I just got an email a few minutes ago from Black & Veatch, one of the biggest rivals of the firm I work for. I interviewed with them in mid February, but decided Burns & McDonnell was a better fit for me. The email I received reads as follows:

Dear William Nichols

Thank you for your interest in the Electrical Engineer 1 position at Black & Veatch.

Careful consideration is given to all candidates as decisions are made. After further review, we have identified others that are a better fit for this position.

There are many different job opportunities available at Black & Veatch. Our corporate website, http:\\www.bv.com , is updated daily with current job opportunities. Please feel free to apply to any jobs that meet your qualifications.

We are truly pleased that you have considered pursuing a career with Black & Veatch and wish you the best in your search for a new opportunity.

Sincerely,
Staffing
Black & Veatch

Worth mentioning is that the email is sent from an address I cannot reply to, and no contact information at all is provided.

To be honest, it wasn’t hard for me to decide to work for Burns & McDonnell rather than Black & Veatch. Besides their interview process leaving me uneasy (one of the interviewers was borderline hostle over an arguably irrelavent question I didn’t answer to his satisfaction), Black & Veatch has a bad reputation for hiring on staff for a big project and then laying them off when the project is over. It might be good business, but that’s not being a good employer. The email they sent me today makes me feel that much more confident that I made the right decision to look for employment elsewhere. If it takes them nine months to get back to someone about an interview (putting GE’s interview response time of a mere three months to shame), imagine how long it takes to get an expense report reimbursement. In this case, I think they would have been better off never sending a response to me at all. Before today I just thought they were rude; now I think they’re incompetent as well.