Sparkle1984
20-09-12, 21:19
The backstory to this goes back 3 years, but I'll try to keep it brief. 3 years ago I was told that I would be made redundant from my job, but thankfully I had several months warning so I could look for a new job. I applied for several jobs, both internal and external.
The first interview I had was for an IT job, for a small local company. I was referred by a recruitment agent. At the interview I felt fairly confident and I didn't feel that nervous. I thought the interview went well. The interviewers seemed very enthusiastic about me and at the end of the interview, they asked me about my salary expectations and when I'd be able to start. They then both smiled and shook my hand, and one of them even said "See you soon" in a sincere way.
Therefore I was shocked when I received a phone call from the recruitment consultant a week later saying that the interviewers weren't going to offer me a job after all. He said that the interviewers thought I seemed very nervous, and that as it is a "cut and thrust" environment I wouldn't be able to cope. However, he also said that the interviewers had told him they thought my technical skills were very strong and that I would be able to do the job, but that I would be too nervous to cope with it. I remember feeling devastated that evening, because they'd raised my hopes so high and let me down. I was actually in tears! :weep: I had other interviews lined up at other companies, but I started to wonder whether it was worth going to them if everyone would think I'm too nervous to do a job. Thankfully I did still go to my other interviews though.
I asked for further feedback about that interview but I never heard from the agent or the interviewers again.
Until now, that is. A few days ago I joined a local IT networking group on LinkedIn. It turned out that the group is run by the interviewer who rejected me, and he emailed me today to say "Your face looks familiar, did I interview you when I worked at XYZ company?" It feels awkward and I'm not sure what to say. I do want to reply, but I don't want to come across as churlish. Just a couple of months after that interview, I was offered a web development job at another company (I'm still there now) and I'm really enjoying it. So in spite of that setback, I still feel like I've achieved a lot. This man has a lot of influence in the IT industry in my area because he knows a lot of people (obviously as he runs this networking group). So I'm just wondering how I should respond to him, even though in some ways I still feel annoyed that his company was discriminating against people for being nervous.
The first interview I had was for an IT job, for a small local company. I was referred by a recruitment agent. At the interview I felt fairly confident and I didn't feel that nervous. I thought the interview went well. The interviewers seemed very enthusiastic about me and at the end of the interview, they asked me about my salary expectations and when I'd be able to start. They then both smiled and shook my hand, and one of them even said "See you soon" in a sincere way.
Therefore I was shocked when I received a phone call from the recruitment consultant a week later saying that the interviewers weren't going to offer me a job after all. He said that the interviewers thought I seemed very nervous, and that as it is a "cut and thrust" environment I wouldn't be able to cope. However, he also said that the interviewers had told him they thought my technical skills were very strong and that I would be able to do the job, but that I would be too nervous to cope with it. I remember feeling devastated that evening, because they'd raised my hopes so high and let me down. I was actually in tears! :weep: I had other interviews lined up at other companies, but I started to wonder whether it was worth going to them if everyone would think I'm too nervous to do a job. Thankfully I did still go to my other interviews though.
I asked for further feedback about that interview but I never heard from the agent or the interviewers again.
Until now, that is. A few days ago I joined a local IT networking group on LinkedIn. It turned out that the group is run by the interviewer who rejected me, and he emailed me today to say "Your face looks familiar, did I interview you when I worked at XYZ company?" It feels awkward and I'm not sure what to say. I do want to reply, but I don't want to come across as churlish. Just a couple of months after that interview, I was offered a web development job at another company (I'm still there now) and I'm really enjoying it. So in spite of that setback, I still feel like I've achieved a lot. This man has a lot of influence in the IT industry in my area because he knows a lot of people (obviously as he runs this networking group). So I'm just wondering how I should respond to him, even though in some ways I still feel annoyed that his company was discriminating against people for being nervous.