Strange Request

brainiac

Hi all,

So, bit of a strange predicament that I hope someone might have an opinion on. Basically, I was offered two retail position today. One came by email this morning which I essentially accepted but said I would have to get back to them about start dates and such as I wasn't sure yet when I could be available.

Then I got a phone call this afternoon of another position which I did accept. This one is a temporary position which suits me better at the time being as I will be undertaking an internship from February to September.

After this, I sent a formal letter of rejection to the hiring manager from company 1. In this letter I stated that I had taken another temporary position as it suited me better due to the reason above regarding the internship, but I may be interested in a role with the company in the future when I am finished my internship.

Now, I received the following reply this evening from company 1:

Company 1 wrote:

Thanks for letting me know.

If you don't mind me asking what position have you accepted and who will you be doing the internship with?

Now, obviously he has no right to this information. I'm just wondering if anyone has any idea what his angle on this is? Is this for some sort of record of his for if I do apply to the company again down the line? Or is he trying to blacken my name with the two companies? Or could this be just genuine curiosity? Unsure at the moment whether to just ignore, ask the motive or what.

Any help much appreciated!

-brainiac-

moc moc a moc

His motive is irrelevant to you. Ignore and move on.

uck51js9zml2yt

His question isn't relevant.
What I can't figure is why you would turn down a permanent job for an internship. Is it in a different fields? is it paid?

brainiac

Vaughn Whispering Backpack wrote: »

His question isn't relevant.
What I can't figure is why you would turn down a permanent job for an internship. Is it in a different fields? is it paid?

I agree, just can't see his angle on it.

Let me clarify that, this is only a retail position. I am undertaking a Computer Science Degree, have a fully paid full time industrial internship from February 1st. Retailing is merely the area I have been in thus far in my career and I still need a job to get me through to the end of 4th year financially. Hence taking the temp job, up to the internship and then need a new role for 4th year in Uni.

RedXIV

moc moc a moc wrote: »

His motive is irrelevant to you. Ignore and move on.

Manners cost nothing. And if the OP is hoping to get a job there later, it would be in his favour to keep up a positive rapport with the company. If it was me, I'd be honest.

In saying that, I would echo another poster and say is there a reason you are skipping a permanent job?

Gone West

brainiac wrote: »

I agree, just can't see his angle on it.

Let me clarify that, this is only a retail position. I am undertaking a Computer Science Degree, have a fully paid full time industrial internship from February 1st. Retailing is merely the area I have been in thus far in my career and I still need a job to get me through to the end of 4th year financially. Hence taking the temp job, up to the internship and then need a new role for 4th year in Uni.

All technical internships like this should be paid. Good on ya!
Drop that retail job and enjoy your new internship role, sounds like a much better prospect.
There's no such thing as a permanent job anymore. Retail jobs are worth nothing, for the most part, and 99% of people in retail are not picking up marketable skills. Your tech internship (paid), is the equivalent of a grad role.

In the tech industry it's pretty common to be asked details of where you are going and where you came from. Normally if the person doesn't want to give too much away, you'd just say something like "a startup in the docklands" or "a multinational tech company in citywest".

moc moc a moc

RedXIV wrote: »

Manners cost nothing. And if the OP is hoping to get a job there later, it would be in his favour to keep up a positive rapport with the company. If it was me, I'd be honest.

I'd argue that it's highly unlikely that responding to this query will benefit OP, but could potentially harm him/her if the guy asking has an ulterior malevolent motive. Either way, the question is a little nosey.

Ignoring the question is not being dishonest; it's being prudent.

RedXIV

moc moc a moc wrote: »

I'd argue that it's highly unlikely that responding to this query will benefit OP, but could potentially harm him/her if the guy asking has an ulterior malevolent motive. Either way, it's a little nosey.

Ignoring the question is not being dishonest; it's being prudent.

With the extra information on the second post I'd be far more inclined to agree.

brainiac

Fuzzy wrote: »

All technical internships like this should be paid. Good on ya!
Drop that retail job and enjoy your new internship role, sounds like a much better prospect.
There's no such thing as a permanent job anymore. Retail jobs are worth nothing, for the most part.

In the tech industry it's pretty common to be asked details of where you are going and where you came from. Normally if the person doesn't want to give too much away, you'd just say something like "a startup in the docklands" or "a multinational tech company in citywest".

Thanks for the response but I think you've misunderstood me a bit. The internship is completely separate to the issue and is already sorted.

This retail role that I did take is just a temp Christmas position for some cash. I turned down a permanent part time role in another retail role (which I would have left in February). But the manager from that second retail role is asking details of my internship AND the temporary company I accepted. That's the strange bit.

brainiac

Fuzzy wrote: »

All technical internships like this should be paid. Good on ya!
Drop that retail job and enjoy your new internship role, sounds like a much better prospect.
There's no such thing as a permanent job anymore. Retail jobs are worth nothing, for the most part, and 99% of people in retail are not picking up marketable skills. Your tech internship (paid), is the equivalent of a grad role.

In the tech industry it's pretty common to be asked details of where you are going and where you came from. Normally if the person doesn't want to give too much away, you'd just say something like "a startup in the docklands" or "a multinational tech company in citywest".

moc moc a moc wrote: »

I'd argue that it's highly unlikely that responding to this query will benefit OP, but could potentially harm him/her if the guy asking has an ulterior malevolent motive. Either way, the question is a little nosey.

Ignoring the question is not being dishonest; it's being prudent.

Great, thanks for that guys, would you personally be bothered asking why he wants to know? Especially if it's a company you may want to spend a year working with to keep the bills up.

Richie71

I would hazard a guess and say either
1. He has to fill out a form to explain to his boss why a potential employee decided to go elsewhere; or
2. He was under the impression that you wanted a career in retail but chose somebody else for better pay etc. He may have been in a position to improve your contract or terms of employment but would have had to verify what you're saying is true.

Either way, I wouldn't bother replying to him just in case there was something more sinister. He should have just came out and asked a reason why you turned them down. If you ever wanted to apply there again, I'd be guess his e-mail isn't kept on a file so it wouldn't be an issue.

my3cents

If its an agency the guys just on a fishing trip, he wants you to tell him information about who has hired you so he can bother them and see if they want anyone else. Same with the internship any small bit of information might give him one up on another agency or a leg up in getting a contact to place someone.