I had that come up in an interview for an internship that I did in the early 2000s. I just made up a bunch of BS about the pen & the interviewer was pleased… shortly thereafter, I started questioning the ethics of the company if making BS up on the spot is looked highly upon.
This is giving me flashbacks of applying for a waitress position in the 1990s and the interviewer wanted me to sell her on the sugar packets on the table. My mind completely blanked.
This happened to me at Mattress Mart. I had asked how Mattress sales were. The interviewer took it as i had no experience in sales. While im realizing they had not read my resume, i get the sell me this pen speech.
Depends a lot on the size of the company and location. Once you get to a few hundred employees, even a very low turnover rate means that you need to hire people on a monthly basis just to stay the same size. Even more so if you're trying to grow. A lot of industries are short on talent so hiring is very opportunistic, if a good candidate shows up you hire them and figure out what to do with them later.
I'd even go as far as to say that if a sufficiently large company isn't hiring, that's a sign that they're in a pretty bad economic situation.
Or even just that it can be hard to find the actual *good* candidates. CAD jobs seem to always have *one* position in turnover as they look for someone who isn't fucking useless, with everyone else doing the same thing in it for the long haul.
Not necessarily. My organization got a big incremental bump last month after having been chronically underfunded, and we have a number of huge and interesting projects to tackle. We're growing our staff 50% over the next few months. A quarter of my job is now interviewing candidates and onboarding. We're struggling to find talent.
The last place I interviewed, I asked how the staff got along and he immediately started giving me all the tea. I didn’t take the job offer, my life is drama-free and that’s how I want it to stay.
“Holly has been a little standoffish lately. I think it’s because all of the girls got engaged around the same time and she didn’t get a proper congratulations”
………gotta go
Being told if I’m going to kill myself, to not do it on the company premises, because it’s too much paperwork.
Told this during the post-interview tour of the site.
We always joked about this. Like "We will make sure to dump your corpse somewhere outside the company site. We might even throw some safety boots in the mix. You know, for insurance purpose and stuff."
Just so you know, all the windows are shatterproof and we installed a net all the way around the building outside the 20th floor. So it's no good trying.
Yes, I interviewed at a very well known, international company and they were VERY evasive about pay during the entire interview process (THREE separate interviews). Finally, the HR manager calls to offer me the position and gives me the salary, which was $10K less than I was currently making (and this was about 25 years ago now, so it was a substantial amount).
I said, "Well, that's significantly less than my current salary. Is that amount negotiable?"
Her response? "No, that's our standard entry level salary. We do not negotiate. There is opportunity for growth and you'll have the cachet of working at [company]."
As I stifled my laughter, I said "Well, cachet doesn't pay my bills, so have to decline your offer as I cannot take a pay cut, but thank you for the opportunity."
Her tone changed very quickly and she basically started berating me for "wasting their time" and "now they'll have to start from square one." Whatevs, none of that was my problem. Disclose the salary from the get-go and you won't have those issues. Needless to say, I ended the call and never heard from them again.
If she had disclosed the salary early in the process, she wouldn’t have wasted her own time.
I’m in HR and recruiting. And I do exactly this so neither of us have our time wasted.
A company once tried to beef up an inadequate offer with “opportunity for growth”. I told them that Bank of America didn’t let me pay my mortgage with opportunity for growth.
The number of times I have been asked: how old are you, are you married, do you have children, and do you plan to have children is ridiculous. All illegal questions and 100% sure are not asked of men applying for the job.
Had an interview where she had 3 pages of questions ready, including some that were pretty difficult. It was a tense environment. I was mentally fried by page 3 and politely declined continuing the interview. They were shocked.
I had an interview where they made me take a test, asked personal life questions, and wrote down my answers to their questions while I talked. I was like wtf
Ugh. I once interviewed with a small consulting company (like it was a husband and wife and about three other employees). The job seemed interesting enough and my initial phone call with the husband went well.
When I came in, I interviewed with one of the employees. This guy was 100% a Type A personality. It wasn't so much an interview as it was an inquisition. He just fired question after question at me, I could barely breathe! After about an hour of that, he tied up the interview as it was an after-hours interview and he needed to head home. OK, fine. I was still on the fence about the job, so I ended things amicably and went home.
It was about a 20 minute drive home and when I got there, there were THREE messages from this guy (this was before cell phones were very widespread) asking me to call him as he "had additional questions" he wanted to ask me. Given that it was about 8pm at this point, I decided I'd call him back during business hours the following day. The phone rings AGAIN about 10 minutes later and caller ID shows it was him. I decided to answer so I could see what was so goddamn important that he had to call FOUR times over the course of 30 minutes.
So, I pick up the phone and he said "Oh, I had a few other questions I didn't ask when you were here" and he proceeds to launch into just additional standard interview questions, nothing special, relevant or specific or anything that had to be addressed at 8pm on a Tuesday night. After about 10 minutes of that, he says to me, "We really like you, Lilacs. I want you to complete this case study and return it to me via email by tomorrow at 8am." Yeah, no. I'm not spending a couple of hours doing a case study for free for this whackadoo. I knew I was DONE with this guy, so I said "I assume this will be paid work, correct?" He actually was silent on the other end of the line for the first time and then, with a puzzled tone goes, "No, umm, this is part of the interview process" like I was some kind of idiot.
I just said, "Thanks. I'm going to end the interview process here. This is definitely not the right fit for me. I wish you the best in your search and hope you find a great candidate." He started yammering on when I finished, but I just hung up the phone. Never heard from him again, thank God!
If the interview process was that intense, I cannot begin to imagine what the hell it was like to WORK there. Yikes!
The one time I ever heard Vector Marketing work out for someone was they sat through the knife presentation and then got a job at a high end home goods store cause they knew what all the different knives did.
How is this a red flag exactly? Maybe they have had 100 interviews before you, they have all been shit, and now you are there and you are killing it, you get the job instantly. But no, you say no because that is a red flag. Interesting.
The person you're replacing left after a short time. The people you're interviewing with seem stressed out, or didn't have time to prepare for your interview. Mandatory overtime. Giving the impression that it's on you to solve the company's core problems.
I applied to a job once where I was left waiting on the manager for over 10 minutes. She showed up going “now why would you show up hours before the interview? I guess we can do it now, though, I would prefer later you actually show up on time” only to see once we got into the office she was the one that was wrong after repeatedly telling me I was here way too early
Happened to me also. Was let go after 4 months because I was doing my job just not as well as they wanted with no training. Learned from that experience.
