| Topic Name: |
A Great Job Gone, For No Reason |
| Message Name: |
Re: Clerical Error |
| Date Posted: |
07/07/2005 |
| In Reply To: |
I received a few job offers from a couple of Fortune 500 companies in January. I whittled my choices down to what I thought would be the best fit for me (not the highest pay). The recruiter and I discussed a start date for me in mid February but a week before I was to start, the recruiter called me with news that they hadn't received confirmation from my school that I had graduated. I assured the recruiter that I had graduated and that I would call my school to clear up any problem. The recruiter and I also agreed upon a later start date in April because there were some other important obligations that I had to attend to. A few days later, I called my school to make sure they sent confirmation of my graduation to the company and they assured me that it would be sent out that day.
In April, I get another call from my recruiter stating that they have decided to rescind my offer. The reason, as the recruiter put it, was because I was supposed to start in February and because they still didn't receive my graduation information. I told them that we agreed that I would start in April and that I had no clue why my school still had not sent the information I had requested but it didn't do anything. My dream job was gone. I contacted my school again, and they appologized for the clerical error and mailed me everything that I had asked them to send to the company. I forwarded all of this information back to the company in hopes that it would help my cause, but I didn't even get an answer back.
Since then, I have been increasing my skills in that industry so I can be more qualified than before. I applied again and I guess the same recruiter came across my resume again. The recruiter contacted me and said that I cannot be employed at that company (at that office or any office in the US) and did not give me a reason why.
Can one HR manager make such a decision? There's a few partners at the company that still want me to work for them. Is there anything I should do in regards with my school for not getting the information that I had requested to the company? |
| Message: |
Sometimes HR directors arrogate power that is way beyond their mandate. And in some companies, they have a dgree of influence that is hard to fathom. I once worked at a company where the head of HR was a member of the "Senior Executive Team" and was given a voice in all areas of running the company, even though her expertise was limited to paper shuffling and government compliance.
Why not send a detailed account of what happened to both the CEO and the regional head of the department you want to work for. Give dates, etc., be as specific as possible and include reference letters.
Also, ask your university to write a letter, explaining the error, for you to include with your package, or to be sent directly to the two people you want to contact (your school may prefer the latter).
No matter what the result, you'll know you did everything you could -- and you may alert the higher-ups to the fact that someone is making sweeping decisions he/she has no authority to make.
It seems to me, in principle, this is a kind of backdoor discrimination. Only applicants who meet this person's exaggerated (obsessive) standards for "competence" need apply.
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