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We had a managers job open in my department for someone retiring at the end of the year. Several external and internal candidates had applied and interviewed before I submitted my resume. I was given an internal interview with the supervising VP, but no clear indication on when they would hire to fill the position. A week after my interview I was asked to participate in an interview for another internal candidate from a different department.

What should I read into that request?

Was mine just a courtesy interview to get a pulse of the department?

How should I proceed with the other candidates interview?

Should I touch bases with the VP on my status as a viable candidate?

Paul
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    This is not a full answer in the least, only a potential speculation, but inviting you into an interview could be a potential part of your own interview. That is, interview is a managerial type duty, and you applied for a manager position, so someone on the decision team may have requested you to do an interview to see how you handle yourself. It is not far fetched, it is something I have seen done more than once. Doing it for the positions that you actually applied for is slightly odd, but I have seen stranger things. – dlb Sep 14 '18 at 19:42
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    We can only speculate here. Maybe it was just courtesy, maybe you "failed" the interview, maybe they just want to interview more people before making a decision, maybe the VP was replaced by a doppelganger, etc. What do you mean "how should I proceed"? Just interview them as normal? If you feel you can't do that, recuse yourself. Your last question is pretty similar to How do I properly follow-up with a hiring manager, to check on the status of a position? Also, it's preferred that people stick to asking one question at a time. – Bernhard Barker Sep 14 '18 at 20:09
  • Depending on who asked you to conduct the interview, you might want to make it clear to them that you were also interviewed, in case that information never reached them. – Bernhard Barker Sep 14 '18 at 21:41
  • This is a case where I'm really waiting for another question to appear. "I'm applying for an internal job in my company, but one of the interviewers is a person who I know also applied for the job. What should I do?" – gnasher729 Sep 15 '18 at 11:02

4 Answers4

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You should assume that they haven't made a decision yet and are still interviewing people. You cannot know if your interview was just for courtesy or if you are still being considered. You should proceed with the other interview as if you were not applying for the position - be courteous, professional, etc.

You MAY want to remind someone (potentially the VP) that you have also applied and interviewed for the job, and want to make sure that no one would view you being part of the interview process as a conflict of interests. Be careful with how that is worded, you don't want to come off sounding like you intend to cause problems in someone's interview.

DragonYen
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    Yes, it could be viewed as a clear conflict of interest so it's a good idea to clarify that with someone. – Kilisi Sep 14 '18 at 18:11
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A week after my interview I was asked to participate in an interview for another internal candidate from a different department.

What should I read into that request?

My guess is that it means you are no longer in the running. It would be very odd to have someone interview a competitor. But you can't know unless you ask - some companies have very odd (and sometimes competitive) interviewing processes.

Was mine just a courtesy interview to get a pulse of the department?

Probably not. There are far more effective ways to get a pulse of the department. It's unclear what kind of "pulse" this could provide.

How should I proceed with the other candidates interview?

You should interview the candidate just as you would in any other situation. Dig deep. Be prepared to give your honest assessment. Pretend like you never had any connection to the position.

Should I touch bases with the VP on my status as a viable candidate?

You definitely should do that before the other candidate's interview.

Joe Strazzere
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You actually can't interview other candidates since that would be a conflict of interest. Just decline and explain that you shouldn't be in a position to give people a hard or unfair interview.

What it means is that your management isn't very thorough.

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What should I read into that request? Was mine just a courtesy interview to get a pulse of the department? How should I proceed with the other candidates interview?

I wouldn't read anything into this request right now without more information. It's possible that the interview panel was set up by someone other that the VP and didn't realize you also applied for the role.

Should I touch bases with the VP on my status as a viable candidate?

Definitely. I would reach out to the VP to restate your interest in interviewing for the position and inquire about the status of your candidacy.

jcmack
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