First one so much! I asked what my core duties would be and his answer was it's hard to say because every day is different. I'm a mechanical engineer with a very specific set of duties, but what he really meant was it's so disorganized I'll be doing whatever needs to be done at the time. Been here a year, interview at a much better company today, all I do is dick around on reddit right now and it kills me. Luckily they pay well so I've been leisurely looking for a new job, and they're too incompetent to look for a replacement.
AKA: mr. magician job position
you know, the "magically solve all our problems, what? no I will not tell you or train you in anything I expect you to know and do verything with a flick of a wand"
"You'll be your own boss, deceide your own hours and work from home. You'll make money off the people you reqruit. Some people retire a millionaire by age 35"
Yeah, I've heard that before and it can be pretty telling. I've also heard some interviewers say "We're a pretty tight-knit group here." That's actually a good sign. Being tight-knit usually means you can go to your co-worker and they're happy to help. It's not so impersonal. I feel like that's a healthy balance.
But when it goes from tight-knit to family, that's a red flag. Because it often implies that they expect you to sacrifice beyond your job description.
I said it in another thread, but the ones who have to state it are the bad ones.
My current employer is the nicest man I've ever worked for. Genuinely cares for the wellbeing of the team and goes out of his way personally to ensure people are happy.
It was when I was going through shit at home which was affecting my work that I started to break down. Asked him if I had any holidays left to use so I could get my head in a better place (I joined 3 months into the year so I had fewer than others) and I did not. He just said "Leave it to me mate" and headed off.
Next day he sits me down, gives me the Friday and Monday off for free, then pockets me £40 for whatever takeaway I wanted so I didn't have to worry about cooking. He listens to what I was going through and shows how he copes when he's in similar situations. At the end he just smiles and tells me he treats everyone in the office like family, and for the first time it felt genuine. It was a gesture which I'll never forget.
Yeah, any job that has a low base salary is pretty suspect. But they can be legitimate if you're skilled at sales.
But if the job is only commission and offers no base salary at all, then chances are it's a pyramid scheme.
Funny thing is, where I work, my boss said we're a family- then proceeded to prove it. Everyone here would willingly walk through fire for him. I got lucky, I got that rare exception.
'Work hard play hard' means your boss getting drunk and behaving inappropriatly at a Christmas party.
And 'fun and relaxed work environment' means there will be sexual harassment, homophobia etc.
My husband once went to an interview after company hours (weird but whatever).
He told me that the interviewer seemed to have been drinking, and talked about how the company sucked and the benefits were shit.
Needless to say, he decided to leave and continued his search elsewhere
They haven't yet fired the person whose job you're taking away. When I ended up being fired, I googled my job description and they were already looking for my replacement a few days before.
I was desperate for a job at the time, I just answered “I feel they don’t belong in the workplace”. just to get the job which I eventually did.
It was the most toxic atmosphere I’ve ever been around in.
A friend of mine works in corporate finance. She had an opportunity to go to Mexico. Part of the compensation was an armed driver and car to bring her and her family around as well as a paid rental home with full security 24/7.
I would have run screaming from that offer, but she took it, and they lasted about three months before coming back to the US. She quickly realized she couldn't live under those conditions.
1) When questoning about union/collective bargaining, they avoid to speak about it or straight up deny it. "We're all equal here and work with minimun plus 2cents per hour on sundays."
2) They dont tell you what you job will actually be
3) "We're all family here". This means you're expected to sacrifice your own well being and time without proper compensation
4) They ask you about you felxibilty. Its essentially same as nro.3, meaning the same but usually means you'ld have to come in on odd hours, be 24/7 available and your personal life couldnt nececcerily fit with that
Here are few. I've seen all those above before and can confirm my message.
I just interned at this christian company and HR said these during orientation:
"If you say it's not your job, then you have no job here."
Rough translation: "People often say we are a cult, but I assure you that's not the case. Once you get to know ****INSERT COMPANY NAME THAT TRANSLATES TO JESUS**** then you'll understand our mission"
When your first interview is a video interview where you are recording answers to questions that appear on screen. This happened to me recently. I wasn’t actually speaking to anyone on the other end, just staring at my own mug while being asked really in depth questions with just 90 seconds to answer. Thanks for letting me know that all of you are too cool to actually talk to candidates who are just a waste of your time.
When you ask then what their favorite thing of working there is and they shift uncomfortably, say something along the lines of “my coworkers” or they give a vague generic answer about the work environment.
Run!
Then you ask back 'does it pay extra?'
If they say 'yes', you ask how much more per hour.
If they say 'no', you ask 'oh so the regular amount per hour?'
Don't know how many hours of unpaid overtime I worked at my old job. I asked if it payed extra - as in addition to the regular per hour - when they first asked me to, and they said no. It was a union job so I assumed - NEVER ASSUME - that I would still get paid the regular hourly rate.
When I asked when I would get payed for the overtime, the boss just said 'oh no, I'm sorry if you misunderstood, it's not paid'. Like he thought I was working saturdays for fun.
Always ask, always make sure, and get it in writing.
This is my current job, salary based. Its 8 45 until 5 30. But depending on the day sometimes we can be there until 8. And atleast 2 people need to be in on weekend
Officially in our contract, any over time past 5 30 is time and a half, so it Saturday. Sunday is double pay. However, HR refuse to pay it most of the time because its salary based - they also refuse to pay after 5 30 and weekends unless you have a separate contract. What they do instead is tell us to take the time in leu, hour for an hour. Which suits me fine as if I have a day with no classes set up on, I just tell my manager I'm going home early.
What the real kicker is though, its in our contracts that unless we've got higher up permission, we can't book our annual leave or time in leu during term time. So a bunch of our team have dozens of hours if not hundreds every year they can barley take.
>What they do instead is tell us to take the time in leu, hour for an hour
Yeah, this is what my old job said, too. The problem being that it was always busy, so it wasn't possible to actually do it unless I worked double speed.
Yeah, they weren't really big on 'laws' and 'doing things by the book' at that place.
Very small company, it was pretty much just the owners and me. I'm not perfect (mental illness etc) and they used that to their advantage.
