Process consisted of about 3 rounds, including one in-person interview with the CEO at 8am on a very rainy morning. He was very genuine, heartfelt, direct with his needs — qualities I believe I very much share with him — and we agreed I was a great fit for the position and was high on his list.
The next day, the recruiter called me and said that the “ball was in my court” and essentially told me the only thing needed was a quick reference check which they encouraged me to submit ASAP. I obliged with a list of references that I had carefully picked over the years within the next hour. This included me texting and emailing them to attempt to give them a heads up due to the urgency the recruiter tasked me with and my eagerness to join the team.
They thanked me for my quick response and assured me I would hear something by the end of the week. I did not. I gave them some space as there was inclement weather nationally, and I also believe in not hounding the people I’m trying to protect the calendars of (as an Executive Assistant, especially a Senior-level, should consider at all times).
After not hearing anything for about 5-6 days, I decided to follow up with the recruiter. She told me they had gone with another candidate that had better references — a longer list of C-level executives and managers — and that they had contacted mine and they were unenthusiastic about me or confused about the situation.
This is all fine. Am I disappointed I didn’t get an offer? Yes! I was very excited about the opportunity and my 1:1 with the CEO was wonderful.
It is also totally okay if they felt my references were not great. However, as an aspiring senior-level admin professional, I know the high value placed on protecting the calendars and email inboxes of C-level executives and therefore elected to choose, people I had worked with in day-to-day operational capacities. I like to walk the walk where possible, and I don’t feel like filling the inboxes of former COOs and CEOs with reference requests for my personal job searches is appropriate. Just seems like it defeats the ethical and professional purpose of the role itself. My mistake.
I admit this results in a less attractive slate of references, especially on paper. This was my choice and likely makes me less competitive. I take that in stride and will no doubt adjust my strategies going forward.
What is NOT okay, however, is the fact that I got confirmation from only ONE of the four references I provided that they had been contacted. I do not “prep” my references in any way as that would feel dishonest and would result in a non-objective and therefore worthless reference for the recruiter. I believe strongly in these things.
As mentioned earlier, I did attempt to give them all a heads up. Either way, all of the people I listed as references, even if they were unaware, were wonderful colleagues of mine and a 10-second line of questioning would be more than enough to jog their memories.
Two of the others have confirmed directly with me that they received no call, and had no voicemails or emails about a reference check for me. That leaves the outside possibility that they may have spoken with only one on the list (though at the time of me writing this, I have no confirmation if they were contacted or not). Even if that single theoretical interaction were an uninspiring one, the body of evidence from my 1:1 interviews and my demonstrated experience should still be viable.
I’m straining very hard to consider all sides of the argument here to avoid posting a second scathingly negative review here on Glassdoor for this particular company.
The bottom line: I was lied to in several instances. I am upset that I didn’t get an offer, but I definitely know how to take a rejection in this extremely competitive 2022 job market.
What I can’t let stand is being lied to in a way that potentially betrays the relationship I have with my former professional colleagues. They clearly did not actually contact my references with any earnestness, yet led me to believe that these people I’ve known for years all threw me under the bus. They maybe called ONE of them. Did they think I wouldn’t figure that out? Simple deduction — I submitted FOUR, and I know for a fact that THREE of them were not spoken with.
So there was some other reason they didn’t choose me. That’s life! But I will not let their poor treatment of my references go without response.
I assure you, that while this post appears long and whiny, it is only to help the future job seeker in the quest for an employer that values our skills with compensation, but also give us a reasonably fair shake and some form of genuine honesty along the way. The thoroughness of this post is my attempt to consider the all of evidence that I have access to.
Please consider my experience when applying here. Also consider adjusting your tactics to be less conservative than mine. People can and will take advantage of you.
