Interviewer Contacted Someone from My Company

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    Drakesy on 10/08/2020 - 12:43

    Unless there's a confidentiality agreement in place there's nothing illegal about it.

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  ThrowYo on 09/08/2020 - 08:21

  I would get a proper answer about if you got the job or not, I would probably email so there is a written reference and maybe even throw in a sentence about smirker mentioning he spoke to them and that he was not your reference, did they need the details of your reference? Or insinuate there was a mix up.. Make the interviewer hang themselves in writing in their response and see what u want to do with it then..you never know they may be slow af and you actually got the job…

  Also people keep mixing up interviewer and recruiter.. A interviewer would be a job you applied for and go through a internal process which is 99% of the time a private pursuit.A recruiter is a very different story where it works on a who you know basis and random phone calls to check up on you would be ok..

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  popsiee on 09/08/2020 - 10:16

  +1

  OP have you thought of joining the Cottonball Club ?

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    evolution-flip on 09/08/2020 - 10:23

    Can you refer me to the club as the founding member?

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  OzHunterNSW on 09/08/2020 - 10:30

  +1

  What are you hiding? You should expect people to do their own research to check what you had professed upon your CV.

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    evolution-flip on 09/08/2020 - 10:40

    +2

    That I'm a serial murderer. Thanks for making me introspect and coming out.

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  Reppunkamui on 09/08/2020 - 11:03

  +7

  This is quite normal in my experience (Finance) for key roles. As getting an opinion/reference from a personal/professional contact you can trust is far more reliable than from a referee/candidate you do not know.

  TBH this typically works in your favour. Especially for roles where you get thousands of applications for 1 or 2 openings.

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    ribze1 on 09/08/2020 - 15:25

    +3

    Yep spot on.

    I'm a hiring manager, if i interviewed someone from XYZ company and knew someone that worked there i would ask if they knew the candidate and what their opinion was if this is the case.

    A reason not to burn bridges or be a d*ck to people you work with, it can come back to bite you without you even knowing.

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  Vote for Pedro on 09/08/2020 - 11:21

  Government employers have processes to follow and this would be a no no in my experience. A private company can/will do basically whatever it sees fit to get the right candidate.

  Not disclosing the measures and whether they will contact people without your knowledge or consent would slide on the less ethical scale.

  There may be opportunity to pursue perhaps via that companies policies on disclosure of private info but not sure.

  Also, you don’t know for sure, just a hunch. Crap situation but move on like you don’t care.

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  Dack Smith on 09/08/2020 - 11:54

  +4

  Typical HR behaviour

  Just deal with it, it will happen again.

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  SydBoy on 09/08/2020 - 11:59

  You should feel lucky that you didn't get job with such a jerk ! Sometime in life you don't get things that you wanted for good reason so just forget and keep moving forward !

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  capslock janitor on 09/08/2020 - 14:40

  unfortunately there'll always be people who can't mind their own business nor zip it, then spout shite that has potential to snowball

  and a bad case of he said she said / gossip

  maybe if the can of worms already open, first get your coworker's side about it/how do they know the interviewer. up to you how to go

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  FimpBARGAIN on 09/08/2020 - 15:03

  +1

  Forget about it, assume all recruiters are about as ethical real estate agents and move on with your life.
  It might work out anyway, now your current employer knows you are looking and that you aren't the type to wait around for 20yrs before you advance

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  Bundybogan on 09/08/2020 - 15:22

  +4

  Just call them back up and say mrsmirkface said that you said to say hi and that I have been successful in my application so when do I start? and see what he says.

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  eurofoti on 09/08/2020 - 15:38

  +1

  Why are there so few people talking about the soap option?

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  lookwithin on 09/08/2020 - 16:10

  +3

  I think you might still be in the running for the job. Some companies are just really slow with recruitment. I would contact them to check if you were successful or not.

  If the interviewer contacted your colleague (their friend) to ask about you, then you are likely to be an interested party to them as the interviewer wouldn't have wasted their time in trying to understand you better.

