I recently interviewed for a medical office administrator position, and the entire experience left me confused and honestly pretty upset.
At the interview, I barely got past introducing myself before the manager let’s call her Samantha started explaining the position and asked me to come in for training that same week on Thursday and Friday, as well as the following Thursday and Friday. Samantha specifically told me to bring my direct deposit information because the training would be paid.
By that Friday, however, the plan changed. I was told I would actually be training for the entire following week instead of only Thursday and Friday.
The employee assigned to train me let’s call her Veronica seemed unfriendly toward me from the moment she saw me on Day 1. She looked me up and down, appeared visibly displeased, and immediately asked to be excused because she had a phone call to make. For the rest of the first day, she wasn’t particularly friendly, but she was at least professional enough that I brushed it off.
By Day 2, her behaviour became noticeably more passive-aggressive. While I was drafting an email, she immediately pointed out a misspelled word before I had even finished typing. Ironically, on Day 3, she struggled with spelling herself and laughed it off by saying it was because she hadn’t gotten enough sleep.
There were also several comments throughout my training that felt unnecessarily condescending. For example, when I successfully uploaded information and booked a patient, she responded with something along the lines of, “Of course you were able to do that that’s just common sense.”
At one point, I politely asked if it was okay to excuse myself to use the washroom, and she responded, “We’re not in school. You can go use it.”
Another time, my computer wasn’t working. She told me to check the cable underneath the desk. When I eventually found the issue, she made a comment along the lines of, “There must be something in the air today. That’s why you couldn’t find it.”
When I asked her a question another time, she responded in a rude tone, “I need you to speak up. I can’t hear you.” There were also moments where I noticed her looking me up and down. On one occasion, she looked at me and then immediately looked at herself in the window reflection and started fixing her appearance.
Despite all of this, by Wednesday through Friday of my second week, I was performing the tasks independently without needing her input. I felt that I had adapted extremely well to the workflow. I completed everything assigned to me, worked ahead on tasks for the following week, and finalized approximately 159 scans for her.
This is why what happened on Friday was so confusing.
During my original interview, Samantha had told me that after the training period, if I liked the position, I could let them know and we would move forward with the employment contract. Because I live approximately two hours away, I had also been spending a significant amount of money on gas commuting there for training.
On Friday morning, I approached Samantha and politely asked what was happening with the contract process because, based on our original conversation, we were supposed to discuss it that day.
Her reaction immediately felt different. She looked visibly displeased and told me that she needed to speak with Veronica first before she could give me an answer.
Veronica’s desk was located close to Samantha’s office, and when I walked past her afterward, she made a facial expression toward me.
What stood out to me even more was Veronica’s behaviour that day. She was suddenly much happier and friendlier with everyone else. She wasn’t displaying the same passive-aggressive attitude I had experienced throughout my training. That was when I started questioning whether this was actually just her personality or whether her behaviour had specifically been directed toward me.
Before I left, Veronica looked directly at me and, in a very flat tone, said, “Bye, Mel,” before telling me to speak to Samantha before leaving.
When I went back to Samantha, she told me that I was “not qualified” for the position and that I was “not a fit.”
I was shocked because, for the previous three days, I had been performing the work independently. I had completed all of the tasks required of me, worked ahead on tasks for the following week, and completed 159 scans. I wasn’t given any indication during those days that my performance was inadequate or that there were serious concerns about my ability to do the job.
I walked out of the office feeling extremely disappointed. Veronica was sitting with two of the other senior employees. None of them acknowledged me or said goodbye as I walked out.
I’m having a hard time understanding how I went from being asked to complete an extended period of paid training, successfully performing the job independently and even working ahead, to suddenly being told I was “not qualified” immediately after the manager said she needed to speak with the person who had been training me.
I completely understand that an employer can decide someone isn’t the right fit. What bothers me is the way everything unfolded and the fact that the final decision doesn’t seem consistent with the feedback or lack of negative feedback I received while actually doing the work.
