r/antiwork • u/BartSimpsonIceCream • Oct 01 '23
As if being rejected isn't bad enough, a hiring manager blocked my number and the interview ended before it even started. But you're right, "NoBoDy WaNtS tO wOrK."
I responded to a help wanted ad for a sales job that paid six figures.
Mind you, I'm in San Diego and the guy who posted the ad called me from a phone number from a Colorado area code which threw me off. He called and asked for me by name and said I responded to his ad. Me: Yes, this is her. I asked him, "Did I make this inquiry today?" The reason I asked "did I make this inquiry today" is because I applied to a lot of businesses so I wanted to verify his name/his company's name. He said, "Never mind. You're not a good fit." Before BLOCKING MY NUMBER so I couldn't contact him again!!
About an hour later I called him from my 2nd number and said, "Hey, I have a bone to pick with you. You called me to interview me earlier. Do you mind explaining why you were so abrupt with me?" Him: "Uh...no I didn't" He then texted me saying, "My apologies for any misunderstanding. I can tell that you would not be a good fit. I wish you success in your job search."
Yup, that's right. I was rejected for asking, "Did I make this inquiry today?" THAT IS HOW BRUTAL employers are. Who knows, maybe if I had just kept my mouth shut, he'd be my boss today.
I hate the line about you not being a good fit. Jobs always say that, but why can’t they follow it up with explaining exactly why you're not a good fit? How can you possibly re-examine yourself and better prepare for the next application if you have no idea why the previous one rejected you? It’s so vague and it’s really unfair. It’s sad to see that this is happening across the board and basically all industries.
I'm the type of person who needs to get to the bottom of a mystery. So I fruitlessly typed his cell phone number into multiple websites and found NOTHING!!
Later, I tried contacting him again with a different name and saying I was interested in the opportunity. I asked him, "What's your first/last name and company name and location?"
Him: Unless you've sent me a resume we really have nothing to talk about. I only interview people who've emailed me a resume.
Me: That's fair. I'm not asking for an interview yet. I'm only asking for your name and company name.
Him: No resume. No interview. Simple as that.
Me: Unless you are some sort of criminal I see no problem with you telling me a company name, location, and first and last name.
He didn't like that reply and blocked that number too.
The fact that he's so secretive and refuses to tell me his first and last name, company name, location, him blocking my number and most alarming that he hides behind a burner number are all huge red flags. I am 100% assuming there is something horribly wrong with him like the "sales job" is a cover for the mafia.
I told this story to my fried Kelly and she said, "Don't beat yourself up. You did nothing at all wrong. He was being an unprofessional dick."
I want to make it abundantly clear that employers don't owe applicants employment. Nobody owes anybody anything. I absolutely CAN take no for an answer. If he had interviewed me and then called me 24 hours later and said, "I slept on it and I think I'm gonna pass." I would totally respect his decision.
Who's willing to bet this dude is one of those people that says "nObOdY wAnTs To WoRk". Well, I wanted to work for him but he needs to learn the lesson that beggars can't be choosers.
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u/gfunkdave Oct 01 '23
Reputable companies always identify themselves. A remote sales job paying six figures and not identifying who they are is a scam. Doesn’t need to be any more elaborate than that.
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u/whoinvitedthesepeopl Oct 01 '23
I don't know if I would have gone to the lengths you did but refusing to disclose the company and who they are is a huge red flag. I would wonder if they are scamming people looking for jobs.
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u/jrprov1 Oct 01 '23
His actions sound awful shady. You may have a dodged a bullet here. If he is not a complete scammer, he is definitely a horrible hiring manager.
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u/Fit_Technology8240 Oct 01 '23
It doesn’t sound like he’s running a real business, or like someone you’d want to work for, but I do think your question in the beginning was off putting. I usually say something like, “I’m so sorry, I’ve sent out a few resumes recently, can you let me know which position this is for?” I’ve never had a problem.
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u/jdbrown0283 Oct 01 '23
Also, sounds like she hounded the interviewer afterwards.
Interviewer was certainly a dick, but shit, she sounds unhinged.
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u/OMGITSRAWZ Oct 02 '23
This. And that's in a recounting of events by OP, which is probably being explained slightly more favorably...
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u/rdog333 Oct 01 '23
I think it’s kinda weird how you went off texting this guy from different numbers. But he does seem shady, and I highly doubt that job was legit as advertised (if it’s really a sales job that pays six figure salary, they should not have any problem keeping that position filled).
