Job Discussion Forums

charisma_classic · Joined: 09 Dec 2009 Posts: 14 Location: Indianapolis

Hello,

My husband was informed on Wednesday that he would be receiving a formal offer letter from HCT via courier. It has not yet arrived. Tonight, he received an e-mail stating that the offer letter has been withdrawn.

He has responded to the e-mail and had tried calling - had to leave voice mail. He is/was supposed to start on the 1st of February and we have been making many arrangements for the move.

Is this common? The e-mail was clearly a form letter with his information and the location of the school and the position in bold, and the date of the offer letter in italics. We are obviously very upset, but want to make sure whether they are withdrawing the offer as a whole or just that version of the letter. We're very surprised, since it is for a supervisory position that the predecessor is leaving in the middle of next month.

Does anyone have any idea or experience with this?

secretsquirrel · Posted: Mon Jan 18, 2010 8:15 am Post subject:

This sounds like a common feature of HTC's recruitment process - they change their mind at the most awkward of moments. I feel really sorry for you. It shows their contempt for the staff they employ (or don't employ).

A colleague of mine was given approval after an interview and told that he would be officially recruited as soon as a suitable vacancy arose. Well, he's still waiting (since 2007), so the vacancy list must be getting shorter!

Don't worry, there's better available in the UAE.

Sheikh N Bake · Joined: 26 Apr 2007 Posts: 1307 Location: Dis ting of ours

They certainly don't give a hang about anyone who is not a crony of those employees with some power.

It looks to me that most likely one of two things could have happened.

(1) At the last moment they found something they didn't like on your husband, such as a blog entry, a CV error or some kind of negative comment by someone else that popped up. That's all it takes.

(2) A crony suddenly appeared out of left field and unexpectedly grabbed the job.

charisma_classic · Joined: 09 Dec 2009 Posts: 14 Location: Indianapolis

Thanks for the responses. We still can't figure out what it could be. There's no blog to find, nothing in his past for security to trip on. It's a very specialized position, but perhaps someone else from inside could have snagged it. I guess we'll never know.

We're just stunned that after all the hours of corresponding with everyone, it comes down to a form letter and that no one will respond to a call or e-mail. We obviously had put a lot of effort into this move. It's all very heartless, to toy with people's lives like this, and disheartening to us, as we were looking forward to a new adventure in our lives.

I guess we're just lucky that he hadn't given notice yet at his current job. I can't even imagine what it would have been like if they had done this a week from now. Of course, this still leaves him unemployed at the end of that contract, but at least we haven't sold our cars and sent our furniture halfway around the world...

veiledsentiments · Joined: 20 Feb 2003 Posts: 17644 Location: USA

This doesn't happen often, but it has happened over the years, and it isn't just HCT. You rarely find out why. I recall one fellow a few years back that was literally just going out the door to the airport. That one was a security issue - and failing their security check can be very similar to the US no-fly list. And you know how that one goes. Rolling Eyes

Sorry for the snafu...

charisma_classic · Joined: 09 Dec 2009 Posts: 14 Location: Indianapolis

Thanks, VS - so are we. It just amazes me that after all the time, effort and finances we've put into planning the move, and the time they have invested as well, they would just drop the offer like that. Apparently we can't even expect a response from them, much less an explanation.

Sheikh N Bake · Joined: 26 Apr 2007 Posts: 1307 Location: Dis ting of ours

I'll stand by my possible scenarios. Every seasoned professional thinks his/her completed application is impeccable and irreproachable. It may be, in our eyes, but one never knows what some college in the Middle East is thinking. Last year I missed out on my first application, a job I had actually held 15-16 years ago. They had assured me on the phone they would take me. Then weeks later they said unfortunately they'd found a negative item about me and couldn't extend the offer. I discovered what it was after examining my CV. There wasn't anything wrong with the resume per se...except that my published column was listed under publications. Fine, so far so good--the column topics are US-oriented. Until...I looked them over and realized that a certain passage in one of them makes fun of the country I was applying to. And this is not a country that appreciates freedom of expression when the barbs fly their way. Those things hae a way of working out, though. I have a much better job now than that first one would have been.

