HR/work question

BobLoblaw · August 2010

I had an interview last week for a position I'm sort if obsessed with. It's an area of librarianship that I've wanted to get into for awhile, and it comes with a pretty huge pay raise. It was a first interview and I was told that they'd invited candidates back in 3-4 weeks for 2nd, full-day interviews. Basically standard operating procedure for this field.

So, I get a letter today from the employer saying they've decided to re-post the position and that they'll keep my resume on file; there is no need to reapply for the job.

Have I mentioned how much I want this job? Because I do. I REALLY REALLY REALLY want this job. My question is: would you send an email to the HR person (who sent me the letter, and who gave me their card at the interview in case I had any questions) basically saying that I'm still very much interested in the position and would love to meet with them for a 2nd interview? I pretty much said that in my thank you note, but would contacting her again be unprofessional/needy/etc.?

Thanks! Part of me is bummed that they didn't consider me awesome enough and that they need to do more interviews, but I'm also kinda jazzed that they just didn't toss my resume.

CaliopeSpidrman · August 2010

They sound like a bunch of stupidheads for not hiring you right on the spot. I would email the person to let them know how very VERY interested you are. But I'm not an HR person. Obviously.

BobLoblaw · August 2010

I know. I wanted to cry when I saw the letter in the mailbox, thinking it was a "thanks but no thanks" letter, but now I'm all confused. This sucks!

wingedbride · August 2010

that sucks.

i don't know the right answer. obviously it sounds like they are saying no one has what they want. i would be tempted to ask what they are looking for but i am not sure uf thats a no no

BobLoblaw · August 2010

Winged, I'm sure that's the case. Honestly I was surprised to get an interview at all. What I do now (and have been doing for 4+ years) is completely different from this position. But without going to much into it, I was able to sort of tweak my resume more towards what they wanted...

SUCK SUCK SUCK

tastyburger · August 2010

hmm. from the tone of the letter, it sounds like they didn't find what they are looking for and are telling you not to bother resubmitting your resume for it?

it doesn't hurt to contact the person who gave you her card. From what I can tell, they aren't considering you for the position at this point but maybe with the right conversation, they will.

maybe I'm wrong and there are other reasons for a company to repost a job opening that i'm unaware of. I don't know. But they are stupid because you are clearly awesome.

BobLoblaw · August 2010

The letter says:

"After a review...the search committee has decided to advertise the postion for a second time. Your application will be maintained as an active applicant in the pool of candidates. You do not need to reapply when the position is again posted."

CaliopeSpidrman · August 2010

Yeah, if they're reposting the position it means they didn't find anybody who met their criteria. So contacting the HR person isn't going to hurt your chances any. You never know -- maybe if you showed them some emo pictures of yourself and explained how to hold a gun sideways while yelling, "Gat gat!" they would reconsider.

ETA: Well nevermind then. The letter sounds like you're still in the running! I still think you should consider sending them emo pictures.

BobLoblaw · August 2010

CaliopeSpidrman:
Yeah, if they're reposting the position it means they didn't find anybody who met their criteria. So contacting the HR person isn't going to hurt your chances any. You never know -- maybe if you showed them some emo pictures of yourself and explained how to hold a gun sideways while yelling, "Gat gat!" they would reconsider.
ETA: Well nevermind then. The letter sounds like you're still in the running! I still think you should consider sending them emo pictures.

LOL! "Here's an example of how I deal with difficult patrons..."

tastyburger · August 2010

well, now that you've posted the actual letter I think maybe they didn't get enough response to feel like they had a large enough pool of applicants, not that you don't have what they're looking for? I don't know which way to go here now. I'm sorry!

wingedbride · August 2010

how confusing. it's like they put you on a maybe pile

BobLoblaw · August 2010

tastyburger:
well, now that you've posted the actual letter I think maybe they didn't get enough response to feel like they had a large enough pool of applicants, not that you don't have what they're looking for? I don't know which way to go here now. I'm sorry!

No, thank you! I appreciate your feedback. I'm clueless when it comes to stuff like this. In the past I've either gotten the job or not. Haha.

oklagirl · August 2010

The same damn thing happened to me last week. I was one of three to get in-person interviews after a round of phone interviews. I thought it went well, they said I'd hear back within in a week or so. Well, a couple weeks passed, nothing. Then last Friday, the job re-posted. I still haven't received a rejection and got no explanation as to why it re-posted. I went ahead and re-applied anyway.

