You know when you receive a rude email your initial response is to respond in kind? No? Just me? About a year ago I was looking for a new job. I was new to the area and had been freelancing so, a new full time job. After interviewing at many companies, it came down to two different companies where I had interviewed three times at each place. I was very fortunate.
The more fortunate part was they both made an offer on the exact same day, within hours of each other. I turned down a very good job offer, in favor of one that was even better in many ways. Instead of graciously saying “okay Katie, thanks for letting us know you’re declining, may I ask why?”, as professionals typically do, this person said I “wasted his time”. Excuse me? You were clearly interviewing other people, as you should, so why should I put all my eggs in one basket?
No one enjoys the interview process, but no need to make it ugly. I wrote a reply in my head, and then deleted it. I badly want to respond saying that he is correct. I did clearly make the right decision, but I think it best if I just leave it unsaid. If anything it made me realize this is not the type of person I want to be working for. I have a whole file of email responses in my head. I just have to remember not to actually write them out for fear of accidentally hitting send.
I had a little incident of ‘don’t respond!’ at work today and it brought this back to mind. And all that made me remember how much I hate interviewing. I think it’s a little like first dates. I didn’t love those either.
Crazy Loves Company 