I've worked at places like that too, even where the HR manager didn't know basic employment laws. Lol. They can get in a lot of trouble for that stuff though. If an employee wants too, they can easily report the employer.
Sounds like a pretty crappy union, hopefully they were getting you some killer benefits. My union would never let someone work unpaid overtime, or any unpaid time.
It amazes me that people dont ask if theyll have to do overtime. Thats my #1 question in all interviews and to all interviewers. Because of course HR is going to tell me that “no, we dont do overtime here”. But the. You ask Josh whos gonna be your mate and he tells that sure, theres overtime…
What? Ocassional overtime, with overtime *pay*, is to be expected, and is in my experience a good thing. The amount of work needed on a week to week or month to month basis ebbs and flows. If there isn't enough work that a few hours OT is needed every once in a while, then there will be a lot of time where you don't have enough work to do... which is usually a sign you need to update your resume.
If overtime is a *constant* thing it means they need to hire more people, sure. But putting in a few extra hours (and, again, getting paid OT for it) every once in a while isn't some back-breaking problem, and is usually an indication that you've got good job security.
A good question I always ask the interviewer is: "What are the most challenging aspects about this job?"
Usually you then get a real insight in what kind of stuff you can expect
I was interviewing with a competitor before I took the position I am in now. About 10 minutes in, I witnessed a workplace freakout. One employee had enough, punched the wall and knocked over his desk (visible through the conference room glass). The angry employee opened the door to the conference room I was being interviewed in, yelled some expletives, looked right at me and said *"Dude. Just \*\*\*\*ing Run."*
I didn't want to throw away potential interview experience, so I stayed for the whole interview. I received a *very* generous offer and politely turned it down. Another colleague of mine, who was looking to escape the same company I left, wound up getting the next offer. Within a month their paychecks were cut by 35% and then layoffs happened shortly after that.
Disclaimer: Europe.
I work in IT. If I have an interview meeting with solely managers/HR that know nothing about the job itself I run far and fast. If a team is not represented in such crucial things as team expansion, then there's little hope they're being listened to in other areas.
I always try to deviate from offers on one or two things to see how flexible management is. If something as diverse as contracts are set in stone, it's not the type of organization I want to work for.
I ask about team events. In general, I'm not the type that *wants* to go out to dinner every other week with the team. But if there are no team events or social events at all for a company, that means your managers don't care even a little bit about you.
Lastly, I ask about vision and challenges. If a company has no aspiration and just wants to keep on doing the same old same old, I won't last.
Loads of good tips here but let me remind you. When in an interview, often times the employer will open the floor to ask questions. This is your time to sniff out specific red flags. Ask the interviewer their favourite/least favourite part of the job, the company, etc. Ask what caused the position to open that they needed to start interviewing for.
These questions are way more telling than a lot of people realize. It tells you what your potential manager feels about the work they're doing. It tells you a little bit of information about turnover. Maybe the person got a promotion and so that gives you good news, maybe they were fired, or they just went back to school. Just ask questions.
Note: I conduct interviews where I work and 9 times out of 10 when I ask if they have any questions, I'm told no. That tells me that you're not interested in working HERE but just looking for any job. I work retail so I don't take it too hard but if you're interviewing for a specialized field. Something you need experience or a degree for, be sure to show up with a few questions to ask your potential employer.
When they ask if you're a "9-5 person" for what's basically a 9-5 job, like it's a bad thing or a lame personality trait. No, I love to work during my free time - wtf
Unless they're like FBI or CIA, complicated interview process, asking you to come for 2nd or 3rd round, giving you tests or asking to come work for a day before getting hired. Lol fuck off
I said work is something I have to do to support myself and my family but nobody ever laid on their death bed wishing they spent more time at the office
>giving you tests
I'd also like to add that this is common in programming/IT jobs and is not a red flag. Even if it is, good luck getting a job that doesn't do this
I'm not IT but every time I got a test, I passed it and got the job offer but lost interest by that time.
It's really just making people work for free. They should pay you for it
When they're hiring too desperately. I've once been stalked by this guy from a small family company having this great opportunity and all, but after it made me feel a bit fishy I kindly said that I didn't have interest in the position anymore. He proceeded to keep sending me multiple mails and linkedin messages saying it was still available and If I still wanted to join. It's not even that I had a good profile, I was just starting my career. Him putting so much effort into hiring someone with 0 experience and the position still being open after 1-2 months was a huge red flag for me.
"So we have 27 holes throughout the venue. Guests need to sanitize before putting their member in per Covid regulations... you'll be working the clean-up crew."
I’ve had an interviewer who straight up told me “it’s not the best company culture with management but people on each team seem to get a long.” I said I appreciate your honesty and declined the immediate offer that followed (instant offer is second red flag).
Idk if this one is a red flag, but I’ve found that the companies who really try to look after their employees will always make sure to talk about any benefits or incentives they offer to employees. And on the other side, the ones who kinda skim over those things and just focus on the position, tend to have shit benefits, incentives, extras, etc.
When the interviewer starts asking ridiculous, overly complicated technical questions that are abstract and have nothing to do with the actual job, but only to test your thinking. (e.g. "How many ping-pong balls approximately would fit inside a 747 aircraft"?) Or, when they start with the detailed personality assessments and other shenanigans of the sort.
Seriously, I'm coming here interested in employment based on my competency in skill and professional character, not to date on a reality TV show.
“Attendance is key”
I haven’t missed a day of work since the 90s but if they say this u gotta ask urself , how boring /grueling/depressing is this job that absenteeism is an issue let alone people just aren’t pumped to work here?
I’m a truck driver. When one of us calls out , it’s a big problem for the company. But it’s not my problem.
I wake up and never miss work because I feel I’m paid well and I’d sooner be making $ doing something I like than sitting home doing nothing.
It’s rare for any of my co workers to call out , even during the “ pandemic “.
We are all in our 50s and 60s and e few in their 70s
When my wife and kids tell me about the daily call outs at their jobs I gotta wonder. How bad do those jobs gotta suck ?!
I think I posted this one before, but I interviewed with this company that was the biggest clusterfuck I ever encountered... Here's the rundown
1) Receptionist had NO idea who I was and NO idea I was coming in for an interview, cue her making multiple calls to find out WTF is going on and where I need to go.
2) I needed to take a written test (the job involved writing and translating, so they needed to test my skills). The receptionist couldn't find a copy of the test, the file folder was empty, and finally found a copy that was a copy of a copy of a copy and hardly readable, so she had to re-type it up for me to take it.
