Hmmmm.Ok, So I get a call from a staffing firm that saw my resume online and asked to come in for an interview. This is a direct Hire position. I went in for my interview and it went great! I was asked to come back for a second interview to meet the area manager. That interview went even better. The same day as the second interview they asked me to come in and shadow there team to see if this was something I was interested. All this time I’m starting to get very excited. The hiring manager said that everything looked good. The night after my shadowing experience I get a call from the manager saying that the Area manager was having some concerns over the commute. It’s about an hour, not unusual for this area (Baltimore, MD). She said that she really wanted me for this position but that she needed some information to go back to her boss to convince her to hire me. I gave some really good reasons and everything looked great. I was told that I was the number 1 candidate for the position, and I quote “no one held a candle to me in the interviewing process”. I’m getting even more excited at this point but now I’m just waiting for an offer. This was all Tuesday of last week. On Monday I get an e-mail saying that she is very sorry that we could not work something out with the commute but her boss just could not get over it and was worried that I would last a year and get burnt out then quit. Just like that I’m not longer in the running for this job based on where I live. Is this legal? I feel like I was discriminated against based on where I live. 1hr commute is not uncommon and is the rule in this area more than the acceptation. Can I do anything? I’m just so mad to be lead on this long and wasted so many hours. They knew where I lived from the first interview. Any advice?
I'm sorry that you're out of the running. Unfortunately, there is nothing illegal about not offering a position to a candidate, unless it falls under the normal gender, race, etc. I'm not sure if I can offer any advice, other than to keep at it. I work 62 miles away from my employer. My commute is typically an hour and twenty minutes. At my final interview, I, too, was asked about the long commute and how I will adjust. I shared with them that I've had long, even longer, cummutes before, and have never had any challenges with being there. After a year, I approached my employer about telecommuting part-time. This was right around the time Katrina landed, and gas proces had dramatically increased. Since then, I have been working in the office two days a wekk, and from home three days a week. It can be done. Hang in there and find an employer that is more open to longer commutes. First off, there's nothing illegal about not hiring you based on where you live. Since you have nothing to lose at this point, I'd be tempted to do a little research on how many people commute at least an hour in each direction to and from work. Then I'd call he hiring manager and, calmly and politely make the point that in the Baltimore area X number of people commute at least a hour to and from work and won't they please reconsider your application. If you've been commuting to and from work for a while, I'd also make that point. You could say something like, "I've been commuting X miles to and from work for Y years and it's been Z years since I missed a day of work because of the commute." Then you can make the plea that you really feel like you're an excellent fit for the job based on skills A, B, and C and that one of your best qualities is your dependability. If the answer is still "no," I don't see any other option but continuing your job search. Although this is not a legal opinion, I'm reasonably sure that it's not discriminatory to base a hiring decision on the distance the job seeker has to commute to work. Paul W. Barada The Negotiation Expert | |
|
Career Tips
|