Re: no outcome on job interview yet

S. 'Trash' Ny Fui wrote:
Am I unlucky guy ? More than 3 weeks ago, I was interviewed for a
position at my govt lab. Still no outcome is known.

It's probably about time to follow up on that.

Usually, it takes
under a week to prepare the paperwork and hand the job offer to the
person. The HR guy told me that the paperwork was still hold up by the
senior administrator.

It could be that someone's making excuses. I've had that happen to me on previous occasions.

For one firm, I was given the response that "we can't get a hold of the guy who's going to be running the meeting". After hearing that a few times, I took the hint.

In another case, I had a meeting which, for all intents and purposes was an interview, and then was told three days later that "the focus of the job had changed".

And this was the same senior administrator who
told me that he had created this position for me ! I asked the senior
administrator when should I hear on the outcome, and he simply brushed
me off.

Not a good sign.

There is a reason for me to worry because the selection
committee was appointed to be headed by an emigrant who was known to
dislike other emigrants, and who wanted me at the interview to talk
exclusively about the techniques which I had almost no experience in,
so I emerged from the interview feeling incompetent.

I've been in interviews in which I was sure that someone else had already been unofficially chosen. My presence was merely to confirm the decision or to meet some requirement that old coots like me be "considered".


Our lab used to have separate career streams for technical people and
for scientists. Several years ago, they were merged together. So, my
future position is formally not a "junior research scientist"; it is a
"technical officer".

Does the change in title include different duties and responsibilities?

Not that I had problems with that; the management
still treated me as a scientist and gave me scientific tasks. However,
last week I came to my boss with an idea of some new scientific
experiment, and he abruptly cut me short. He's told me that he does not
not want me to spend my time thinking up new ideas; he wants me to
complete the technical tasks which I have on my plate; that's what I am
paid the money for. He is the guy who wrote the selection criteria for
this new position and who wanted to get me on board of his team. I
asked him what was the progress with my application, and he evaded to
give me an answer or even a hint justifying that as a public servant he
should be fair to every applicant.

For one company I used to work for, I kept asking about my six-month status as that was when my probation would come to an end. When I finally prodded someone into having a meeting, I thought that I had been made permanent, though nobody said anything one way or another. Unbeknownst to me, my probation had been extended.

I was fired a few months later.


I hoped to complete a range of high-profile scientific tasks in this
"junior" position, and thus be in position later to argue my case for a
higher-level scientist position. If they did not give it to me, I just
would go into other department for a higher-level position. But now, if
the management sees me as a high-powered technician at a bargain price,
I will not be able to complete a range of scientific tasks necessary
for promotion.

Constructive dismissal, perhaps?


Our lab recently hired a bunch of PhD holders to junior positions which
they never did before. There is an uproar among the staff. They say
that it might be illegal and the "management walks on thin ice". The
management wanted to expand the operations having the same budget for
salaries from government, so they hire cheaply now.

Maybe it's time you looked elsewhere.


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