I'm starting to really dislike the people who decide who gets to work in libraries.

BobLoblaw · August 2010

oklagirl:
The same damn thing happened to me last week. I was one of three to get in-person interviews after a round of phone interviews. I thought it went well, they said I'd hear back within in a week or so. Well, a couple weeks passed, nothing. Then last Friday, the job re-posted. I still haven't received a rejection and got no explanation as to why it re-posted. I went ahead and re-applied anyway.

I'm starting to really dislike the people who decide who gets to work in libraries.

WTF? That's really rude. I can't believe they didn't at least let you know...good grief.

Irishgrl417 · August 2010

I hope they only did that because they wanted to have X number of people to do the 2nd interview and didn't get enough people to pass the 1st round of interviews.

modb1rd · August 2010

It does sound to me like they haven't found the "perfect" candidate in this round and are going to give it one more shot before deciding which of the candidates from the first round to bring forward.

oklagirl · August 2010

BobLoblaw:
oklagirl:
The same damn thing happened to me last week. I was one of three to get in-person interviews after a round of phone interviews. I thought it went well, they said I'd hear back within in a week or so. Well, a couple weeks passed, nothing. Then last Friday, the job re-posted. I still haven't received a rejection and got no explanation as to why it re-posted. I went ahead and re-applied anyway.

I'm starting to really dislike the people who decide who gets to work in libraries.
WTF? That's really rude. I can't believe they didn't at least let you know...good grief.

Yeah. I'm so frustrated. I did finally hear back from the university where I had a second all-day interview. I didn't get it and found out about 6 weeks after they said I would. Pretty sure they only notified me then because the guy I'm dating works with the wife of the Provost and had him ask about it for me.

BobLoblaw · August 2010

modb1rd:
It does sound to me like they haven't found the "perfect" candidate in this round and are going to give it one more shot before deciding which of the candidates from the first round to bring forward.

Should I send the HR rep a note or something? Or is that just a horrible idea?

modb1rd · August 2010

It can't hurt. I would send her a note that says how much you appreciate being kept in the loop on the status of the position and that you just wanted to reiterate your interest and you hope that you will be invited back for the second round. obviously be professional and don't say in the loop.

noisy_penguin · August 2010

Dear HR Lady,

Yo yo yo! Thanks for giving me the 4-1-1 on the bookshelving job! I want to do this job more than I want to do Justin Bieber. I love the Dewey Decimal System more than I love all my hos, and that's saying a lot. Hire me up, biznatch!

Yours in Professional Librarying,

Bethie

jens_a_ten · August 2010

Noisy, I'll need you to write all of my professional correspondence from now on.

I hate HR people this week too. I had an interview last week and was supposed to hear back by Friday. Friday they sent an e-mail saying that they would be unable to make a decision until the following week. Tomorrow it will have been a week since the original "hear by" date. Get your sh*t together already.

salimoo · August 2010

Oh no! Not cool, HR people. Not cool. I agree with Mod's advice, mostly because she's the expert. But I would use Noisy's wording.

Novemberrocks · August 2010

I didn't read all the responses, so you may have answered this already. If so, I apologize. Did you meet with anyone other than HR? Someone who is closer to the actual job than HR? If so, I would contact that person (they'll be able to more intelligently articulate what they need in a new employee). If not, I think it's fine to contact the HR rep to solicit more feedback from them - I would probably couch it as looking for tips for future interviews.

Temp893353375007415 · August 2010

I would say that it doesn't hurt to send a quick note, and I agree with everything Mod said. I htink they should hire you because you would be awesome at it. Have you told them that you don different colored wigs? I would say that would be a great quality for any librarian to have.

boxerfan · August 2010

Have you considered sending them a video in the style of Elle Woods' Harvard Law application video? I bet that would tip the scales in your favor. If you do send a note, at least make sure that it's scented.

BobLoblaw · August 2010

Nov--The HR rep was on the search committee, and she's the one that sent the letter. Plus I felt like I had a good rapport with her during the interview.

Thanks for the help everyone!

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