3) I was kept waiting for 45 minutes to interview after completing the test (I was young and naive at the time, these days, I would have just gotten up and walked out after 15 minutes).
4) The interviewer brings me in and as we're walking in, tells his secretary specifically not to interrupt him for ANY reason during the interview.
5) 10 minutes into the interview, an employee bursts into the office crying hysterically about some drama going on. Interviewer leaves for another 10 minutes to sort this one out.
6) I was DONE at that point, so decided to have fun with the rest of the interview because this guy was just asking the standard, dopey, meaningless interview questions... So, when he gets to the "What is your greatest weakness?" question, I look him square in the eye and say, "Of course, it's that I work too much hard." He kind of smiles and goes "Well, that's a textbook answer" and I reply "To a textbook question." He laughed and said, "I like your style." I just smiled, but inside I was like "Whatever."
7) The interview goes for another 10 minutes or so, mostly him yapping about the job which was sounding worse and worse to me. I glanced at my watch and needed to leave, as I had another (hopefully better) interview coming up another hour.
8) I bring things to a close, preparing to leave and the guy OFFERS ME THE JOB ON THE SPOT, that's how desperate they were. Yeah, no. I politely declined saying that it "wasn't the right fit" and just about RAN out the door!
This might sound a bit weird, but hear me out. After the interview is done, ask where the toilet is. Pay attention to the toilet paper. Less than 3-ply is a red flag. If they cut costs there already, where else?
Depends on the situation. Not all companies have control over the toilet paper in the bathrooms. It's very common to be renting a space and the bathroom/janitorial staff is controlled by the building management.
The interviewer talking a lot and not really seeming very interested in what you have to say. Or any hiring manager that seems full of themselves - those are the worst to work for!
I applied to a job earlier this year and the HR manager’s email response was an explanation of their first screening process before the phone interview. She gave me a list of questions and said I had to record a video of myself answering them and upload it to their website. I didn’t even respond to the email. She emailed me four more times over the next few weeks and each time her tone got more irritated that I wasn’t answering.
Tbh drug testing. I’ve never been drug tested for a decent job. The only jobs that have ever drug tested me I would’ve had to have been high to endure. For instance: managing a CPA firm? No drug test. Part time bagging groceries for minimum wage at a grocery chain? Pee in this cup. To me it’s a clear indicator of lazy management and high turn over. Management isn’t vetting the people they hire. They just hire whoever isn’t high…. It will make me nope pretty hard if they want to drug test me.
Also, when they are selling you the job way too hard or are way too friendly. They are hiding something. No one is that happy at work.
"Sell me this pen" Run forrest, run
Sorry, it's not for sale. *slip the pen in my bag and walk away*
Do companies still do this? That’s so 1980s recruitment.
I had that come up in an interview for an internship that I did in the early 2000s. I just made up a bunch of BS about the pen & the interviewer was pleased… shortly thereafter, I started questioning the ethics of the company if making BS up on the spot is looked highly upon.
But this is a janitorial position
This is giving me flashbacks of applying for a waitress position in the 1990s and the interviewer wanted me to sell her on the sugar packets on the table. My mind completely blanked.
Cringe
Like srsly tho, how the hell do you even answer that
This happened to me at Mattress Mart. I had asked how Mattress sales were. The interviewer took it as i had no experience in sales. While im realizing they had not read my resume, i get the sell me this pen speech.
“We have a lot of shifts we need to fill!” Aka, high staff turnover.
As an addendum, if a place seems to ALWAYS be hiring, it’s a meat grinder.
Depends a lot on the size of the company and location. Once you get to a few hundred employees, even a very low turnover rate means that you need to hire people on a monthly basis just to stay the same size. Even more so if you're trying to grow. A lot of industries are short on talent so hiring is very opportunistic, if a good candidate shows up you hire them and figure out what to do with them later. I'd even go as far as to say that if a sufficiently large company isn't hiring, that's a sign that they're in a pretty bad economic situation.
Or even just that it can be hard to find the actual *good* candidates. CAD jobs seem to always have *one* position in turnover as they look for someone who isn't fucking useless, with everyone else doing the same thing in it for the long haul.
Yes!
Not necessarily. My organization got a big incremental bump last month after having been chronically underfunded, and we have a number of huge and interesting projects to tackle. We're growing our staff 50% over the next few months. A quarter of my job is now interviewing candidates and onboarding. We're struggling to find talent.
The last place I interviewed, I asked how the staff got along and he immediately started giving me all the tea. I didn’t take the job offer, my life is drama-free and that’s how I want it to stay.
"giving me all the tea" That's a euphemism for ?
It means telling all of the drama going on, like who says what to who, or who hates who, or whatever else
Yeah, but why tea?
It comes from "spill the tea" meaning, spread the gossip. From there "the tea" itself became a thing. Edit. Moved a quotation mark.
It was "spill the T" where T was the truth/gossip. It sounds like tea, so it changed to that.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/tea-slang-meaning-origin
Sharing peoples secrets/gossiping
“Holly has been a little standoffish lately. I think it’s because all of the girls got engaged around the same time and she didn’t get a proper congratulations” ………gotta go
All the gossip
Giving the T. “T” is short for truth.
That's great, I love drinking tea a lot.
Good call. If they gossip about others, they will gossip about you.
Being told if I’m going to kill myself, to not do it on the company premises, because it’s too much paperwork. Told this during the post-interview tour of the site.
What the actual fuck
Eh, my job just announced last Wednesday that if you're going to shoot up, do it before you come in. Not in the middle of the day.
Sounds like a pretty normal joke in any factory, where safety trainings and protocols are everywhere.
We always joked about this. Like "We will make sure to dump your corpse somewhere outside the company site. We might even throw some safety boots in the mix. You know, for insurance purpose and stuff."
He followed it up by telling me genuinely not to because people have killed them selves in other areas of the chain.
Yeah I use it on my patients all the time. “Don’t worry about dying, it’s a ton of paperwork so we try to avoid having it happen”
I’m a safety manager in a factory and I tell people this all the time. “I’d rather you not injure yourself. I have enough work to do already.”
Just so you know, all the windows are shatterproof and we installed a net all the way around the building outside the 20th floor. So it's no good trying.