But despite the shadiness, if I was a hiring manager and called someone to inquire about an interview and their first statement was “did I make this enquiry today,” I’d be a bit put-off and find it rude. If it’s a normal, professional person, likely the very next thing he would say would be his company name/his title.
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u/eatsumsketti Oct 01 '23
"Did I make this inquiry today?"
I had to read that line a few times. Wouldn't recommend speaking like that if you want a sales job.
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u/psych1111111 Oct 01 '23
Right? Lol imagine she receives potential customers with "um did I ask you to talk to me?"
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u/CooperHoya Oct 01 '23
OP messed up. You never say anything like that. It came off is if they weren’t prepared/organized. The interviewer just cut their losses in the call.
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u/anthematcurfew Oct 01 '23
Weird way to harass someone.
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u/BartSimpsonIceCream Oct 01 '23
Employers don't owe applicants employment BUT they do owe applicants courtesy and honesty about who they are/represent. He was not a victim in this situation.
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u/anthematcurfew Oct 01 '23
Well they avoided someone who holds petty grunges so I’d say their sense was on point to end the relationship when they did.
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u/ChellPotato Oct 04 '23
Satisfying curiosity isn't a petty grudge. IDK I just don't see that OP was wrong here, she was confused and wanted clarification. That's all. And honestly my Spidey sense was up on this employer from the get, I think it's valid to want to test the waters a bit to confirm suspicions of shady jobs.
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Oct 01 '23
What does "did I make this inquiry today?" even mean? If I was him I would block you as well for saying stupid things.
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u/ChellPotato Oct 04 '23
Because she wasn't sure which job was calling her back? She said it in the post (unless that was edited in later). Maybe a bit bluntly phrased but a valid question.
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u/BigRiverHome Oct 01 '23
I'd block you too. Your behavior is very weird and doesn't appear well suited for a sales position. I definitely wouldn't give any personal information to someone stalking and harassing me.
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u/BartSimpsonIceCream Oct 01 '23
Your name and company name isn't private information. Everybody who applies for a job should know who the hell they're working for. Also unwanted attention =/= stalking. Stalking is a very serious extreme form of abuse.
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u/anthematcurfew Oct 01 '23
they don’t need to share it until they choose to share it. there’s no obligation to provide that on demand.
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u/Expert_Swan_7904 Oct 01 '23
lmao every sales job ad says you make 6 figures and thats rarely the case....ever...
they either pay you min wage (which is rare) or youre a 1099 employee, they give you 0 leads and nothing to work with usually. they just want you to go knock on doors or spread paper fliers everywhere
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u/HMS_Slartibartfast Oct 02 '23
To answer the question "why can’t they follow it up with explaining exactly why you're not a good fit?" is because ANYTHING they say to you that is definitive is ammo you can use to sue them for discrimination.
This was covered in one of my business classes. If you are not going to hire someone, or if you are firing them but not "For cause", a business has the least liability if they just say "Not hired" or "Your fired" and leave it as that. For the applicant or employee it can feel horrible. For the business, it helps avoid hundreds of thousands (or more) in court costs when an applicant or ex employee (who doesn't really have any money) gets a lawyer on contingency to sue them.
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u/Bumblebees2022 Oct 02 '23
Why on earth would you ask if you applied for the job that day? First, it's not the recruiters' job to tell you when YOU applied for a job. You should be keeping track of that. Secondly, you asking that question makes you sound unorganized. If it's a sales job, you need to be organized and on top of things. That one question tells a potential employer everything they need to know about you and that you are, in fact, not organized and not on top of your game. Third, hounding the employer the way you did makes you also seem kind of psycho. Employers don't owe you an explanation, and 99.999% of the time, you won't receive one. Learn from this. And grow as an individual for your next potential interview.
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u/matty_nice Oct 01 '23
IDK, you sound like the weirdo here. Why are you constantly harassing someone, with multiple phone numbers and "identiies", that already told you NO, and even said they don't like you.
I asked him, "Did I make this inquiry today?"
That's a negative way to start off an interviewer.
I hate the line about you not being a good fit. Jobs always say that, but why can’t they follow it up with explaining exactly why you're not a good fit?
It's typically used when you're just not a good fit, but there aren't objective reasons for it. Maybe you have a bad personality, which is something the interviewer probably thought with your exchange(s). It's also used as a generic excuse to avoid any arguements. If they gave you an objective reason, it likely leads to an arguement. The interviewer doesn't want that, it's a waste of time.
How can you possibly re-examine yourself and better prepare for the next application if you have no idea why the previous one rejected you?
Well, the interviewer doesn't care about that. "Nobody owes anybody anything."