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  netsurfer on 09/08/2020 - 17:38

  It's common nowadays for them to do their own background checks. There was once where an interviewer told me that he tried to find out more about me at the beginning of the interview.

  You should ask that colleague of yours about the interviewer (since now that he knows). See if he/she is willing to tell you what he said to the interviewer (and whether he/she thinks you will get the job or not). If you have a good relationship with your colleague, you can ask him not to disclose to other people you are looking for a new job elsewhere. If that colleague still went ahead, then he/she is quite unprofessional.

  Honestly, it is not that big of a deal. It's better to accept that as the norm. The most important thing now is probably find / get a new / better job. Don't get fixated on 1 job opportunity. Just learn from it and move on.

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  field1985 on 09/08/2020 - 17:38

  +5

  Calm down. You don't even know if you got the job. They might be preparing to make you an offer.

  Your collegue's "smirk" might have been a sign they were happy for you, knowing you are progressing in your career, after giving you a glowing review.

  You don't know what was said. Don't risk your current and potential role because of your paranoia

  Waiting a "few weeks" to hear about a job is nothing. It's not uncommon for companies to take 3 months from advertisement to filling the role, and probably even longer in the current circumstances.

  If you are told you didn't get the job, then you can start to speculate and complaining about what happened, but until then it's a waste of our time and your's to worry about it.

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  [Deactivated] on 09/08/2020 - 19:27

  +2

  Seek legal advice

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  pulpfiction on 09/08/2020 - 21:08

  +7

  Are you all for real? The general sentiment in this thread is insanely thick. The fact people are willing to accept this treatment is mind blowing.

  I run a consulting firm, so while we're not a recruiter, we're bound by many of the same regulations and standards.

  We have been given very clear legal advice on this topic. Breaching confidentiality and contacting unauthorised parties is a breach of the Privacy Act. You can be fined in the millions, plus face civil action (eg damages if the candidate lost their job).

  This also breaches moral code of every recruitment business I know. The recruiter has no way of knowing your circumstances and how your colleagues might respond.

  The one exception here is if you agreed in any way to terms that allowed them to do this. I'd expect this to either be terms in an email or less likely a signed agreement to represent.

  Tread your own path, but you'd be doing the industry a service by writing to the MD of the business. I'd be seeking a written explanation of what happened, why it happened that way, what information was related and what they're doing to stop this happening again.

  Here's a good summary: https://jobadder.com/blog/privacy-law-facts-for-recruiters

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    field1985 on 10/08/2020 - 20:27

    Are you for real? They don't even know if they got the job, and your telling them to write the managing director a letter seeking an explanation?!?!

    I can see that going down really well (ie destroying the job opportunity, any further jobs at that company and your standing in the industry)

    In theory "you can be fined millions", but has there ever actually been a case proven? Never on such flimsy "feelings".

    First they need to know for a fact they didn't get the job. Then they can start considering gathering evidence. But that will mostly likely be impossible if it occured in a private conversation (there is no record).

    You do not want to go making accusations without rock-solid evidence (eg an email chain between interviewer and collegue), because that will get very expensive (lawyers/their court costs) very quickly. Saying "I think they talked about me", wont cut it in court.

    Despite the huge financial risk, there is very virtually nil chance of winning/reward and high likelyhood you will permanently tarnish your name (for being letigious) in the industry.

    Even if you do win, you might get a couple of years salary, but your name will be tarnished and most of the money will be eaten by legal fees/tax.

    Best case the company are forced to give you the job and will you have to work for managers that all despise you, before they entrap/fire you for any indescretion they can find.

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    netsurfer on 10/08/2020 - 22:31

    It is not the legal thing to do, but let's be realistic here, since when do all interviews follow all the rules? You don't need to be certified in order to interview someone.

    Instead of getting all worked up and upset about it, it's best to spend the energy on the next job interview or applying for other jobs.

