I was actually told why I didn't get the job.

So I had to vent about this.. I had applied for an Executive Director position at a non-profit. It was a great and different opportunity, honestly. I did two remote interviews and they went well, and then they called me to come in for a final interview which was a presentation. Normally, I don't do that, but one of their main pillars was disability, and I can do a presentation on disability without any effort, so I thought, why not.

So I went and did the presentation... and we had a really great time. Everyone was smiling and engaged. I thought I had definitely secured the offer. So I was very surprised a few days later when I found out I didn't get the job. But I thought maybe that's just how the place is, maybe they had an internal candidate who was going to get it anyway, so I let it go and moved on.

So, fast forward about a month, and I see the job is still posted on LinkedIn. I contacted the person I was in touch with and told her... "Hey, if the person you sent the offer to rejected it, I'm still interested." She told me they were continuing to see other candidates. So I figured I had to ask... Everything had been going so well... Was there a reason I wasn't accepted or something I could have done better?

And the shock was that she replied... First, as part of the presentation, they wanted a budget for the speaking series I proposed. I said in my presentation that the good news is, since we have the facilities, we wouldn't need a budget at all. We could do it for free, and I might even be able to find sponsors to pay us for their participation. But because I didn't set a budget... apparently, that really bothered them.

The second criticism was that even though disability is one of their 4 pillars, they have a classification between service and Justice? And they wanted this speaking series to focus more on Justice? I was never told this. I don't work there, how would I know? And this wasn't even a requirement; I was just proving I could create a concept.

Sorry for venting. But seriously, guys. They expect you to read their minds and, apparently, you also have to cost them money even if you can save it.