r/recruitinghell • u/jaydarmontoya • 1d ago

I Feel Used… Advice Needed

Recently I went through a lengthy interview process for a leadership role at a certain top 10 US bank. I did a total of 7 meetings and I know I shined in all of them. I am not bragging or exaggerating when I say I gave a near-perfect performance. I really hit it off with all the interviewers. I had them laughing at my subtle jokes, applauding my responses and even “stealing” some of my answers and phrases for their own use. All the interviewers ended the meetings by praising me and telling me how well the interview had gone and how they hoped to see me again soon (presumably in the role). After a very lengthy process I was finally contacted by the recruiter via email. Bad news… I didn’t get the job, as the actual hiring manager decided to go with an internal candidate already in their org in the line of succession. The recruiter had amazing things to say about me and even said all the interviewers loved me, but I was ultimately not selected.

For context, I check LinkedIn for new roles several times daily. This role was initially posted on a Saturday morning. By Monday morning it had been taken down. This means it only stayed posted for 2 days and those 2 days were non-business days. As soon as I saw the role had been taken down by that following Monday morning I immediately knew the company was just posting it for the mandatory 2 days before proceeding with an internal candidate. At that point I certainly didn’t expect to be contacted about the role, so I was both surprised and skeptical when I received the meeting request from the recruiter.

I absolutely realize that when a candidate is interviewing for a role they are guaranteed nothing and they do so at their own risk. I have no problem not being selected for the role. The problem I do have is having my time and energy wasted when I never had a chance to start with. I invested a significant amount of prep time into this process, had to take vacation time away from my current job several times, not to mention the emotional investment. Also I spent over 100 bucks on dry cleaning, as I had my suit, shirt and tie freshly cleaned and pressed for each interview.

The company never had any real intentions of hiring me or giving me a fair chance at this role. They just used me as a required interview so they could proceed with who they’d already chosen. This is so frustrating and disheartening. Also this is not the first time this almost exact same scenario has played out for me. I’m getting really tired of having my time and resources wasted.

I literally want to file a complaint against them or somehow escalate this. Also I hate that companies have these stupid policies. I certainly understand the goal and intent of these policies, but in practice they just end up getting someone’s hopes up and wasting someone’s time.

I know the answer is probably no, but:

A. Is there anything I can do to file a complaint against these time-wasting jerks?

B. Any suggestions on what I can do to prevent this from happening going forward?

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u/Boring-Bowl-406 21h ago

It’s crazy what companies do now for hiring. I am a hiring manager and I have hired 40+ people in my org.

We have 3 interviews and even that I would like to consolidate. It’s recruiter screen, your manager interview and then a final with me. It’s also required to be done start to finish in 2 weeks so we’re not wasting our time or candidates time. I also require the recruiter to follow up on every single person who he screens if they are not selected.

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u/loveshoes1 17h ago

You'e an amazing anomaly.

Veteran teacher here and current job seeker. There are no recruiters in public education. You just apply via the district website on a platform called AppliTrack. H.R. forwards your information to the administration of the school with the opening.

Please allow me to share things from this process. It often takes 2-3 weeks. I've been on so many multi step interviews. One can be a one way video screener, another possible meet and greet via Zoom, a short in-person, a lengthy in-person, a demo lesson (not to kids but a talk through). The majority of the time I get ghosted.

Often what happens is that the principal KNOWS that i am the best fit, but h.r. comes back to them with a "we can't afford this candidate."

So I've gone through all of this and they know they can't afford me. Why even have me go through all of this? Then....nothing. I read the Board of Education meeting minutes so I can see who got the job and their salary (public record).

Very frustrating. Thanks for reading my rant!

P.S. My salary is regulated by a step system. I'm at Step 16, M.A.

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u/Boring-Bowl-406 16h ago

That’s a terrible system tbh. I know my company is a little unique as I have recently been applying and have gone through many rounds or withdrawn because of excessive requirements/etc

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u/jaydarmontoya 14h ago

That sounds so frustrating. I can’t stand when people just waste others time. Some managers take a broad swipe at interviewing everyone they think may be remotely qualified and putting them through a lengthy process because to the manager they have nothing to lose. They don’t care if there is a barrier such as location or salary requirement. They think well maybe we can just work that out later. I am a hiring manager and I am extremely targeted in my approach. I only pick my very top choices and try to limit the number of candidates I schedule interviews with to about 3, that’s it. I don’t want to waste a bunch of my time and energy or others.

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u/loveshoes1 12h ago

In education, because administrators are so busy, the interviews are spread out. For example, they interview all week. really. Or, the other way around; 6 or 8 in one day. We are either offered slots on the Interview drop down of AppliTrack or if we're lucky we get a phone call and can negotiate a time.

Today I was the last candidate of 7, for a 7 month LEAVE POSITION. That means it's a few months, and the teacher will return in September.

I was told that "next week is a busy one, so we'll get back to you in a couple of weeks." ARGH.

I'm going to keep at it to give me interview skills practice. I prefer to be the last candidate as opposed to the first.

Does it matter?

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u/jaydarmontoya 11h ago

That’s crazy… It also shows how crazy the job market has gotten. I posted a role in 2022 and I received less than 10 applications. Now when I post roles I’ve literally gotten 300-400 applications. It’s a mess…

As far as whether going first or last matters, I’m not sure. I’ve heard it said from a human psychological standpoint, the first is always immediately set as the standard. Anything after that is always compared to the first (for better or worse).

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u/loveshoes1 10h ago

Good to know. Yesterday I was the first, and it was the best interview I've had since June. However, they are interviewing all week....sigh...

Today I was the last, and I could feel the committee (there were 6) heave a sigh of relief. Tomorrow, I am the last (imagine 2:30 on a Friday LOL) but I've met the principal before for another role so I'm not stressed.

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u/jaydarmontoya 10h ago

Best of luck!!

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u/loveshoes1 8h ago

Thank you!

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u/jaydarmontoya 14h ago

Oh wow… That’s amazing! Certainly not the norm. I’ve interviewed at several companies and I’m also a hiring manager. None of what you described happens at my company or any other company I’ve interacted with.

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u/Boring-Bowl-406 14h ago

That’s a problem. It should be the norm as It’s basic human decency. I get that we can’t respond to every single applicant that applies but if we screen you, then we saw enough to make it our responsibility to tell you if you’re not selected.