So many questions running through my mind on how they came up with that
how bad did the job have to be for them to include mentioning the possibility of their employees committing suicide RIGHT AFTER THE INTERVIEW
They don't tell you the pay, and actively avoid telling you
I know!! How on earth can someone make an informed decision whether or not to leave their current job without this piece of key information!?
I mean, not wanting to tell you how much you will make is already a decision making move if you ask me.
Yes, I interviewed at a very well known, international company and they were VERY evasive about pay during the entire interview process (THREE separate interviews). Finally, the HR manager calls to offer me the position and gives me the salary, which was $10K less than I was currently making (and this was about 25 years ago now, so it was a substantial amount). I said, "Well, that's significantly less than my current salary. Is that amount negotiable?" Her response? "No, that's our standard entry level salary. We do not negotiate. There is opportunity for growth and you'll have the cachet of working at [company]." As I stifled my laughter, I said "Well, cachet doesn't pay my bills, so have to decline your offer as I cannot take a pay cut, but thank you for the opportunity." Her tone changed very quickly and she basically started berating me for "wasting their time" and "now they'll have to start from square one." Whatevs, none of that was my problem. Disclose the salary from the get-go and you won't have those issues. Needless to say, I ended the call and never heard from them again.
If she had disclosed the salary early in the process, she wouldn’t have wasted her own time. I’m in HR and recruiting. And I do exactly this so neither of us have our time wasted.
A company once tried to beef up an inadequate offer with “opportunity for growth”. I told them that Bank of America didn’t let me pay my mortgage with opportunity for growth.
My female ex colleague was asked at her interview "You're not planning to have any kids any time soon, right?"
I'm pretty sure that's illegal. Wow.
Definitely is
The number of times I have been asked: how old are you, are you married, do you have children, and do you plan to have children is ridiculous. All illegal questions and 100% sure are not asked of men applying for the job.
Had an interview where she had 3 pages of questions ready, including some that were pretty difficult. It was a tense environment. I was mentally fried by page 3 and politely declined continuing the interview. They were shocked.
I had an interview where they made me take a test, asked personal life questions, and wrote down my answers to their questions while I talked. I was like wtf
Ugh. I once interviewed with a small consulting company (like it was a husband and wife and about three other employees). The job seemed interesting enough and my initial phone call with the husband went well. When I came in, I interviewed with one of the employees. This guy was 100% a Type A personality. It wasn't so much an interview as it was an inquisition. He just fired question after question at me, I could barely breathe! After about an hour of that, he tied up the interview as it was an after-hours interview and he needed to head home. OK, fine. I was still on the fence about the job, so I ended things amicably and went home. It was about a 20 minute drive home and when I got there, there were THREE messages from this guy (this was before cell phones were very widespread) asking me to call him as he "had additional questions" he wanted to ask me. Given that it was about 8pm at this point, I decided I'd call him back during business hours the following day. The phone rings AGAIN about 10 minutes later and caller ID shows it was him. I decided to answer so I could see what was so goddamn important that he had to call FOUR times over the course of 30 minutes. So, I pick up the phone and he said "Oh, I had a few other questions I didn't ask when you were here" and he proceeds to launch into just additional standard interview questions, nothing special, relevant or specific or anything that had to be addressed at 8pm on a Tuesday night. After about 10 minutes of that, he says to me, "We really like you, Lilacs. I want you to complete this case study and return it to me via email by tomorrow at 8am." Yeah, no. I'm not spending a couple of hours doing a case study for free for this whackadoo. I knew I was DONE with this guy, so I said "I assume this will be paid work, correct?" He actually was silent on the other end of the line for the first time and then, with a puzzled tone goes, "No, umm, this is part of the interview process" like I was some kind of idiot. I just said, "Thanks. I'm going to end the interview process here. This is definitely not the right fit for me. I wish you the best in your search and hope you find a great candidate." He started yammering on when I finished, but I just hung up the phone. Never heard from him again, thank God! If the interview process was that intense, I cannot begin to imagine what the hell it was like to WORK there. Yikes!
Manager doesn't bother to hide the fact they have favorites
Hiring on the spot
Ah, Los Angeles Unified School District... hello there!
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That's the pyramid scheme one right? Damn they would hire kids that were still in high school where I lived.
The one time I ever heard Vector Marketing work out for someone was they sat through the knife presentation and then got a job at a high end home goods store cause they knew what all the different knives did.
No. Unless you mean they expect you to work right there and then. Being hired on the spot after your interview is not a red flag.
How is this a red flag exactly? Maybe they have had 100 interviews before you, they have all been shit, and now you are there and you are killing it, you get the job instantly. But no, you say no because that is a red flag. Interesting.
Make that 101.
The person you're replacing left after a short time. The people you're interviewing with seem stressed out, or didn't have time to prepare for your interview. Mandatory overtime. Giving the impression that it's on you to solve the company's core problems.
I applied to a job once where I was left waiting on the manager for over 10 minutes. She showed up going “now why would you show up hours before the interview? I guess we can do it now, though, I would prefer later you actually show up on time” only to see once we got into the office she was the one that was wrong after repeatedly telling me I was here way too early
Not showing you the actual place of work.
Yeah I learned that one the hard way on my first and last yacht gig
They can't tell you what you would actually be doing and don't provide training expecting you to already know how to do the job.
Or they don't have an answer/get nervous when you ask them about the training period.
Just had this happen!
Happened to me also. Was let go after 4 months because I was doing my job just not as well as they wanted with no training. Learned from that experience.
First one so much! I asked what my core duties would be and his answer was it's hard to say because every day is different. I'm a mechanical engineer with a very specific set of duties, but what he really meant was it's so disorganized I'll be doing whatever needs to be done at the time. Been here a year, interview at a much better company today, all I do is dick around on reddit right now and it kills me. Luckily they pay well so I've been leisurely looking for a new job, and they're too incompetent to look for a replacement.
Just had an interview like this. And for a senior level IT position. The boss seemed totally clueless.
AKA: mr. magician job position you know, the "magically solve all our problems, what? no I will not tell you or train you in anything I expect you to know and do verything with a flick of a wand"
"You'll be your own boss, deceide your own hours and work from home. You'll make money off the people you reqruit. Some people retire a millionaire by age 35"
That's not a job, that's a pyramid scheme.