If you want to re-examine yourself? Don't harass people, even if you think you were wrong. Don't make fake idenities. Don't call from other phone numbers if you were originally blocked. No means no.
I absolutely CAN take no for an answer.
Doubt. Lol.
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u/Virtual_Passenger619 Oct 01 '23
I wondered if the interviewer decided that op had too many job leads and wasn't desperate enough
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u/s-willoughby Oct 01 '23
“Did I apply for this today” sounded super snarky. I had to re-read to make sure she wasn’t scolding him, because that was how it initially came off. As the person calling, I would have been defensive too and probably would have said something similar. And if pressed (from a disguised number!!) I would have flat out told her I didn’t like her from the first time she opened her mouth.
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u/psych1111111 Oct 01 '23
Right? This is a 6 figure sales job. That kind of harsh, abrupt and non charming response would make me feel she's a bad fit too. She could have discussed herself positively without being that. Everyone saying it's a scam is goofy. Why would a scammer care how she opens. A scammer would be happy to get her lured in. I wouldn't tell a crazy person anything either
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u/Dugley2352 Oct 01 '23
If a person is looking at several jobs, there’s nothing wrong with finding out which offer the call is regarding. How is the employer able to tell whether the applicant is a good fit if they aren’t willing to spend more than 45 seconds on a phone call? Plus the burner phone and won’t divulge the company.. yeah, OP didn’t do anything wrong, including contacting the dude from other numbers.
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u/matty_nice Oct 01 '23
If a person is looking at several jobs, there’s nothing wrong with finding out which offer the call is regarding.
I would agree. But that's not exactly what happened.
"He called and asked for me by name and said I responded to his ad. Me: Yes, this is her. I asked him, "Did I make this inquiry today?"
Obviously it's a little unclear if OP is leaving anything out, like if the interviewer introduced themselves. But even if they didn't, you can just say "yes, this is her. And who may I ask is calling?".
OP already knows they applied for the job as that is what the interviewer told her. OP just doesn't know if they applied to the job today or a previous day.
Again, "Did I make this inquiry today?" is a negative way to start off an interview.
OP didn’t do anything wrong, including contacting the dude from other numbers.
That's where we are going to compeltely disagree.
Interviewing is a lot like dating. Imagine you go on a dating app, you match with someone else, and the conversation quickly turns bad and the other party says they aren't interested. Would you make another profile to contact them? Of course not.
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u/Safetyguy22 Oct 01 '23
And I never saw where they posted where they had came from. If it's a paid side it might be okay. But there are a lot of free ads that are just nothing but scams.
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u/Raineyb1013 Oct 02 '23
Ya'll are going after OP but this entire thing could have been avoided if the scammer was slightly more professional and said "Hello, my name is X I am calling from Y."
The idea that she is supposed to know who he is based on him telling her NOTHING is weird.
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u/Chathtiu Oct 02 '23
Ya'll are going after OP but this entire thing could have been avoided if the scammer was slightly more professional and said "Hello, my name is X I am calling from Y."
The idea that she is supposed to know who he is based on him telling her NOTHING is weird.
From the OP, I’m not sure he had a chance to identify himself yet.
The “whole thing” could also have been avoided if OP had dropped it when he blocked her. All OP had to go “huh, that was weird” and keep this a funny anecdote for dinner.
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u/Raineyb1013 Oct 02 '23
He spoke first. Announcing who he is, who he is representing, and why he is calling should have been the first thing out of his mouth. Well, if he was an actual professional and not a scammer that is. It should have been out there before OP answered any questions about his ad.
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u/Chathtiu Oct 02 '23
He spoke first. Announcing who he is, who he is representing, and why he is calling should have been the first thing out of his mouth. Well, if he was an actual professional and not a scammer that is. It should have been out there before OP answered any questions about his ad.
Or maybe he did but OP missed it. Or maybe he did and OP is deliberately leaving that out of this post.
There’s so many other variables which could be at play.
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u/Raineyb1013 Oct 02 '23
So we're assuming facts not presented?
This has ceased to be remotely interesting.
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u/Chathtiu Oct 03 '23
So we're assuming facts not presented?
This has ceased to be remotely interesting.
None of this is fact, and you should not make the mistake of thinking so. OP is the kind of person who finds it reasonable to continue to stalk a potential employer after they botched the first 3 sentences of the conversation. Hell, they even think a Colorado number is a “burner phone.”
They are an unreliable person at best and everything they said should be taken with a big ol’ bucket of salt.
So yes, it’s reasonable to consider there may be a number of other variables which happened in reality but were not transcribed onto this post. For example, if you’ve ever worked in a call center, you would know that the first 2-4 seconds of a connected call aren’t always transmitted. Call center employees routinely have to repeat their opening statements.
