Interesting story: my position was eliminated in January of 2021, and this is one of the positions I applied to. From the outside, Plymouth seems to be a great company; I work in the industry and have met their team at functions over the years and they are a great supplier for another company I worked for. In January 2021, I had 3 interviews with Plymouth, plus a quick phone screen; it was a very smooth process, and I was excited at the opportunity. About a week or two later, I was offered the job. I ended up not taking the role because I had a stronger offer come in at the same time.
Fast forward to October of 2021; the job I took wasn't working out as planned; I noticed this role was open again and I reached out to the hiring manager - I wanted to see if they would even consider me if I reapplied. The hiring manager told me to apply, and we had a nice conversation about a week or so later. HR sent me a Caliper test to complete before the next interviews.
Since I had interviewed with the hiring manager previously, he set me up to chat with two team members – which I thought was a great idea. Since so many companies are doing virtual interviews now it can be hard to get a feel for the culture of an organization. Both interviews I thought were great and I was really excited after each. I could really see myself fitting in there, thriving and enjoying the work. After each interview, I did send a thank you note to the interviewer.
My last interview was on 11.3.21...and then the ghosting commenced. They ended up reposting the role around 11.19.21 and the recruiter sent me a note on Indeed encouraging me to apply. Naturally, I followed up with the recruiter to see what was going on with my original application and no response. Then, almost a month after my interview on 11.3.21, I reached out to the hiring manager. It’s been two weeks now since I sent him a check in note and still no response.
The worst part about interviewing and this whole job process is being ghosted – especially after you had, what you thought, were good interviews. I wish companies would take better care of potential employees – the job process is very stressful and emotional. The least companies can do is be kind and part of that is responding when candidates reach out to you. Even a generic email is better than being ghosted.
Knowing Plymouth, I believe they would be a good place to work for – and I think that’s what makes my second interview process so disappointing. I hope they read this and realize the importance of getting back to potential candidates – especially when job seekers ask for updates on roles they’ve had interviews with. It only takes a few seconds to do the right thing and respond properly to potential job candidate with your organization.