    Normally, during the interview, if the interviewer knew someone working with you, he/she would normally mention it (as you would generally go through your work history briefly). Thus, if a reference check was conducted prior to the interview (even if that's illegal), the fact OP got the interview meant the interviewer was happy with the reference check.

    If the reference check was conducted after the interview, then honestly, it doesn't change anything really. The interviewer could simply request permission to talk to that colleague of his and what is OP going to say? No?

    The fact the interviewer had the nerve to let OP knows that he talked to his colleague behind his back…. If OP really wants to know, there are two ways:

    1. Ask that colleague for more information (not in the way that this whole thing is illegal), but more about finding whether OP got the job and if not, areas for improvement.
    2. Contact the interviewer (if applied directly) and ask for some feedback on the interview. Areas to improve.

    If the job was applied through the agent, ask the agent to check. It's best to move on. I reckon OP will end up finding an even better job.

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      pulpfiction on 10/08/2020 - 23:00

      Funnily enough Field1985 I did not make the law, but I am for real. It's a thing. All those points you make are really good, although not sure where I told them to write a letter. Maybe you're confused? Anyhow, unfortunately the law disagrees. Oh, and not a lawyer so NFI if there is a precedent. Let me know if you hear of one.

      Agree reality is needed netsurfer. I think the realistic thing here is talk to people confidentially who the recruiter trusts AND who the person does not currently work with. If one of my team did something as stupid as this I would definitely want to know.

      I feel for the op. The law is there for a reason. If someone breaks it at your expense, you should feel pissed. As I said, their need to make their own call about their course of action.

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        netsurfer on 11/08/2020 - 00:47

        Honestly, the most important thing is OP's colleague in the other department (who was contacted by the interviewer). Sure, in this case, the interviewer did the wrong thing. However, I hope that colleague of OP in the other department is professional enough to realise he should not disclose that OP's looking for a new job. If OP was unsure about this, he should have talked to that colleague and ensure he would keep quiet.

        Reference checks without prior consent happened to me twice before. On both occasions, my colleagues told me about them. Those two colleagues worked in the same department as me. In some industries, the circle is too small, it is too easy to do reference checks on local candidates. You just know most of them would do that. Also, you need to have some faith on people you work with. You spend a lot fo time with them. They are like your second family.

        OP would know whether that colleague of his would keep quiet or not. If OP wants to avoid similar things from happening, when applying directly, re-iterate that please keep it confidential as you do not want anyone in your current company to know that you are applying for a new job. Generally, when it is through recruitment companies, they all know this.

        What happened to OP is really unfortunate. However, as long as you are professional, if other people do shady things to you, then shame on them. In certain industries, the circle is really small, you can easily do a background check on someone else working on the same industry through your own connections.

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        field1985 on 11/08/2020 - 07:49

        "you'd be doing the industry a service by writing to the MD of the business" - Maybe you're confused?

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          pulpfiction on 11/08/2020 - 17:52

          @field1985: OP would be. I also said I'd personally do it. I'm not saying OP should. That's their call. I have no idea about their personal circumstances and only have a limited perspective of the situation at hand. So no, not confused at all.

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  dufflover on 09/08/2020 - 22:55

  Too bad you went for a job that obviously goes to a bit more lengths to make sure you are genuine? What next? They checked your Facebook or Instagram without permission?

  Don't get me wrong, I would be put off working for a company who's HR went to this sort of length considering it obviously impacts your current employment, but tbh it's not exactly the crime of the century. They could've just been burnt by shit fake references from previous people they've hired, I dunno either way not sure what grounds you think you can take further action on officially.

  And I was like what - and then joined the dots that X knows my colleague and would have told them about me coming for that interview.

  Sounds like you're just making up the dots there mate. Recruiter does some digging and gets a contact. Your colleague could just be a smart ass, who obviously surprised you are looking for a job, is giving you a bit of crap that he knows about it now. You don't even know that you haven't got the job. Sure, likely, if it's been that long, but again that's an assumption based on the average, not proof. Especially if there is a COVID shake up.
  (Or you've just put too few details in the OP.)