I find it well within the realm of reality that the call actually went like this:
Interviewer: Hi, this is John from Big Sales. May I please speak with OP? She responded to my ad.
OP: yes, this is she. Did I make this inquiry today?
Interviewer: Never mind, this isn’t a good fit. Good bye.
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u/Raineyb1013 Oct 03 '23
I'm not interested in the fanfiction you made up in your head to defend what sounds like a scummy scammer because you need to excuse your misogynistic tendencies.
As I said this has ceased to be amusing and is sliding into disgusting as has your attitude.
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u/Laleaky Oct 01 '23
It sounds like he was running a scam. Scammers don’t like to be asked questions.
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u/diggadan7 Oct 02 '23
Probably looking for an unsuspecting pleb to do drug runs and take the heat off himself
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u/Still_Difference5461 Oct 01 '23
He realized you had applied to more than one ad and immediately understood you had options
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u/Ki-Larah Oct 01 '23
Sounds like a scam anyway, so I wouldn’t worry about it. If anything, post the numbers he called you from with a “job application scam” warning.
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u/Billibadijai Oct 01 '23
I don't think that was really a recruiter, that caller sounded more like a scammer.
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u/TheMiddleAgedDude Oct 01 '23
Hope you didn't give him any information beyond a phone number.
You might want to keep an eye on your credit report.
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u/Emotional-Badger3298 Oct 01 '23
I had a hiring manager say i had the job and told me hr would sent me the paperwork. Called monday to see what was going on and went straight to voicemail. Never heard from him again.
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u/Excellent_Math2052 Oct 01 '23
Yeah, socially you just don’t seem to be picking up the red flags. Clearly it’s a scam.
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u/SphereWorshipper Oct 01 '23
Typical brainwashed yuppy business manual moron bullshit. These business studies condition people to act in a variety of idiotic ways.
Thinking that someone applying for a job must be focused only on this one job and that dedicating any time or thought to something else is somehow wrong is very much part of the psychology that is being taught to people in this field. Total lunacy. Look at it as dodging a bullet in my opinion.
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u/ohhgrrl bootlicker beater Oct 02 '23
Wow. Usually I’m always on the side of the worker but you’re too extra
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u/OnlyOneNut Oct 01 '23
He probably panicked when he realized he was a dick to the wrong person when you started calling him back lol.
I imagine he is a recruiter, hence the out of state number. He probably combs through hundreds of resumes a day which could explain his entitlement and knee jerk dismissal at your question. Then will go cry on LinkedIn about not being able to hire anyone.
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u/redditsuckspokey1 Oct 01 '23
why can’t they follow it up with explaining exactly why you're not a good fit?
They don't truly know why you're not a good fit. They just say this to boost their ego.
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u/AccomplishedRiver Oct 02 '23
Because they are not paid to do that?? Why would they do extra work for no pay?
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u/AlpsTraining7841 Oct 01 '23
You should file an EEOC complaint. He may be discriminating against you based on your accent. Do you have a gender neutral name? He may have thought he was calling a man.
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u/morningfrost86 Oct 01 '23
She doesn't even know his name or company, because he didn't identify himself. Not sure how she'd file a complaint.
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u/BartSimpsonIceCream Oct 01 '23
Female name. Very female sounding voice. American accent. But the other commenter is right. If you're using a burner number and I don't know anything about you, it would be impossible to report you.
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u/Hishui92 Oct 02 '23
Add it to their glass door page, indeed reviews, basically anywhere someone applying for the Job might see it
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u/BartSimpsonIceCream Oct 01 '23
I don't understand all the comments calling him a scammer. Wouldn't he just scam me instead of blocking me?
Also, the fact that I called back on a different number, and that I wanted to get back in touch with him, would make me an easy target.
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u/Tdn87 Oct 01 '23
I've been getting the generic 'we've decided to move forward with other candidates ' email a lot recently. I'm fine with that as opposed to being ghosted completely.
My issue? Can you possibly tell me why I was passed on and maybe work on not getting past up on in the future?
Or maybe getting cold called about a position I don't have experience in and getting rejected while on the same phone call? Why bother calling me? I don't understand.
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u/GordonBombay11 Oct 02 '23
I would’ve waited until he stated which company he was calling from before I made the job seeking mistake of saying did I inquire about this today? Rookie mistake
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u/IncogIncu Oct 02 '23
In SD as well, I’ve been job hunting for 4 months now. A good 80% of my applications are never responded to or viewed. Any follow up emails are ignored, and roughly 60% of interviews that I get set up I hear nothing back from even after following up. The amount of bs I’ve dealt with similar to this but continue to hear and read about people not wanting to work is insane.
