I got a job different from what I applied for

Moses Ssesanga

Dear Moses,

 I turned up for the interview for a job that had been advertised. I was later called up for the job. However, as I was being introduced to my now new colleagues, I noticed that the title they kept mentioning wasn’t what I applied or interviewed for. I don’t really understand how I applied for one thing and then got hired for something different. I feel betrayed already.  Leon.

Dear Leon,

Your issue needed more clarity. First of all, what was the letter offering you employment stating as your job title? This is because by the time you are introduced to your co-workers, it’s generally assumed that your induction has included a brief by the recruiting manager on what you have been employed to do in the company and what you should expect by way of work, remuneration, etc. Under normal circumstances, you would have already met your supervisor and he/she would have taken you through your job description.  This is the proper induction process new hires in companies usually undergo.

Assuming the above was done then, the fact that your co-workers kept referring to you by another job title may point to the possibility that when the position you applied for became vacant, a job review was done and the role changed. The changes in role may have necessitated a change in the job title to reflect the now changed responsibilities you were resourced to perform. It’s hence highly probable that the colleagues you mentioned as being introduced to may not have been privy to the new changes in the role you now occupy, hence their constant reference to the old job title they knew.

My advice is that instead of feeling betrayed and grieved, you should engage your recruiting manager or your supervisor and politely inquire why your colleagues keep referring to you by another job title. Your being new in the company makes everyone to perceive your inquisitiveness as healthy for someone seeking to get to know as much as possible about the company to settle into their role and, they would readily help.

Moses Ssesanga,

Head of Human Resource,

NMG Uganda