To put this story into context: I interned back at the company several years ago. I had a very positive experience. I received a performance review that, across the board, indicated I had "exceeded expectations." My manager indicated she was strongly recommending me for an offer. A month after my internship -- I received a call that I was not receiving a job offer to return to the company. I asked if there was any specific reason why I did not receive a return offer, and the individuals at University Relations declined to give me a reason. I guess they can't for liability reasons? I don't know, it seemed incredibly callous to not offer a reason for my "no offer" given that I had spent the entire summer there, especially because if I was given an offer I would have returned. My manager did not know why I wasn't asked back.
Fast forward a few years later, and I was back on the job hunt because my current role had recently been eliminated. There is a job posting for the same team in the marketing department I interned for years prior. Not only that, it involved executing some of my internship project. I know and respect the hiring manager, so I reach out, we have a conversation, and she refers me to the recruiter. I'm moved through the interview process.
I finish my interviews (which went great) and I take a couple of cognitive tests. DISH is obsessed with cognitive testing (you would think it's like an interview to work for the CIA), but I passed them for my internship, so I didn't give it much thought. Well, I should have! One of them was new from when I last worked there, and was super hard for me. It was a logical reasoning test to be completed within heavy time constraints. A lot of the questions were along the lines of "Joe, Bob, Jim, Sue and Joe need a conference room. Jim needs to be scheduled before Bob and after Joe, Sue must not be last, etc. Place them in the right order." Maybe these tests are easy for others, but with my ADHD I've long struggled with these types of tests. In high school I received extended time with standardized tests, but I haven't received it for graduate school tests so it felt "victim-y" to go back and request it now. But if you are interviewing, I suggest you try to find a way to study.
Nevertheless, after I do all of this, and provide references, I am verbally told the team would like to make me an offer. Hooray! But there are hiccups. First, it turns out I needed to take another cognitive test. Then, the salary range that was agreed upon in the screening call was apparently a little high, but the recruiter believed he could get me 5K-10K less than the initial range I gave. That irritated me, but at least the new figure was still a number I would have agreed to. The recruiter said the offer letter would be in my inbox within a few days.
After about a week, I call the recruiter a little concerned. He said he's still waiting on "approval or denial." I ask if there is any reason the offer would be denied, and the recruiter fessed up. It turns out that at least one of the tests I took, which I assume is that cognitive reasoning test, came back and said "not recommended for hire." Therefore, it was up to the VP to determine whether I got hired.
The recruiter sets up a call with me and the VP, which normally wouldn't take place in the traditional interview process, but it's done here because he needs to make the final call. I have the recruiter pass along my review from my internship -- which, again, was glowing. Then, I have my call with the VP. He asks about my future goals, some of my weaknesses (which I should have said cognitive tests, but I don't think the recruiter was supposed to tell me I failed so that would have outed him) and at the end reaches out and says I should connect with him if I "need help making my decision."
Three weeks pass and I hear nothing. Finally, I receive a call from the recruiter. The team wanted to hire me, but the VP indicated it was a no-go (although he provided no reasoning to the recruiter). He basically said the test is pass/fail, and it's really hard to get a job if you "fail" it. To be fair, the recruiter did apologize about how it all went down, but at the end of the day, I basically had a job offer reneged. I emailed the VP asking for feedback so I could sleep at night. After all that, I didn't receive a reply.
I didn't get the job because I failed the cognitive test. Apparently that test is supposed to predict how I would perform in the job. Yet, it would seem to me that given my great review from the company in the past, that would override a test where you had to book conference rooms for people in a condensed time frame. But I'm not an organizational psychologist.
Oh, and it wasn't like the position went to another person. It was reposted a day after I was told no. They have to start the whole process over. And I'm still looking for work. What a lose-lose situation!
