But, vw, who says you didn't do very well in the interview? The existence of a candidate whose skills are better aligned than yours with the position doesn't negate that.

If all it took was an interview, I could skip all that effort on polishing resumes, much less filling them.

vw, I've gotta agree with ita that this conclusion:

Apparently, I've lost that gift.

Is not the only conclusion you could draw, and probably not apt.

Mostly, I am absolutely boggled that your old employer is trying to help you out. That's way above and beyond what anyone would expect, and it's huge good news. That is a much, much bigger stroke of good fortune than even a job offer.

I didn't feel like the interview went overly well, though. And it was so short, which was just so strange to me.

The existence of a candidate whose skills are better aligned than yours with the position doesn't negate that.

I'm actually worried that I'm going to have a difficult time finding the kind of job that I want, because really? I'm overqualified. That may have been the issue here.

Mostly, I am absolutely boggled that your old employer is trying to help you out. That's way above and beyond what anyone would expect, and it's huge good news. That is a much, much bigger stroke of good fortune than even a job offer.

I'm really boggled by it too. I really expected them to be all, "Sorry. Wish I could do something, but my hands are tied." And, in the short term it's probably better fortune than a job offer, but in the long term, I wish I didn't need the help. It's one thing for the money to be coming from an insurance company, but I actually feel really badly that I might have to take money that I didn't earn from my former company.

Vw, how do you keep finding my fucked-up mental junk mail? The only reason I know I couldn't have posted it is your name is on it. We both need to cut it out. 1. Maybe they already had somebody in mind and you blew them away, but they have an arrangement already. 2.The guy was good about correcting his mistake, and you do too deserve to keep your head above water until you are among the employed.(And I need to take my own hairpats, here.)

Maybe they already had somebody in mind and you blew them away, but they have an arrangement already

This would be my guess. The short interview seems to point to it.

I didn't feel like the interview went overly well, though. And it was so short, which was just so strange to me.

I'm still learning this myself, but no matter how wonderful you are, not everybody in the world will love/appreciate you. IF you didn't ace the interview (and it's an if, as everybody else said, there are many other factors), write it off to bad chemistry.

I once flunked an interview -- I could feel it going south. The friend who'd asked me to talk to the guy told me later that the guy'd disliked me from the moment I ordered a plain hamburger at a place that specialized in swiss-cheese-and-pineapple sort of burgers.

What-ever. I wasn't the right person for him, and vice versa.

We both need to cut it out.

K -erika. It's a deal. I will if you do :)

not everybody in the world will love/appreciate you.

So hard to believe sometimes...I mean, what's not to love?

So hard to believe sometimes...I mean, what's not to love?

*hug-bug*

how do you keep finding my fucked-up mental junk mail?

I adore you, erika--just flat out adore you.

vw, my first guess was what Scrappy suggested--that they already had someone in mind. It could also be that someone interviewed who'd done this exact job, or maybe someone who worked for them before took it. Real Estate offices, in my experience (I live next door to the Broker/Owner of the biggest non-Century 21 office in my town) are rife with nepotism.

I am sorry you didn't get the job. Maybe you'll be able to find something that doesn't suck up both days of your weekend.

Maybe they already had somebody in mind and you blew them away, but they have an arrangement already.

Yep. Depending on the organization, they may have been obliged to post the position and interview X number of candidates even if their decision was made. Twice I've been in interviews where they TOLD me I was great, but that the job was going to go to an internal candidate. Another time, I was the internal candidate.

And even if that wasn't what happened, not getting one job doesn't negate your interview skills. No one bats a thousand in job interviews indefinitely--the odds are just too stacked against you. If you suck because you didn't get one job, I might have to decide that I suck for not winning that writing contest or selling my first book, and I refuse to accept that. AFAIC, we're both brilliant.