying but sometimes I also wonder just how dark it wll get!

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  13. Oh what a bummer, I'm really sorry that you didn't get the job, and I really hope another comes along. You do deserve a break!

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    1. Thank you Joey. Who knows what He's doing, not me

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  14. True, you deserve a break after so many difficulties, Kylie. Hopefully your office mate is right and you'll be able to stay in your present job.

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    1. She had an ugly level of entitlement but she had some great powers of perceptiion so we'll see....

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  15. Turn up and do the work until they tell you to quit. As for the people who set up and conducted the interviews; these people are not always as qualified as they might appear.
    And the politician who suggested people might have to work until they are 70 is now sitting pretty on his politician's pension. Paid for by the working taxpaying public, in part. That might be you!

    Alphie

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    1. Yes, that's the plan Alphie, wring every opportunity out of the situation

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  16. I'm sorry to hear you didn't get the job Kylie. I worked in HR for 20 years and some of the vacancy notices we put out latterly had me scratching my head. We, as an HR team, went from being seriously efficient with a good reputation, to less efficient because the new boss decided we all had to know EVERYONE'S job in HR and not just our own job well, to an absolute shambles when they bought another "wise guy" boss in who knew all the jargon but didn't know her ar"e from a hole in the ground. Just before I retired they went back to the "old" way of doing things, so 15+ years of messing around just to go back to how things were before when they worked well. All that to say, we issued quite a few vacancy notices that ended up being cancelled because nobody was "suitable". I hope that's the case for you and you can keep on doing what you do! Good luck!

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  17. I hope the job front gets better. I would say go with your gut feeling. I it feels like you can stay do it.

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