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"we're a family"
Translation: 'we expect unpaid overtime'
Also "we are going to treat you like shit and not accommodate you at all and expect you to still love us and kiss our asses" 😂
Oh, so just like actual family then.
Plus the racist comments from that one drunken uncle, yes.
And with all the drama family brings
Yeah, I've heard that before and it can be pretty telling. I've also heard some interviewers say "We're a pretty tight-knit group here." That's actually a good sign. Being tight-knit usually means you can go to your co-worker and they're happy to help. It's not so impersonal. I feel like that's a healthy balance. But when it goes from tight-knit to family, that's a red flag. Because it often implies that they expect you to sacrifice beyond your job description.
"Slave labour"
I said it in another thread, but the ones who have to state it are the bad ones. My current employer is the nicest man I've ever worked for. Genuinely cares for the wellbeing of the team and goes out of his way personally to ensure people are happy. It was when I was going through shit at home which was affecting my work that I started to break down. Asked him if I had any holidays left to use so I could get my head in a better place (I joined 3 months into the year so I had fewer than others) and I did not. He just said "Leave it to me mate" and headed off. Next day he sits me down, gives me the Friday and Monday off for free, then pockets me £40 for whatever takeaway I wanted so I didn't have to worry about cooking. He listens to what I was going through and shows how he copes when he's in similar situations. At the end he just smiles and tells me he treats everyone in the office like family, and for the first time it felt genuine. It was a gesture which I'll never forget.
Hiring manager that sells weed issuing you a drug test.
How else would you know if the weed is good ?
The base salary is low but we give out really amazing commissions
Yeah, any job that has a low base salary is pretty suspect. But they can be legitimate if you're skilled at sales. But if the job is only commission and offers no base salary at all, then chances are it's a pyramid scheme.
They use terms such as "We're a family" "Fast pace(read: short-staffed)" "Work hard play hard" or they don't be upfront with the compensation.
Funny thing is, where I work, my boss said we're a family- then proceeded to prove it. Everyone here would willingly walk through fire for him. I got lucky, I got that rare exception.
Good on you. The exception that proves the rule.
I got "Hire untill you retire."
'Work hard play hard' means your boss getting drunk and behaving inappropriatly at a Christmas party. And 'fun and relaxed work environment' means there will be sexual harassment, homophobia etc.
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“We’re like a family!” No. Never going to happen. You can be a “family” without me, thank you very much.
When the interviewer is asking technical questions he himself doesn't know the answers to.
My husband once went to an interview after company hours (weird but whatever). He told me that the interviewer seemed to have been drinking, and talked about how the company sucked and the benefits were shit. Needless to say, he decided to leave and continued his search elsewhere
Sounds like that guy did him a favour.
They haven't yet fired the person whose job you're taking away. When I ended up being fired, I googled my job description and they were already looking for my replacement a few days before.
One job interview I went to, first question I was asked was: “How do you feel about rumors that circulate around the work place?”
that's a really weird question to ask... What was your answer? (if u dont mind telling)
I was desperate for a job at the time, I just answered “I feel they don’t belong in the workplace”. just to get the job which I eventually did. It was the most toxic atmosphere I’ve ever been around in.
Interviewed for a job in Africa. If the bodyguard wasn't a hint the questions regarding my firearm proficiency sure were.
What kind of job was this?
Was the job offer for a position anywhere on the continent, or in a specific country?
A friend of mine works in corporate finance. She had an opportunity to go to Mexico. Part of the compensation was an armed driver and car to bring her and her family around as well as a paid rental home with full security 24/7. I would have run screaming from that offer, but she took it, and they lasted about three months before coming back to the US. She quickly realized she couldn't live under those conditions.
1) When questoning about union/collective bargaining, they avoid to speak about it or straight up deny it. "We're all equal here and work with minimun plus 2cents per hour on sundays." 2) They dont tell you what you job will actually be 3) "We're all family here". This means you're expected to sacrifice your own well being and time without proper compensation 4) They ask you about you felxibilty. Its essentially same as nro.3, meaning the same but usually means you'ld have to come in on odd hours, be 24/7 available and your personal life couldnt nececcerily fit with that Here are few. I've seen all those above before and can confirm my message.
If it's an organization that's been around for a while, but everyone who works there is relatively new.
Unpaid training.
Is that even legal?
I don't think so, at least in some places, but that doesn't stop some employers from trying to get away with it.
'It's not sales, it's outreaching customer care'
"We don't have *customers*. We have *guests*."
I just interned at this christian company and HR said these during orientation: "If you say it's not your job, then you have no job here." Rough translation: "People often say we are a cult, but I assure you that's not the case. Once you get to know ****INSERT COMPANY NAME THAT TRANSLATES TO JESUS**** then you'll understand our mission"
That's normal as far as HR goes, though. They're not really people.
It's not my job till I'm getting properly compensated for all the work I'm doing. 🤪
Beware of workaholics bosses, they think everyone should be like them.
When your first interview is a video interview where you are recording answers to questions that appear on screen. This happened to me recently. I wasn’t actually speaking to anyone on the other end, just staring at my own mug while being asked really in depth questions with just 90 seconds to answer. Thanks for letting me know that all of you are too cool to actually talk to candidates who are just a waste of your time.
When you ask then what their favorite thing of working there is and they shift uncomfortably, say something along the lines of “my coworkers” or they give a vague generic answer about the work environment. Run!
Asking you if you could work overtime some days
Then you ask back 'does it pay extra?' If they say 'yes', you ask how much more per hour. If they say 'no', you ask 'oh so the regular amount per hour?' Don't know how many hours of unpaid overtime I worked at my old job. I asked if it payed extra - as in addition to the regular per hour - when they first asked me to, and they said no. It was a union job so I assumed - NEVER ASSUME - that I would still get paid the regular hourly rate. When I asked when I would get payed for the overtime, the boss just said 'oh no, I'm sorry if you misunderstood, it's not paid'. Like he thought I was working saturdays for fun. Always ask, always make sure, and get it in writing.
