Got rejected from a job I didn’t even apply to

I had a PE VP request to connect on LinkedIn. I’m currently very unsure of what I want to do after IB and buyside as a whole, so I replied to his connect asking if he had time to talk about his experience in PE and for any advice he could give regarding my career goals.

When I finally get on the call, he just starts diving into interview questions, asking technical questions as well as why I would be interested in his specific firm. I know he mentioned that he was hiring for an associate position, but I was still completely caught off guard since the only reason I reached out to him in the first place was because I wanted to find out more about PE and see if the job would be a good fit—not if I would be a good fit for his firm.

After the call, I get an email saying that I’m not moving forward in the application process… but I never even applied in the first place. Just wondering if anyone else has something similar happen to them because this was just so strange

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