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  SF3 on 09/08/2020 - 23:15

  +1

  I felt pretty disgusted
  What is everyone's take on this scenario? What should i do?

  Ok, you are not insane for feeling that way.

  People talk, people who know each other talk. You might be one of those people that happen to see it first hand, who knows how many other instances this has occurred (throughout anyone’s career), but a coworker kept quiet.

  Look, many of the people say “suck it up” or “whistle blow”. But, ultimately we are just a bunch of spectators. We don’t have skin in any of your consequences from the suggested actions. I think it is naive to look at blowing this open without looking at the broader context - e.g. how would this affect your future career opportunities. It is not like we are dealing with the 2 issues in isolation, so whatever decision you may decide, you are ultimately going to gain or lose from the consequences.

  Sorry, I don’t have an absolute answer. But hopefully you may see it in another angle and maybe learn from this (with whatever action you decide) and grow from this experience. All the best!

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  baldur on 10/08/2020 - 00:15

  +1

  Typical hr. They don't have any outstanding nor qualified skills, yet they are more arrogant than any of the other departments in an organisation, incredible.

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  pipe on 10/08/2020 - 00:17

  Recruiter dropping names to get your colleague to warm up to him.

  Happens all the time.

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  syousef on 10/08/2020 - 09:41

  Did you make it clear you were interviewing in confidence and didn't want your current employer to be contacted? Either way it's been a long time since I dealth with them but ethical headhunters are like unicorns.I remember in the late 90s I'd make it clear i was not to be contacted during business hours. Head hunters would agree to this but call anyway.

  Confront him if you like. Don't expect anything to come of it.

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  Drakesy on 10/08/2020 - 11:31

  Sorry if it's already been posted but…

  1. In this day and age it's not any recruiter/interviewer's requirement to tell you why you didn't get the job. Yes its a nice to have but definitely in engineering and many other professional jobs where you'd get up to 500 applications and 20 or so interviewees all on the same level it can be difficult and time consuming to give everyone a debrief, especially when there's nothing in it for the company. In my 10 or so interviews the only feedback i've had is from when i received the job, everyone else went cold.
  2. Yes it's not a good look for the interviewer but there's no confidentiality agreement between you and them so i guess they are free to do what they'd like with the information. Although it's not going to help with their reputation if they're shooting themselves in the foot like this.
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    [Deactivated] on 10/08/2020 - 12:37

    +1

    If you get to the interview stage, while the interviewer is under no obligation to debrief you, there is an expectation to let you know if you progressed or not.

    This doesn't extend to responding to individual applications, but if you get to the interview stage it is expected that the interviewer/recruiter would let you know if you were progressing or not. A debrief and explanation is a courtesy that they do not need to extend to you, though.

    Failing to do this, in addition to being discourteous, is damaging to the employer brand.

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  [Deactivated] on 10/08/2020 - 12:33

  +4

  There are too many holes in the story to draw any conclusions warranting a follow-up action. Give the benefit of the doubt and move on is my advice.

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    evolution-flip on 10/08/2020 - 14:20

    -1

    If you want to let me know the holes, maybe I can fill them? Because I don't think there are any holes at all.

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      [Deactivated] on 10/08/2020 - 14:35

      +1

      You have no context on the relationship between the interviewer and your colleague or the manner of their communication.

      You are filling in the holes to suit a narrative which is seemingly causing your stress, and reading into facial gestures to suit that one narrative strand. That narrative may be correct, but you can't be certain that it is.

      You are asking for advice on an open forum, my advice is that you don't know the full story and your assumptions may not be correct. As you don't know, and life is short, you should move on.

      edit:
      If, of course, you are absolutely certain of the narrative then I would advise contacting the company you interviewed with and the recruiter (internal or external) who lined it up to express your concerns.

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        evolution-flip on 10/08/2020 - 20:44

        -2

        You'd have to be extremely ignorant to not join the dots correctly.
        Regardless, how is the relationship between the interviewer and my colleague relevant to this discussion? They could be best of mates or my colleague just mows X's backyard every month, what do I care?

