Hello new visitors and welcome to the Get Interviews blog. We hope to use this space to informally discuss job search and resume issues that concern you. With over eleven years in the careers industry, we have a great deal of experience dealing with nearly every job search situation that can occur. By talking about some of those situations here, maybe our experience can help you in your career transition.
We will also use this space to discuss current events that have a relation to job search or career issues. Sometimes looking at someone else's career transition process can be of help. For instance, Harriet Miers withdrew her candidacy for Justice of the US Supreme Court last week compelling President Bush to nominate someone else. Look at this situation from a job search/promotion point of view instead of a political one. What does it tell us?
Imagine how difficult the decision to withdraw her candidacy must have been for Ms. Miers. Here is the promotion of a lifetime for this attorney and no one likes her except the president! If you are a candidate for a job where the hire decision is the outcome of a committee or panel vote, it is possible you could face a similar situation.
What if you were recommended by the CEO for the job because he knew of your background but everyone else likes Candidate B. The CEO goes to bat for you but you see it would be best to just back out of the running and keep that person as a possible referral source for later. You may be cutting your losses but you are really making the best of a situation that is a lose-lose situation otherwise.
What about Candidate B? It must be pretty uncomfortable to be the second choice for a job and have the entire world know it. How would you handle that? Perhaps the candidate that was selected at the end of your interview process with a company did not work out and the company called to let you know you were now their prime choice. What would you do?
Most people say it would depend on the job. If they really wanted the job, it would only be a minor issue. Some people have egos that would get in the way at this point, telling them if they weren't good enough to be Candidate A, they certainly don't want to be Candidate B. That's okay if you are going to go through life taking everything personal; however, hiring decisions are business decisions. Accepting a position should also be mostly a business decision. If you let your pride prevail, you may very well be sitting on your pride unemployed or miss out on an opportunity that could be crucial to your future career.
Another lesson in this high-profile nomination situation is the key importance in staying in the game even after a hire decision is made. Your interview process may have taken four weeks to complete and you were not selected. Now is not the time to completely throw in the towel. Stay in touch with the company periodically. The company may well have an alternate position coming up for which you are perfect or have a vendor/customer whom may be interested in the value you have to offer.
Questions or comments on this topic? Feel free to email me at: help@getinterviews.com! I'd love to hear from you!