In September, I interviewed for what I thought was an amazing job. It was for the public information officer position in my hometown of Hoboken. I met with our interim mayor at the last-minute, over a holiday weekend, and thought it went fabulously. She took my portfolio and asked for my references.
She said the position needed to be filled immediately, but weeks went by and there was no follow-up. When I checked in, I was told interviews were still being conducted. I was cool with that. The job market has changed drastically and it’s not the same finding a gig today as it used to be. Whereas two years ago, you may have gone on one or two interviews within two weeks, these days, you may go through three to five over a two month period.
As the weeks progressed, I heard nothing. Ok, I thought, maybe the position was on hold while she was running for permanent office; maybe it was canceled due to lack of funding; or perhaps it was filled internally. Whatever the case, it would have been nice to have received a follow-up, but better yet, to have gotten my work back.
I called and emailed the mayor’s office for weeks with no response. The mayor had given me her personal email but my attempts proved unsuccessful. I left messages with people in her office who promised they would relay my concern about my portfolio but still no movement. I reached out to the mayor’s aide who at one point said he’d get me my stuff by the end of the week, only to be forgotten about.
HELP! My press portfolio is being hijacked in city hall! Ok, I am being a bit dramatic here, but seriously, I brought great samples of my work to this interview because it was something I wanted; I truly wanted to impress. In this economy, it’s sin that anyone would ignore repeated attempts to get someone’s work back. Being too busy is not an acceptable reason. I’m a resident (an unemployed one at that!) of your community; please, show me a little respect!
I shouldn’t have to write a blog to get my work back, but maybe it will work.
It's a Jersey Thing 
You’d think people in respected offices would have more respect for people’s property
Ugghh! This is terrible! I hope you get your goods back soon
horrific. so sorry this is happening. it would be nice if – at the end of the day – those offending humans would remember what it was like ‘before’ and toss a little human kindness and respect your way. i would call every day until it’s returned. hmmpf snort and foot stomp.
Now you know why people say, “you can’t fight city hall.” Good Luck!
Maybe I’m in a different biz but if I brought a sample of work or a resume to an interview I wouldn’t expect it back.
Was there a clear understanding from the start that these samples were to be returned after a given time?
Oh yes. During my interview, after the mayor asked to take my work to show her council members, she said she would make sure to get them back to me and we agreed that I would get them back either by me picking them up since I lived in town or figure out another way. While some of the work can be reproduced, not all can and when you are interviewing for jobs, you need all your best samples. You should be able to trust your mayor. And if they lost the work, I would appreciate being told instead of being insulted every time I called and keep being ignored. If we decided that she could keep the work, I wouldn’t care, in this case, but we didn’t.
Hi,
Saw your posting in the Hudson Reporter and wanted to let you know that I highly agree with you. It is beyond wrong of them to promise to return your work, which I assume you can not replace, and not even show you the respect you deserve a phone call or email at least.
Little things like this make me wish I voted for Beth Mason instead!
Best of luck in your job search!
Did you ever get your work back? If not – please email me at hoboken411@gmail.com