I applied online. I interviewed at Community Action Program Belknap-Merrimack Counties (Concord, NH) in Feb 2024
Interview
Feb 13: Phone interview went well, invited for in-person interview
Feb 20: In-person interview went well. I was told interviews would be completed by the end of the week. I was told "unless something glaring happens during the shadow shift, we would go forward with hiring"
Feb 26: Was invited to complete a shadow shift, scheduled for 3/5
Feb 27: I received an email from hiring manager which stated "We need to reschedule this. I will be in touch". No explanation as to why or any timeline given.
Feb 29: I had not heard back, so I emailed. I got an out of office auto reply, saying she would be out Feb 28 - Mar 1, returning on Mon Mar 4.
At this point, I am still under the impression that I am wanted for the role, and that the need to reschedule the shadow shift was just a scheduling conflict.
Mar 4: I send an email to touch base.
Mar 5: I get a reply stating "I will be in touch. We are still interviewing for this position"
I had no idea they were still interviewing. I had been told during my in-person interview on 2/20 that they would wrap them up by the end of that week, and then I was asked to do a shadow shift. I am not sure what happened between their asking me to do a shadow shift (2/26) and needing to reschedule it (2/27), but I feel that I was misled in the reasoning for needing to reschedule it. I turned down a job offer from a different employer on 2/28, as at that point I was still under the impression that we would be going forward with the hiring process.
3/5: Confused, I reach out for clarification as to whether I should still plan to have my shadow shift rescheduled and what the updated timeline for the interview process would be.
3/6: I get a response from the hiring manager stating that they are proceeding with other candidates at this time.
I have no idea what changed between 2/26 and 2/27, except possibly a candidate with more fitting credentials applied. If that was the case, then the 2/27 email sent to me should have stated that. Instead, it implied that there was a scheduling issue for my shadow shift. That was not forthcoming or honest communication.
Additionally, I feel that telling a candidate "I will be in touch" without providing more details (particularly a timeline for communication purposes) is not the best way to handle the hiring process.
It is quite unfortunate, as I was extremely excited about this role, and now this experience has soured me on working for this organization in the future. Should they at some point return to my resume and be "in touch", it is unlikely I would move forward.