Third Time Applying For Same Job
Today I have applied for a job that I have previously applied for twice before over the past two years. I left the interviews on the previous two occasions feeling I had the job in the bag, but I was never offered the position. I was told that bad timing had a lot to do with not getting the job, and there seems to be some merit to that. Less than a week after the first interview the company merged with another much larger company and a hiring freeze was put in place. The second interview started out with the department manager I was to meet with not being available and I was interiewed by two senior staff members that I would be working with. They told me it was there impression that I was the best candidate they had seen in a long time and that I should have had the job the first time I applied. Within days after that interview I learned that the department manager had been removed from his position and that a new manager had been hired and would be starting the following week. I contacted the new manager shortly after he started (by email) to introduce myself and ask if the position was still available and if so, would he like to interview me. I received a very terse response directing me to the company website for job opportunities. So, some might call me stupid, but the company has listed the job again and I jumped for it. I really like the company, the people that work there, and it is a great opportunity. I also have a friend that works there (in a different department) and have met many of the people I would be working with. I even played on their company soccer team for a season when they were short players! My question is - How do I approach this interview? Do I mention the history to this new manager or approach it like any other interview? Any input would be extremely helpful. Well, you have only just applied again, right? So, it could be that the new manager won't even pick you for an actual interview. Not because he remembers that you sent him an email shortly after he started about he position you had interviewed for with the other manager, but because he might have different criteria in mind for the job. As a matter of fact, I doubt, unless it is a small-ish company, that he will even remember the email. When he sent you the terse response, he was probably only reacting from receiving a lot of the same type of correspondance from different candidates that the old manager had interviewed and was feeling a tad overwhelmed. I wouldn't mention that contact in an interview at all. Just stick with the pertinent facts and your resume. Since most companies policy is to destory resumes after 6 months, it is possible, probable even, that the manager won't even know that you sent a resume prior to this one much less have already interviewed. I saw an advertisement for the company I work for at least once a month and sent my resume in about 5 times and never even got an interview. Finally, I decided to just contact them in person and go from there. For me, it worked. And it worked better than I could ever have imagined. So, to keep sending your resume to the same company certainly cannot hurt things and will probably show how deeply you are interested in working for and with them. I guess I have a question. If the new manager was so rude to you when you asked what was a valid question at the time given your interview with the senior staff members, why would you want to work for that person? Have you been able to find out if he is still the manager? Since you know many of the people you would be working with, perhaps you should network with them to get some background information on the position and the person you would be working for. Have you talked to your friend? Many companies offer cash rewards for employee referrals. Does this company have such policy? If so, perhaps your friend can refer you. As for whether or not you should mention your previous interviews, you may have no other choice. You don't have to bring it up if you don't want to, but many companies will ask you whether you have interviewed with them in the past ____ (insert a number) years, and you'll have to tell the truth. Since there have been so many changes in the department and the position has been put on hold so many times, this won't necessarily be held against you, and the fact that you are so interested in the position and the company may even work to your advantage. Are the two interviewers who liked you still with the company? It may be worth a shot to reach out to them. I wouldn't bother the manager after what happened the last time you e-mailed him. However, I personally would be more concerned about joining a company that has gone through so many changes in such a short period, in a position with a history of being on-again-off-again, under a manager who did not feel obligated to extend to an applicant who had already been to multiple interviews the courtesy of an update on the status of the position. Just my 2 cents.
Thanks for the input! The company is part of a much larger conglomerate but still has the small company "feel" to it. As I understand it they only interviewed about ten candidates for the job on the last go round. I wouldn't go as far to call this new manager's earlier response as "rude," just short. He had just started the position and, I imagine, just getting oriented in the company so I am willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. The friend I have in the company is a bit of a smart aleck and knowing him may actually count against me with management. There isn't a company policy for employee referrals. I don't really know the other members of the current team well enough to reach out to them. I have briefly met a couple of them a few times. The ones I did know somewhat better have all either moved up in the company or moved on to other jobs. I already know as much as anybody can the details of the position. On both of my previous interviews I actually sat in with other team members performing the same tasks I would be. The changes the company has gone through are not necessarily bad things. The merger with a larger company has opened up a wide range of possibilities for employee advancement. the benefits are much better now. And the manager that was removed from his position wasn't much of a manager to begin with. | |
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