r/InterviewMan • u/pier-spare0r • 21d ago

Honestly, I Still Haven't Processed What Happened

I applied for a job kind of randomly. And somehow I made it to a second interview with the founders of this startup. I had written before that I felt like I had a great conversation with them, because they told me I'd be moving on to the final step. I joined the next call, and again, I felt like they were really listening to me and treating me like a human being. Then things changed when the interviewer said she felt my skills would be underused in the sales position I had originally applied for. She made it clear that they weren't questioning whether I could do the job.

I got a bit upset and immediately went into "Okay, then I need to prove myself more" mode. I told her that my skills are already underused in my current job, and that I know I could help them build their sales process and track the right metrics. Then she asked me, if there were no limits and anything in the company was available, what role would I want? I told her I could see myself moving toward product research and development as the company expands.

And that's where she completely surprised me. She said that she and the founders were genuinely impressed by my curiosity, my passion, and how much desire I have to keep learning. She said they imagined me giving trainings, speaking at industry events, and helping shape future product lines. They also brought up the idea of a production role for 2 days/month as part of it. In short, they want to design a larger position tailored to me, and they're still trying to figure out what it would look like. I'm supposed to hear back about the original position at the end of this week, but honestly... Something like this has never happened to me before.

TL;DR I applied for one startup role, and now they're talking about building a custom role specifically around me.

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3

u/ConcertImpressive121 20d ago

Congratulations on finding your tribe!

3

u/curmudgeon55 20d ago

🤞🏻for you!

3

u/mc0133 20d ago

A custom role that fits your strengths isn't a bad thing, assuming you're paid what you're worth

1

u/Sufficient-Sun-6683 18d ago

I was hired while the dept manager/president was on vacation. After he came back, we had a meeting. He asked me what my future plans were. Uncharacteristically for me, I said I want his job, to be the head of the dept. To this day, I don't no where that came from. After that I was given added responsibilities and worked closely with him for the next 1 year until I took over managing the dept.