Remove if not allowed. Long post warning.
I’d like to have some opinions on my current situation but first some background information. I am a seasoned automotive technician, I have 17 years of experience in some sort of automotive environment most of which I was turning wrenches. I am a prior service having served in the military through two different wars. I have had many ups and downs when it comes to jobs after my military service but recently I found a job that I can honestly say I enjoy. Due to some medical issues associated with my military service, turning wrenches is out of the window. In my currently occupied position, I am an independent contractor who conducts warranty inspections for mechanical failures on different makes and models of vehicles. The pay is acceptable as I am paid per inspection and I average 15-20 inspections a week and I'm able to work as much or little as I want without any issues. However, when it comes to getting paid, it can be very sporadic. Sometimes it can go weeks at a time before I see a deposit. There isn’t much I can do in this department since I'm not considered an employee. I have reached out to my “supervisor”, which he isn’t, but we’ll call him that for now, in regards to the pay issue. The pay issues aren’t much of a concern to me since any payment from this job is extra for savings and goes directly into that account, but I would like to see more payments more often.
Recently this company opened up a “Full Time” position, meaning, I’d be an employee of this company and have regular paydays. Cool, so I apply. I reach out to my current “supervisor” and let him know, and he does me a solid and alerts the hiring manager I applied to the position. Yesterday I’m contacted by the hiring manager and had a brief discussion about the position and to set up and Zoom interview for today. Zoom time comes and I’m ready, I interview to the best of my ability while being as professional and in-depth as possible. I believe the interview went well and that was the end until it wasn’t. Approximately an hour and a half later my “supervisor” calls me with a question. He tells me he spoke with the hiring manager and I mentioned something during the interview that was concerning. The hiring manager told him that I said, “I enjoy the job because I can work as much as I want and I can push-off jobs”. He asks me, “what do you mean push-off jobs?” I told him, “ I think there was a little misunderstanding, what I mean is, when I have my schedule set for a day and I’m called later in the day about another job I can push it for tomorrow. So that job would end up being my first job for the following day”. He says, “I figured that’s what you meant because I looked back at your previous jobs and you always complete them within the 24-hour window.” We end the call and afterward it got me thinking, why didn’t the hiring manager just ask for clarification during the interview? It would have eliminated any type of negative speculation. I’ve conducted interviews before and I sure would have asked for clarification if I was confused or needed more information. The more I have thought about the situation, the more pissed off I get.
So I'd like to know what everyone here thinks, am I overreacting to the situation, or is my anger about how all of this played out justified? I honestly feel like this individual was trying to screw me over, because, why not ask me to clarify during the interview? Why get someone else involved who didn’t necessarily need to be involved? Also, moving forward, how would you approach the situation with the “supervisor” and potentially the hiring manager when or if he calls about the position?
Thank you for reading.