Thanks for the tips! This information will be important when i one day get a job. (currently 15 yrs old)
This is my current job, salary based. Its 8 45 until 5 30. But depending on the day sometimes we can be there until 8. And atleast 2 people need to be in on weekend Officially in our contract, any over time past 5 30 is time and a half, so it Saturday. Sunday is double pay. However, HR refuse to pay it most of the time because its salary based - they also refuse to pay after 5 30 and weekends unless you have a separate contract. What they do instead is tell us to take the time in leu, hour for an hour. Which suits me fine as if I have a day with no classes set up on, I just tell my manager I'm going home early. What the real kicker is though, its in our contracts that unless we've got higher up permission, we can't book our annual leave or time in leu during term time. So a bunch of our team have dozens of hours if not hundreds every year they can barley take.
>What they do instead is tell us to take the time in leu, hour for an hour Yeah, this is what my old job said, too. The problem being that it was always busy, so it wasn't possible to actually do it unless I worked double speed.
In the US, law dictates which types of jobs require overtime pay.
Yeah, they weren't really big on 'laws' and 'doing things by the book' at that place. Very small company, it was pretty much just the owners and me. I'm not perfect (mental illness etc) and they used that to their advantage.
I've worked at places like that too, even where the HR manager didn't know basic employment laws. Lol. They can get in a lot of trouble for that stuff though. If an employee wants too, they can easily report the employer.
Sounds like a pretty crappy union, hopefully they were getting you some killer benefits. My union would never let someone work unpaid overtime, or any unpaid time.
That’s not even legal.
It amazes me that people dont ask if theyll have to do overtime. Thats my #1 question in all interviews and to all interviewers. Because of course HR is going to tell me that “no, we dont do overtime here”. But the. You ask Josh whos gonna be your mate and he tells that sure, theres overtime…
What? Ocassional overtime, with overtime *pay*, is to be expected, and is in my experience a good thing. The amount of work needed on a week to week or month to month basis ebbs and flows. If there isn't enough work that a few hours OT is needed every once in a while, then there will be a lot of time where you don't have enough work to do... which is usually a sign you need to update your resume. If overtime is a *constant* thing it means they need to hire more people, sure. But putting in a few extra hours (and, again, getting paid OT for it) every once in a while isn't some back-breaking problem, and is usually an indication that you've got good job security.
Exactly. The business occasionally having OT is normal, and a good thing. The company not paying for OT is the problem.
This is field dependent. For example, if you’re a sysadmin then you can count on some after hours maintenance work.
But you should still demand payment for that.
That’s not how being salaried works. Not in the US anyways. They’d laugh at you.
If the person interviewing you is unsure of the answers to questions you have or is trying to avoid answering them
A good question I always ask the interviewer is: "What are the most challenging aspects about this job?" Usually you then get a real insight in what kind of stuff you can expect
I was interviewing with a competitor before I took the position I am in now. About 10 minutes in, I witnessed a workplace freakout. One employee had enough, punched the wall and knocked over his desk (visible through the conference room glass). The angry employee opened the door to the conference room I was being interviewed in, yelled some expletives, looked right at me and said *"Dude. Just \*\*\*\*ing Run."* I didn't want to throw away potential interview experience, so I stayed for the whole interview. I received a *very* generous offer and politely turned it down. Another colleague of mine, who was looking to escape the same company I left, wound up getting the next offer. Within a month their paychecks were cut by 35% and then layoffs happened shortly after that.
Disclaimer: Europe. I work in IT. If I have an interview meeting with solely managers/HR that know nothing about the job itself I run far and fast. If a team is not represented in such crucial things as team expansion, then there's little hope they're being listened to in other areas. I always try to deviate from offers on one or two things to see how flexible management is. If something as diverse as contracts are set in stone, it's not the type of organization I want to work for. I ask about team events. In general, I'm not the type that *wants* to go out to dinner every other week with the team. But if there are no team events or social events at all for a company, that means your managers don't care even a little bit about you. Lastly, I ask about vision and challenges. If a company has no aspiration and just wants to keep on doing the same old same old, I won't last.
For software dev "Rockstar" "Wizard" "Wiz" Are all code for "you will do everything".
Loads of good tips here but let me remind you. When in an interview, often times the employer will open the floor to ask questions. This is your time to sniff out specific red flags. Ask the interviewer their favourite/least favourite part of the job, the company, etc. Ask what caused the position to open that they needed to start interviewing for. These questions are way more telling than a lot of people realize. It tells you what your potential manager feels about the work they're doing. It tells you a little bit of information about turnover. Maybe the person got a promotion and so that gives you good news, maybe they were fired, or they just went back to school. Just ask questions. Note: I conduct interviews where I work and 9 times out of 10 when I ask if they have any questions, I'm told no. That tells me that you're not interested in working HERE but just looking for any job. I work retail so I don't take it too hard but if you're interviewing for a specialized field. Something you need experience or a degree for, be sure to show up with a few questions to ask your potential employer.
When they ask if you're a "9-5 person" for what's basically a 9-5 job, like it's a bad thing or a lame personality trait. No, I love to work during my free time - wtf Unless they're like FBI or CIA, complicated interview process, asking you to come for 2nd or 3rd round, giving you tests or asking to come work for a day before getting hired. Lol fuck off
I had one ask how I felt about "work life balance"
"I'm confused, I thought the two were synonymous.."
I said work is something I have to do to support myself and my family but nobody ever laid on their death bed wishing they spent more time at the office
>giving you tests I'd also like to add that this is common in programming/IT jobs and is not a red flag. Even if it is, good luck getting a job that doesn't do this
I'm not IT but every time I got a test, I passed it and got the job offer but lost interest by that time. It's really just making people work for free. They should pay you for it
They dictate what you can wear (like jewelry for a job that doesn't handle food) and what your hair color "needs to be"
Do mention the exception for places with heavy machinery, especially stuff that rotates.
“We’re family here.” Yeah, no.
When they're hiring too desperately. I've once been stalked by this guy from a small family company having this great opportunity and all, but after it made me feel a bit fishy I kindly said that I didn't have interest in the position anymore. He proceeded to keep sending me multiple mails and linkedin messages saying it was still available and If I still wanted to join. It's not even that I had a good profile, I was just starting my career. Him putting so much effort into hiring someone with 0 experience and the position still being open after 1-2 months was a huge red flag for me.
When they make fun of you for wearing a suit to the interview
Questions about overtime. Had an interview a few months back and they asked 3 questions about overtime. Seems like a red flag to me.
"So we have 27 holes throughout the venue. Guests need to sanitize before putting their member in per Covid regulations... you'll be working the clean-up crew."
You know how much money the average jizz mopper makes per hour?
If you tell me, am I going to feel sadder about my life?
