Monday, May 30, 2016

MIT Lincoln Lab

I applied many, many times for various designer/artist jobs they routinely advertised over the years. In July 2013 I received an email from their HR rep to actually schedule an interview. To say I was over the moon with joy would be an understatement. But, imagine my shock and disappointment when several days before the interview she emails me this little note: “The needs of the department have changed and we will not be scheduling an interview at this time.” What a rotten thing to do! In addition to just being mean, it makes them look fairly incompetent as well. But I continued to apply every time they posted a design job.

Finally, in March 2014 I got a “real” interview that they did NOT eventually cancel. This interview went as flawlessly as any interview could have gone (lasting nearly two hours). But, at the end, the hiring manager let this little tidbit of info slip when I asked when they planned to make a decision: “We’re only interviewing a few more people, one is an internal candidate..."

Internal candidate. Well, that ends that (because when does the internal candidate not get the job?). Sure enough, I got the rejection email a month later.

Then, in June, they posted an identical job via a recruiting agency. You can still see this for yourself right here.



I count no less than 53 bullet points (I’ve got all 53 qualifications, but does that matter? Of course not!). Oh, and they are demanding you take a little “design test” as well, which you are supposed to do completely on the blind with no opportunity to ask questions (which are always essential in order for any design project to be successfully completed).

But the hilarity doesn’t end there. They re-posted this job on LinkedIn just a month later. According to the LinkedIn “statistic” (now gone), they received over 50 applicants. So, out of 50+ people, they still can’t find even one qualified candidate? Maybe this job needs more bullet points, because clearly 53 ain’t enough!

If this is not the finest example of “pathetic” then I don’t know what is.

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