Unprofessional much?

On my cellphone's voicemail:

Ms. Rowan, this is So-and-So from Place to be Unnamed. I'm going to have to cancel our appointment tomorrow at 3 [this was a job interview]. We had a couple of strong candidates today [the first day of interviews] and so we've decided to go ahead and take them through second interviews and cancel the rest. We will call you though, if these don't work out and we decide to go back to the first round of interviews.

I won't repeat what I said when I heard it, although I think the situation definitely called for an expletive. Okay, maybe this is how they do things in the podunk little town they're from (it was an institution in rural Eastern Kentucky, with most duties here in Lexington, but then monthly trips to said location), but in the big world, it seems to me that most places pick which candidates they want to interview--where the first main selection starts--then (shocking as it must seem) interview them, then decide who to call back. A friend of mine is convinced (and I think he's right) that 'strong candidate' probably means they know someone who goes to church with someone who's from the town.

Which makes me believe that they don't really care about getting the best person for the job, and frankly, if they're that dismissive before you even meet them, I don't want to work for them. So it's their loss, period. Perhaps this does explain their high turnover (there have been 3-4 librarians in the time I've had my job).

And just so you know, I don't really have a bias against podunk little towns (I've lived in my share). True, I didn't want to live there (their main claim to fame was a local boy who played football at UK then went on to an NFL team), but I wouldn't have minded travelling for hours to get there on a monthly basis. Besides, the clientele was (from what I gathered pre-interview) from all over the US and even the world. I think I would have done an excellent job for them. And even if they decided I wasn't the person for the job, they'd at least have made that decision based on seeing and talking to me, since on paper I was obviously worth checking out. I'm just a bit peeved at the moment, although all in all it's probably for the best. I have a suspicion that I wouldn't fit in well.

Thank you, D, for finding the ad in the paper. It was, I suppose, worth a try.

Have any of you had this happen? Am I missing some sort of new trend in interviewing/pissing off potential employees? What would you say if they called you back after all that wanting you to interview? My first thought was to trot that expletive out again, but of course, that would also be unprofessional. I'm thinking something along the lines of, 'I'm sorry, but given your treatment of your candidates, I cannot imagine putting myself at the mercy of such an organisation as an employee.' Oh, who am I kidding? 'F*** you' or at least 'you've got to be joking' will do quite nicely. :)

On a brighter note, I'm starting to learn how to do foot pressure readings for the extra hours I'll be putting in at the hospital whilst a co-worker is on maternity leave. I must admit, I'm excited and a little scared, too. I mean, me, doing something clinical? Still, it looks fairly simple and I just need to take the rapport I have with people as a librarian (and gas station attendant) and put it to work with patients, right?