[Rant]Funny thing about employment/jobs...

Best of luck in your search Tim.

 

Noooo! So sorry to hear that! I'm totally bummed, so I can only imagine how you feel. Ugh!

 

That happened to me as well. If they ask if they can contact last employer i say no. My direct supervisor was a liar and pinned things on me that i never even touched and i did not call him out on it in proper fashion to keep the peace. He had 10 years, i had 6 months, so who would they believe. Even though it was not even my job and not things that would even come across my job. I got a good reference letter from the boss but if someone called and talked to him he would have said crap.

I was really hoping that job panned out, i could tell how much you wanted it.

Good luck, hope something comes up soon. Where i am from anyone with IT would have no problem getting a job. I have a female cousin in IT in the public school system and she has been in 3 cities in manitoba and 1 in alberta and have had no problem getting jobs, not as many qualified people up here. They are also union jobs so.......

 

Yeah...everyone with my skillset works in Silicon Valley...that's why I'm surprised I'm not getting jobs easier in the local school districts (union jobs also)

 

Would it be worthwhile talking to the HR folks and asking them what you lacked to get the job. Tell them you don't blame them, just that you'd like to know how you can improve yourself for interviews and work elsewhere.

 

I've tried that before..they always just give real vague crap...

 

don't know what you did to your former boss to piss them off but it clearly wasn't enough.

time to up the game plan. go sleep with his wife, burn his house down and then turn up at his work place wearing his mother skin as a coat....



He might stop pissing around then.....


seriously - sorry about that - ex bosses can be total wankers. my last one had it in for me from the start - because I wasn't from the USA. took her 10 years to get into a position where she could have an effect on my career - and I was the only person in the company who knew more about the job than she did. Lost my job and couldn't find another in the area due to the specialized nature of the work. took me 5 months to find another job - 1,400 miles away. they ended up splitting up my job and employing 3 other people to do it - but in my department they only needed on college grad on 1/2 of what I was earning - that way they could justify it... The biatch will get whats coming - karma does have payback...


Good luck with the search.

 

Interviewing is just such bullshit. The fads come and go every 6 months it seems. You never know what angle they're coming at you from.

I think it gets easier as you get older (up to a point), you walk in, be yourself, be relaxed, don't try to guess what the interviewer wants, let them do all the talking, etc.

The job I have now (7 years), at the point I interviewed, I needed a job pretty badly. I had been self-employed in a different type of business for the prior 4 years. Near the end, I could see the hiring manager's wheels spinning, not that he was going to commit or not, but that he hadn't made up his mind.

"Look," I said. "You need an XXXXX, and I need a job. From what you've told me, I know I can do this job really well, but you're not 100% sure. I'll work on a contract basis for a month or however long it takes you to determine it's a fit or not."

It worked. I probably never would have pulled that idea out of my hat if I had been younger.

Good luck. It's a huge pain in the ass.

 

Sounds about like me...SHE had a higher position than me, yet knew JACK SHIT about IT, and it pissed her off from the get-go that I was so good at my job.
But I'm over it, and you're right, Karma is a bitch.

 

You shouldn't stress too much wondering if your old employer was bad-mouthing you, it is unlikely. We've always been advised to stick to the basic facts if someone calls for a referral about an ex-employee (e.g. dates of employment, role, title). Since you worked for the public school district its even less likely. If something like that gets out there is too much legal risk.

 

I agree that you should contact HR and ask them what criteria they were looking for that you did not have. If you do it respectfully, and let them know you will continue to look for positions with them, as you have researched and spoken with others and it is a place that you feel would be a great fit, they may give your application another review! It doesn't hurt to reach out.. it shows incentive and interest. What happened in the past with other companies, is not a determination of what this company will do. Change it up.. and it might have new results! Good luck to you!

 

To find out if your ex employer is bad mouthing you is simple. Get a friend to call the ex employer,pretend to be a new employer that you just applied for. Then see what they say about you.

 

Tim, if you think you're being gulled can't you go to your union?

 

They're smarter than that...
They look at who's asking...most of these people KNOW OF each other, so they ask questions like that...If it isn't a name they recognize of course not, but it DOES happen trust me
As for the union...useless
And legality...believe me, I've seen some corruption and they still do it.

 

I work for the school district as well and WOW. I applied for a casino based job over the summer, more hours, etc and they needed to contact previous employers as well as my current one. I said no and they started asking why I did not want them to contact previous employers. First job I was seasonal, second I quit, third I was seasonal, fourth job I quit, this job now I have had for 8 years now, i gave them the reasons and they said ok, then they had to call my current boss, and never heard from them again. I have also applied for other jobs within the district ( same district) and never got the job, so I am sure it is my boss screwing me over since they have to contact her.. Good news, she retires this year.. bad news is I still have my review to come soon.. and she puts on there that I do not value my job, act rude, etc, but she never says it to me, just puts it on my eval to be given by the principal.. thats rude IMO, that she never tells me, she just tells everyone else..

 

I would think most previous employees would just say if you are eligible for rehire and the dates you worked. Not everyone knows someone.

I do like MNVegasgal Idea. In highschool and college and then some, all my skill-less jobs I got was due to following up. In college I was really into fitness and what not, and I really wanted to work at this local fitness store. I filled out an app, and kept getting the round around. I could not understand why they would not hire me! while the whole time they had a hiring sign posted!

Every week or so I took my butt in there and asked for an update. I knew I was getting BULLSHIT answers just from gauging the responses. On my 3rd visit, the OWNER pretended to be a no-one and said the manager is still reviewing the apps. This gentleman carried himself well so I knew he was not just "anyone", I knew he was the manager and lieing!(later will I learn there is no manager and he owns the place, is the manager!).

On my 4th visit, he knew me....and said he really liked that I was persist and asked me to start the following monday.

Same experience at home depot. Took me 3 attempts trying to talk to someone. The 3rd try I got lucky and spoke to HR that visit and was hired on the spot.



MNVegasgal idea sounds like it would make a good impression on some people. I really like the fact you are saying you have heard good things and are interested in working there. People like to flex power and show off any chance they get, and MIGHT take a second to help you. Hire yourself. Manipulate the person hiring you, not the other way around.

No is just a word.

 

Sounds like my former boss... Wouldn't ever man up and say it to my face...just said it to others and put it on my eval....only reason that I passed my probation as because she was so stupid (had never been a "boss" before) she FORGOT and my year came and went...of course every eval I got was bad, but after the 365-day mark it didn't matter (union rules)
So, you feel me being a classified para huh?

 

Yes I do. I started when I was 18 and she said I was "trainable" so I was kept, and once I was permanent, I still did my job well. The year she said I did not care about my job was the year I had had a child, got injured at work, so had to be on Workers comp, and then I split from my sons father... and after I came back from WC I still had an injured back and it hurt and I was watching 10 kids all alone and shit hurt, soooooooooo yea lol. I work with the kids though and shit itsnt always easy...

 

There are many more bad bosses than good ones. Generally, unless you're shouting from the rooftops what you have achieved they will think you are doing nothing.

 

I'm not a frequent poster and have no dog in this fight but I read your 1st post about you interviewing for a position and then I read most of this thread.

Maybe it's not such a great idea to post so much personal info on this board. Especially with your picture attached to your posting. I realize it's a big world but the internet, facebook and message boards like these make it much smaller. If I was an employer and saw this much info, discussion, etc I might look for another candidate who was less visible. You can think and say what you want but once it's posted somewhere it's official and permanent. Just my thoughts

I enjoy your posts and wish you the best of luck.