Caesar
Footballguy
I will try to keep this simple and brief, but there are a lot of factors going on at my place of employment, so its way more complex than I can do justice here.
Basically, a new position opened up a couple months ago at my work, and after pondering things a bit, I decided to apply for the position. I was just promoted into my current title on June 1st after just 16 months with the company. My role didn't really change too much, but it did broaden my responsibility and accountability. I got a small raise, and a bump in pay level (The levels overlap monetarily, so going from 5 to 7 could result in NO raise, but they gave me a small bump). This was all due to restructuring of management.
The position I applied for is the same pay level, but it is a staff position and opens up my career path a little bit more. I think I have a pretty good reputation here and many peers, subordinates, and managers have told me as much.
So, I got an email to come see the assistant HR manager Monday and she conducted a "phone" interview in her office. I dont really know her besides an occasional hello, as she has only been here a few months. I guess this is like a pre-screen for applicants, but since I work there, it was easier to do it in person. So, she asked me all the pre-screen questions, and typed into her computer, and I thought nothing of it. Seems like standard practice. She told me I would likely get an interview and that she would contact me over email when she sets the time. No problem.
Yesterday, she sends me an IM and lets me know the interview date and then follows that up with a schedule appointment over email. Again, sounds good. No problem.
Here is where the question comes in. I get to work this morning, and do my normal startup meeting where one of the union presidents says he saw my appointment for interview come up on his calendar. There are 3 unions here, and all of the union presidents get first crack at the applicants for management positions. Then he asks me if I know who the only other interviewee is? Of course, I don't. He then tells me that the assistant HR Manager is the other person interviewing for the position. Yeah, the one who just did my pre-screen for the same position. I tell him that, and his respone was "huh, conflict of interest, much?"
So tell me, is this normal? Is this something I should even be concerned about? Is it a conflict of interest? Does it violate ethics, somehow? This will play out, and I am really ok with not getting the position if I am not the best applicant, but this situation makes me feel uneasy. It just seems like this could have been handled differently.
Please come with any and all comments. Humor is just as good as any real help.
Basically, a new position opened up a couple months ago at my work, and after pondering things a bit, I decided to apply for the position. I was just promoted into my current title on June 1st after just 16 months with the company. My role didn't really change too much, but it did broaden my responsibility and accountability. I got a small raise, and a bump in pay level (The levels overlap monetarily, so going from 5 to 7 could result in NO raise, but they gave me a small bump). This was all due to restructuring of management.
The position I applied for is the same pay level, but it is a staff position and opens up my career path a little bit more. I think I have a pretty good reputation here and many peers, subordinates, and managers have told me as much.
So, I got an email to come see the assistant HR manager Monday and she conducted a "phone" interview in her office. I dont really know her besides an occasional hello, as she has only been here a few months. I guess this is like a pre-screen for applicants, but since I work there, it was easier to do it in person. So, she asked me all the pre-screen questions, and typed into her computer, and I thought nothing of it. Seems like standard practice. She told me I would likely get an interview and that she would contact me over email when she sets the time. No problem.
Yesterday, she sends me an IM and lets me know the interview date and then follows that up with a schedule appointment over email. Again, sounds good. No problem.
Here is where the question comes in. I get to work this morning, and do my normal startup meeting where one of the union presidents says he saw my appointment for interview come up on his calendar. There are 3 unions here, and all of the union presidents get first crack at the applicants for management positions. Then he asks me if I know who the only other interviewee is? Of course, I don't. He then tells me that the assistant HR Manager is the other person interviewing for the position. Yeah, the one who just did my pre-screen for the same position. I tell him that, and his respone was "huh, conflict of interest, much?"
So tell me, is this normal? Is this something I should even be concerned about? Is it a conflict of interest? Does it violate ethics, somehow? This will play out, and I am really ok with not getting the position if I am not the best applicant, but this situation makes me feel uneasy. It just seems like this could have been handled differently.
Please come with any and all comments. Humor is just as good as any real help.
