Anonymous wrote:You don’t know that the person is less qualified than you. Period. There’s just no way you can fully know.

But I empathize with you in that there are so many strange and seemingly wrong things that happen in the job hunting process, including when its been between you and one or two other people and a high-level person basically says you’re hired then you’re not (been there) or they go in another direction and you have no idea why (been there too.)

You can usually tell. Sure, there are situations where they might appear to be less qualified than you but have a skillset you don't know about, but for the most part, you can glance at a person's LinkedIn or resume and you know they're less qualified than you.

Anonymous wrote:OP, another word from my increasingly smart dad, who has been deceased for over 20 years.

"Any company that doesn't hire you is doing you a favor because they know you would not be happy there".

I mean that's just patently untrue.

You don’t know that the person is less qualified than you. Period. There’s just no way you can fully know.

But I empathize with you in that there are so many strange and seemingly wrong things that happen in the job hunting process, including when its been between you and one or two other people and a high-level person basically says you’re hired then you’re not (been there) or they go in another direction and you have no idea why (been there too.)

OP, another word from my increasingly smart dad, who has been deceased for over 20 years.

"Any company that doesn't hire you is doing you a favor because they know you would not be happy there".

This happened to me a few months ago, as well, and I think our threads were a few days apart because people asked if I was you and then I saw your thread.

At any rate, yeah, I also had a super weird experience where I spent 2ish days in interviews with the entire team, hiring manager and her manager acted excited, then randomly just got a boilerplate email a couple days later saying they decided to move in another direction.

It was so weird I asked for feedback because I wasn't quite sure how I went from being told by the SVP and CEO that they were excited to bring me on board and then just a terse rejection email, other than saying or doing something weird during the interview. But they never responded. (And before the naysayers start: I know they don't have to.) But I never ask for feedback, that's just how weird the experience was.

Anonymous wrote:That sucks, OP. The worst is the CEO comment (ill-advised, or not).

Might just be one of those where you have to leave to be appreciated. Good luck.

OP here - I'm not an internal candidate, but thank you!

Anonymous wrote:Maybe they found her a better fit for reasons that you don't understand/can't see/aren't willing to accept.

I mean, this seems a little rude in response to someone just venting.

Anonymous wrote:Some hiring managers are insecure. Sometimes such people will not hire someone they perceive as too competent. They fear their boss would realize the manager is less capable than the new hire.

It is a crazy way to run a railroad, but it happens now and then.

This definitely happens!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My experience is that at a lot of organizations in order to be recognized and promoted, you have to leave first and then maybe come back, but that doesn't normally happen because once you've been burned, you don't wanna come back. The CEOs "good luck" message is really insulting and I would take it to mean "dont let the door hit ya". For a current employee seeking an internal promotion, you deserved more of an explanation and an affirmation that you are valued. The fact that you weren't given that says to be, they probably don't value you. Is it possible they don't want to promote you because your supervisor doesn't want to lose you in the role that you currently have? Because it's more of a hassle for them to rehire and train?

Is OP an internal candidate?

Oh, maybe I misread. Sorry. For some reason I thought OP was saying she/he was trying for another internal position. Sorry for making that up!

Anonymous wrote:I've had this happen so I know how you feel. The person hired instead of me turned out to be a dud. I don't know why they chose her. I don't have an answer but I think it happens a lot for a variety of reasons. I've also been on many hiring committees and there are often capricious reasons why some people get selected, especially the higher you go and when there are candidates of basically equal quality and it's a difficult choice. Or there is some final word from a higher-up who negates the hiring committee's decision.

Same. The guy they hired did not survive the probationary period. He made it about 10 months. Apparently he delegated everything, did nothing, and did not have the necessary computer skills. I used to work at the agency, know the systems and processes inside and out, and got along with everyone. The head guy had called me and encouraged me to apply. It still burns.