charisma_classic · Joined: 09 Dec 2009 Posts: 14 Location: Indianapolis

Oh my! I am certain it wasn't quite that. He has no publications list on the resume, no blog, and we'd already run into a "resume researching issue" a month ago that we had cleared up with them (a gap during which he was freelancing, which was listed but grouped in with a longer period of freelancing - he isn't a teacher per se). Of course, some new person may have found something else they didn't like, or found that same thing but not known it had been resolved... blech. The whole thing has left a terribly bad taste in our mouths. I am just trying to be thankful that we weren't sending the container off until next weekend, and hopeful that some other (more trustworthy) opportunity will materialize in the next few months.

justDeserts · Joined: 08 Jan 2010 Posts: 12

So sorry to hear about this turn of events! As someone in the interview process this makes me nervous about the reliability of any offers that do arise for us...

Best wishes, hope you find a better position!

uaeobserver · Joined: 05 Feb 2007 Posts: 236

The formal letter needs to be signed by a senior member of management.

Chances are, the senior member for some arbitrary reason - didn't like what he saw --- and decided you're haram.

Veterans of HCT have seen some bizarre behavior like this before. It doesn't always have logic behind it --- it just is. It could have been a simple case of low blood sugar. It could also be that a decision maker had an experienced waste management friend who wanted your slot. (a not unheard of situation with the supervisor level).

Unfortunately - once the senior member makes up his mind - things rarely change.

Now you know what you're missing out on!

charisma_classic · Joined: 09 Dec 2009 Posts: 14 Location: Indianapolis

Well, we did get the lovely (and now pointless) official offer package via FedEx this morning, drafted January 12. The documents were all signed by the Vice Chancellor.

My husband was in contact with the current position holder. The gentleman was surprised, too, as he hadn't heard anything, and was still planning to coordinate training with my husband. He told us the same thing as I'm hearing here - it's surprising, but not that surprising.

JustDeserts, we feel the same way about any future opportunities...

veiledsentiments · Joined: 20 Feb 2003 Posts: 17644 Location: USA

scrog_420 · Joined: 21 Dec 2009 Posts: 47 Location: State of Jefferson

This is disgraceful. Just because it happens to others sometimes is no excuse. For all they know you and your husband have quit your jobs, sold your car, sold you house and put all your things in storage. I doubt very much you will ever find out what happened, but you should let them know on no uncertain times what you think of the way you have been treated. I would send a scathing letter to everyone from Sheikh Nahyan to the vice chancellor to whomever else you may have dealt with.

helenl · Joined: 04 Jan 2006 Posts: 1202

And even if you had arrived in UAE, the job would still have been conditional on passing the medical and in country fingerprinting stage. I know someone who broke ribs long ago and some sort of "scar" shows up on their chest x-ray (which the xray tecch took to be TB)- they were rejected initially but were allowed to repeat the process 2 more times.

So even if you get this far, you're still not home free (the letter of offer is always conditional on your being given a visa (for which the above procedures are required), which is Government not HCT.

charisma_classic · Joined: 09 Dec 2009 Posts: 14 Location: Indianapolis

Thank you again for all of your responses. We actually just got a call from human resources at HCT. We were surprised but very relieved to hear from them. It was not security clearance or any problem with his CV. The position he was offered has been eliminated for the time being due to budgetary issues.

We parted on good terms, hopefully leaving the door open for future opportunities. However, we are concerned about considering a future offer from them, since this was a fairly high-ranking and stand-alone position requiring unique qualifications. We are very surprised to see them eliminate it since it seemed to be a backbone of a major training program at the college.

This is one time in the process that their slow pace was actually beneficial. We hadn't given notices at our current positions, sold our home or cars, or made any major financial investments in the move. We've only lost a few months, a few hundred dollars and lots of sleep.

Thanks again, and good luck to everyone.

~ Charisma