last day (15 days later) » 

08:34
60
Q: Employer might be giving me a job offer by mistake

Jamie FI'm in a somewhat unusual situation, and not sure what I should do. Last week, I had an interview for a mid/upper-level manager. I'm very unqualified for this position (I don't have any management experience, I haven't been in the industry all that long, etc), but I somehow managed to get an in...

@TymoteuszPaul OP does not KNOW that the contract is not for him. If the contract is in his name, then the contract is indeed for him (or at least that's a question for Law SE and probably we're not qualified to answer it). He has a strong INDICATION that the contract is PROBABLY not for him, but he does not know that for sure.
@Ertai87 Yea... No. Lie by omission is a thing, and if you will allow those people to think that you are on board of a charity (example of something that's not subjective of the list that OP mentions, as a level of background or ability to motivate people is subjective) is a very likely deception. I know, I know, screw the big companies, but don't use that as an excuse to feed OP information that it's above board to continue on this path.
Another possibility- are you certain this is not a scam? As in are you certain this is a legitimate company, that you had previously known about and/or has a verifiable reputation within your field? Note that even a website could be a fake. We had a question on here a couple weeks ago about someone offered a longshoreman job that was a scam, they had a fancy looking website and all. .
How about the fact that you taking this offer means that the proper recipient won't get the job they deserve? They may need this more than you do.
Are you're quite sure you're not just suffering from imposter syndrome?
08:34
They liked OP so much that they corrected OP several times and cut the interview off early.
@Voo He got invited to the interview. So he can't be that far off.
Voo
Voo
@dan Good point, for me this sounded more like a company that doesn't do several interview rounds. I agree if this was the last round of several interviews this would be very different. In the smaller companies I've worked for we didn't have pre-screening interviews we just checked the CV to see if it was semi-applicable and then invited the people (here good CS people are incredibly sought after, so it's not like we ever had a giant pool of applicants we had to whittle down).. CVs don't really tell you much.
@Ertai87 There was no contract; just a job offer. They are very different things.
Even if we set aside all the questions about fraud and ethics, odds are very good that they will realize their mistake soon after you begin. Likely as soon as you walk in the front door and they realize you're not the candidate they thought they were extending an offer to (they did interview the guy, just like they did you, so they know what his face looks like.). Even if you don't get sued and nothing else bad happens, you'll almost certainly be terminated before you ever see your first paycheck, so why bother wasting your time?
08:34
It sounds strange to summarize the positive points of an interview, there is something fishy.
d-b
d-b
Go for it and quit after a month saying the job was not at all as they described it to you. That way it looks like you committed a mistake, not them.
Are you sure it is a legitimate company? After all if everything is remote, too good to be true, etc etc. They just need your personal information to finalize the contract and verify your employment eligibility. I agree getting 'mixed up' is more likely, but still...
With regards to the signing bonus, most companies include a repayment agreement clause that goes something like "This payment shall not be considered earned until you have completed x months of active employment with the company. If your employment is terminated for cause or voluntarily within that time, you will repay the bonus." So if you start the job and quickly discover you're not capable, you likely won't keep the bonus. Just something to be aware of if it's the thought of the signing bonus windfall that's most tempting about accepting.
if you take the job you will actually have to do the job, including being responsible for staff and being accountable to senior management. As you have said you arent suited for the job your employees and managers will very quickly pick up on that and you will probably get a really hard time from both sides. How long do you think that could last? What do you think would happen when after the first week or two you arent getting your work done and employees arent listening to you or respecting you? If its just about getting the signing bonus before anyone notices that seems a very dangerous game
 
8 hours later…
16:44
Are you sure you've never been on the board of a charity? Many things most people think are "clubs" are in fact public charities.

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