I was applying for a position at a hospital that I was under qualified for. I am a social worker by trade and wanted to act as a member of support staff to other social workers at the hospital. I have a master's degree and several years of experience, but my last couple of jobs have been so stressful that I thought I might prefer something significantly less demanding, even if it paid less than what I was used to. The hospital has their hiring managed primarily by an outside HR firm, so I completed the necessary assessments and turned the work in. I quickly received an email that they were denying my application and would be looking at other candidates instead.
All this would have been fine, but I was contacted by a recruiter at the HR firm and offered an interview, not for a support position, but for a social worker position. I decided that I would give it a go, hear them out, and see what they had to offer. I met with a staff member of the hospital to complete the interview. I thought it went really well, manager was lovely, and I actually found myself excited about the position. We talked a lot about work/life balance and what I could expect from the job.
About 4 hours later, I received a rejection email from the HR firm. I am so frustrated. I am deep into my job hunt and have been looking for quite some time. Not only was I rejected for the original position I applied for, but also for the one that THEY requested I interview for. I guess I should be thankful that they let me know I did not get it, but still. I can't help but feel that I was rejected because I set my work/life boundaries early on.