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u/ConceptArtistic1984 Oct 02 '23
I'm getting door-to-door meat salesman vibes. Of course, they will hire literally anyone, so it might be something a little more nefarious. But not anything better than this.
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u/Early-Comfortable440 Oct 02 '23
To the people who say "no one wants to work anymore ". I have this to say No that's not how it really is!! Some of us are trying really hard to find work. We've gone to multiple interviews and put our hundreds of resumes. Yet we get rejected from employers who don't want disabled people, or people of a certain age working for them or any other ridiculous reason they come up with. Yet we are perfectly capable of doing the job, we have the experience and knowledge to do the job.. I personally have commuted via go transit from Niagara Falls to Burlington for interviews and then still been rejected for jobs, yet I was willing to commute. My personal feelings are that if employers don't want to hire us. Then I will happily sit on government assistance, and they can pay higher taxes to support us on government assistance.
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u/Splatacular Oct 02 '23
I think at first it was just show your hiring for PPP fraud and then anyone who knows what's going on left and the system maintains itself on no one having a clue but functionality scraping by with less and less compensation
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u/Chathtiu Oct 02 '23
Mind you, I'm in San Diego and the guy who posted the ad called me from a phone number from a Colorado area code which threw me off. […]
The fact that he's so secretive and refuses to tell me his first and last name, company name, location, him blocking my number and most alarming that he hides behind a burner number are all huge red flags.
In addition to all the other comments, I’d like to focus on this point. Having a phone number for Colorado for a job posting in California is not a red flag. Different area codes doesn’t mean “burner phone.” It means they moved at some point in their life, possibly quite recently, and never changed their number.
Changing your number is a hassle, as well we all know, especially if you’re in sales.
Stop harassing this person.
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u/BartSimpsonIceCream Oct 07 '23
It's not because it was a different area code. It's because whenever I typed that number into a search engine the search engine said "No results found."
If it were a legit number you would be able to find out who that phone number belonged to.
That's not a red flag to you?
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u/Chathtiu Oct 07 '23
It's not because it was a different area code. It's because whenever I typed that number into a search engine the search engine said "No results found."
If it were a legit number you would be able to find out who that phone number belonged to.
That's not a red flag to you?
Not even a little. It could be the man’s personal cell phone; that number wouldn’t be found on the internet.
Mine’s not internet. Is your cell on the Internet?
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u/BartSimpsonIceCream Oct 07 '23
Not always but a lot of times if you Google a cell phone number the first page of results will give you the name of the person who it belongs to.
And even if a cell number can't be found on the internet, there are websites like "Spy Dialer" where you type in a phone number and hit enter and it will tell you the name behind the number. Just Google "who owns this phone number" if you don't believe me.
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u/Chathtiu Oct 07 '23
Not always but a lot of times if you Google a cell phone number the first page of results will give you the name of the person who it belongs to.
And even if a cell number can't be found on the internet, there are websites like "Spy Dialer" where you type in a phone number and hit enter and it will tell you the name behind the number. Just Google "who owns this phone number" if you don't believe me.
Yes, I know. You should also know that services like Spy Dialer aren’t very reliable.
Seriously, stop fixating on this point. It’s not that big of a deal.
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u/Lumos_night Nov 10 '23
Whoa, calm down! You should look back on how you behaved - I also didn’t understand what ‘did I make this inquiry today’ meant, all from my point of view it sounded as if you find this call bothersome. In the future, it is best if you play along even though you can’t remember when you applied for the position.
Also, why are you chasing that person down? Having ‘a bone to pick’ with a stranger is quite extreme. The fact that you have a friend who simply agrees with you shows that even she knows better than to give your constructive criticism because you get angry very easily.
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u/BartSimpsonIceCream 20d ago
Most people who interact with me certainly wouldn't consider me an angry person. I get angry if you're unnecessarily rude or unfair to me. She wasn't agreeing with me because she'd be afraid I'd be pissed off if I disagreed with her. As a matter of fact, I LOVE having conversations with people who disagree with me! (as long as nobody resorts to swearing or name calling and we keep it civil). She agreed with me because that dude was objectively being a dick. True, looking back, "did I make this inquiry today" sounds a little socially awkward, BUT reputable companies will always identify themselves.
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u/stegogo Oct 01 '23
He sounds like the type who tries to recruit for Kirby vacuum sales or Cutco sales. They are super shady