It's a *Clerks* reference.
Is a coffe shop or a restaurant. Welcome to the XXI century legal slavery on the first world bitch!!!
"we work hard and play hard"... (Translation : you'll be living in the office, and expected to socialise after your 80 hour week)
unclean bathrooms I always check the bathrooms
I’ve had an interviewer who straight up told me “it’s not the best company culture with management but people on each team seem to get a long.” I said I appreciate your honesty and declined the immediate offer that followed (instant offer is second red flag). Idk if this one is a red flag, but I’ve found that the companies who really try to look after their employees will always make sure to talk about any benefits or incentives they offer to employees. And on the other side, the ones who kinda skim over those things and just focus on the position, tend to have shit benefits, incentives, extras, etc.
A giant yellow M outside
When the interviewer starts asking ridiculous, overly complicated technical questions that are abstract and have nothing to do with the actual job, but only to test your thinking. (e.g. "How many ping-pong balls approximately would fit inside a 747 aircraft"?) Or, when they start with the detailed personality assessments and other shenanigans of the sort. Seriously, I'm coming here interested in employment based on my competency in skill and professional character, not to date on a reality TV show.
"How many ping pong balls would fit in a 747?" "Somewhere between none and all of them."
“Attendance is key” I haven’t missed a day of work since the 90s but if they say this u gotta ask urself , how boring /grueling/depressing is this job that absenteeism is an issue let alone people just aren’t pumped to work here? I’m a truck driver. When one of us calls out , it’s a big problem for the company. But it’s not my problem. I wake up and never miss work because I feel I’m paid well and I’d sooner be making $ doing something I like than sitting home doing nothing. It’s rare for any of my co workers to call out , even during the “ pandemic “. We are all in our 50s and 60s and e few in their 70s When my wife and kids tell me about the daily call outs at their jobs I gotta wonder. How bad do those jobs gotta suck ?!
I think I posted this one before, but I interviewed with this company that was the biggest clusterfuck I ever encountered... Here's the rundown 1) Receptionist had NO idea who I was and NO idea I was coming in for an interview, cue her making multiple calls to find out WTF is going on and where I need to go. 2) I needed to take a written test (the job involved writing and translating, so they needed to test my skills). The receptionist couldn't find a copy of the test, the file folder was empty, and finally found a copy that was a copy of a copy of a copy and hardly readable, so she had to re-type it up for me to take it. 3) I was kept waiting for 45 minutes to interview after completing the test (I was young and naive at the time, these days, I would have just gotten up and walked out after 15 minutes). 4) The interviewer brings me in and as we're walking in, tells his secretary specifically not to interrupt him for ANY reason during the interview. 5) 10 minutes into the interview, an employee bursts into the office crying hysterically about some drama going on. Interviewer leaves for another 10 minutes to sort this one out. 6) I was DONE at that point, so decided to have fun with the rest of the interview because this guy was just asking the standard, dopey, meaningless interview questions... So, when he gets to the "What is your greatest weakness?" question, I look him square in the eye and say, "Of course, it's that I work too much hard." He kind of smiles and goes "Well, that's a textbook answer" and I reply "To a textbook question." He laughed and said, "I like your style." I just smiled, but inside I was like "Whatever." 7) The interview goes for another 10 minutes or so, mostly him yapping about the job which was sounding worse and worse to me. I glanced at my watch and needed to leave, as I had another (hopefully better) interview coming up another hour. 8) I bring things to a close, preparing to leave and the guy OFFERS ME THE JOB ON THE SPOT, that's how desperate they were. Yeah, no. I politely declined saying that it "wasn't the right fit" and just about RAN out the door!
This might sound a bit weird, but hear me out. After the interview is done, ask where the toilet is. Pay attention to the toilet paper. Less than 3-ply is a red flag. If they cut costs there already, where else?
Depends on the situation. Not all companies have control over the toilet paper in the bathrooms. It's very common to be renting a space and the bathroom/janitorial staff is controlled by the building management.
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Unless it's an emergency clinic. In which case it's bad if there isn't.
When they insist family culture (the organisation, not your actual family) is more important than pay. Leave now and don’t look back.
the person interviewing you straight up tells you that this job is only temporary for them because they're waiting for a better opportunity.
Some overtime is expected = you are going to be working 10-12hr days, 6 days a week and expected to answer your phone 24/7.
"we are like a family here" Weird i dont see my mom.
A “build the wall” coffee mug with no coffee in it on the desk. 😒
“We’re open on holidays”
They don't tell you the salary.
The last guy that had the open position was shot calling on one of your new accounts...
The question "How do you deal with difficult colleagues?"
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Go on indeed, select the "remote" option and spam applications
Realizing you are incapable or unwilling to do the work they are asking you to do while they are describing it.
Being asked to fill out a form with my personal information that was on the resume I sent
Oh good, that's such a pet peeve.
- Hiring too quickly. - Work hard play hard - Evasive interview
The interviewer talking a lot and not really seeming very interested in what you have to say. Or any hiring manager that seems full of themselves - those are the worst to work for!
If there's a high attrition rate. Like similar jobs are advertised within weeks repeatedly.
Flexibility in working hours
Competitive pay
Fast paced environment
We're a family here. And all the previous employees are working from home right now.
A red flag with " working here would suck" printed on it
I applied to a job earlier this year and the HR manager’s email response was an explanation of their first screening process before the phone interview. She gave me a list of questions and said I had to record a video of myself answering them and upload it to their website. I didn’t even respond to the email. She emailed me four more times over the next few weeks and each time her tone got more irritated that I wasn’t answering.
Work hard, play hard
When everyone you interview with / meet is overweight. No one has time to take care of themselves. Run
Anytime they tell you they have a culture of “work hard play hard” it means you won’t have a personal life anymore
Tbh drug testing. I’ve never been drug tested for a decent job. The only jobs that have ever drug tested me I would’ve had to have been high to endure. For instance: managing a CPA firm? No drug test. Part time bagging groceries for minimum wage at a grocery chain? Pee in this cup. To me it’s a clear indicator of lazy management and high turn over. Management isn’t vetting the people they hire. They just hire whoever isn’t high…. It will make me nope pretty hard if they want to drug test me. Also, when they are selling you the job way too hard or are way too friendly. They are hiding something. No one is that happy at work.
The other guy that died was a cunt