        The only narrative I've said is X knows my colleague and shared the information about my interview. I never said I'm stressed about this situation, I said I felt disgusted.

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          [Deactivated] on 11/08/2020 - 07:34

          @evolution-flip: Seems quite a confrontational and aggressive response. Not sure what provoked that.

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            evolution-flip on 11/08/2020 - 09:51

            @[Deactivated]: Sorry if it sounded confrontational, didn't mean to. I was genuinely curious about your relationship point.

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  ozaym on 10/08/2020 - 12:49

  Follow it up with the interviewer and the company, make sure the interviewer never get another candidate again.

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  McBanny on 10/08/2020 - 16:19

  All too familiar to me…went through the same struggle, but the difference is the interview called the boss only (didn’t call any of my reference).

  Was successful at the position but wasn’t a good experience, kept getting told
  “if you don’t like it here you can go back to xyz”
  “If you don’t do overtime you can go back to xyz”

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  bluesky on 10/08/2020 - 17:21

  +1

  Firstly, I share lookwithin's and field1985’s sentiment, that you might still get the job. Also, for all you know, maybe your colleague was also looking for jobs – hence the contact with person X; maybe even interviewing for the same position, who knows.

  Secondly, whether ethical or not, in a field where people tend to know each other, such news travelling within people is to be expected. The best way is to be prepared for it, if possible, unlikely as it may be. So as not to be thought disloyal, I would always raise issues I was unhappy about with the current employer first. That way, if they were not interested in addressing them, they should not be surprised to hear that I went for interviews. If asked, I would point to issues raised that were not addressed.

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    evolution-flip on 10/08/2020 - 20:48

    I think I'll just clarify about the chances of me still getting the job as it's been said by too many people, though I don't understand how it matters.

    It's been 3 months since my interview so unless the company is highly incompetent, I've a pretty solid assumption.

    Btw my colleague and I are in totally different departments so no chance of him applying for this job.

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      netsurfer on 10/08/2020 - 23:01

      Let's try to look at this objectively.

      If the reference check (without your approval) was conducted before the interview, the fact you had the interview meant you passed that reference check.

      If the dodgy reference check was conducted after the interview, honestly, it doesn't matter either. The interviewer could simply ask you for permission to speak to that colleague.

      Generally, after an interview, you have a fair idea whether you have a good chance of getting that job. Use that as the basis, rather than let that event cloud your judgement. If you really want to know, you can either ask that colleague of yours for more info or ask the interviewer for feedback and areas to improve. You can even mention that colleague informed you that they've spoken to each other. Only try to find out more so you can improve next time. If you wholehearted believe something dodgy happened, then there is no point investigating. It's simply not worthwhile joining that company. Remember, a job interview goes both ways, you also need to find out whether you like working there.

      Best to just move on. You will find a better job. Prove them wrong by landing a better job is the best solution.

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  Dreamcast on 10/08/2020 - 20:24

  +1

  Not sure what you're smoking, but soap tastes amazing.

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  digitalaxon on 10/08/2020 - 22:45

  +2

  Having worked in a well respected recruitment company for almost a decade, there are certain standards that recruiters who are members of the RCSA (Recruitment, Consulting and Staffing Association) are meant to uphold and maintain.

  While it has been a long time since I left that sector, I doubt that they would have abandoned those principles and that a Code of Professional Conduct should still apply and any legitimate recruitment company would be a member of.

  One of those is privacy, and if what you're saying is true and the recruiter did speak to your co-worker then a breach of privacy has occurred which you can lodge a complaint for (assuming they are a member of the association - or lodge a complaint directly with the recruiter).

  It does not matter how big or small a breach has occurred, the fact one has occurred is the matter at hand. Not responding to you in a timely manner is also lacking professionalism and the recruiter should definitely be tapped on the shoulders for unprofessional conduct that gives all recruiters a bad name.

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