Friends,
If you’ve been following this hot mess for any length of time (and there may be some new readers who haven’t taken in enough to really be hip to the whole deal, but more on that in a teensy bit), then you may know that I’ve been waiting for a phone call from some people. People? Why yes, I applied for a job some months ago and I sat down for a group interview. It went okay, I thought. All four of us seemed to get along well and my skills lined up nicely with their requirements.
I followed up with a couple emails. One every two or three weeks, and it’s hard to know if they seemed needy or stalkery or pleading, but they went out and all but three went unanswered. The first two to the hiring manager and the last one to another of the interviewers. The first reply was nice enough and sort of encouraging with its “I hope all is well with you and look forward to speaking to you soon.” The last one finished up with, “I hope all is well,” but the bit at the beginning was crushing…
“Hi Bob,
Thank you for your message. We had several very qualified candidates (you being one of them) and we have filled the position.”
This was not the result I was hoping for.
Three months in, dreaming up marketing plans, plotting bold new strategies, imagining a world where I don’t have to get up at four o’clock in the morning to risk a commute that makes sane people cringe in horror, and it all went away. Poof. Nine point Verdana managing to stab me in the non-shriveled, non-blackened part of my heart.
“I hope all is well.”
Me too, madam. Me too.
Your pal,
– bob
UPDATE: Here’s a story from the paper of record on the lady who eventually got the nod. I guess you could call this a safe choice, but it’s worth noting that her previous business doesn’t seem to have had a website (source: Google, Internet Archive), so maybe it’s all about writing press releases? I’m clearly missing something here.