‘They told me about their severance packages in the first interview’: Employees Share Most Entertaining Job Interview Stories

Author image for Eleonora Bader
Eleonora Bader
Apr 7, 2024 5:00 PM EDT

Ding, ding… Alarm bells go off in my head anytime I hear the phrase, 'Though there are set hours, most employees stay extra so to show they're committed to this job'. Another big red flag is when the interviewer seems disinterested or unprepared. If they haven't looked over my resume, or if they're asking basic questions they should already know the answers (again, read my resume). Sometimes the interviewer doesn't really provide clear information regarding a role, and that just makes me think that it's a 'wear a lot of hats, but get minimum wage' kind of situation.

Employees banded together in a Reddit thread to share their own 'Red flag' job interview stories that had them scratching their heads and walking out feeling apprehensive about going forward. From working on weekends without pay to being expected to do overtime (again, without pay), employer's expectations are wild.

Afterward, check out this manager who kicked a worker off their shift for not adhering to the company dress code.

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  • 01
    "They told me about their severance packages in the first interview..." RESUME Contact Number 085-0000 Em
    via Canva
  • 02
    What are subtle red flags at a job interview that say "working here would suck"?
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  • 03
    takatori They told me all about their generous severance packages. In the initial interview. Turnover city. 1.3k Share
    via u/takatori
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    IM_OK_AMA. "Well, the overtime isn't mandatory, but most folks stick around after hours most days." Spoilers: The overtime is mandatory. 10.8k Share coherent-rambling "Fantastic. You should know that if you choose me for this position, I will be declining the optional overtime." I mean, if you're going to walk anyway, it might be funny to call their bluff. 3.6k Share
    via u/IM_OK_AMA, u/coherent-rambling
  • 05
    khanman504 Was interviewed by a Senior programmer and the department head. The department head was continuously making condescending remarks towards the other interviewer. Poor guy just sounded broken. Hope he's somewhere else now. 4.0k Share Gentle Lion2Tigress. On a second interview the general manager brought me into the conference room with his 8 managers present. At first I thought it was a meet and greet but no, they grilled me for an hour and a half. Didn't appreciate that along with a co
    via u/khanman504, u/GentleLion2Tigress
  • 06
    Couple months later I'm playing in a ball tournament and come across one of the managers. I mentioned how weird that interview was. He says 'Weird for you? Ha! I found out then and there you were being interviewed for my job!'. Yep, dodged a bullet there. 2.6k Share
    via u/GentleLion2Tigress
  • 07
    Lempiraholio Once an interviewer straight up asked me if I had any trouble working for free on weekends... I told them my free time is more valuable than anything and that the only way that I would work a weekend is if they are paying me and if I felt like working a weekend. She got really mad at me and ended the interview right away. Biggest red flag I've ever seen because they didn't even try to hide it. 4.2k Share
    via u/lempiraholio
  • 08
    ManiacDan I was once part of a group onboarding for an IT job. They handed us all the one-page new hire "contract" and everyone except me signed immediately. When I read the paperwork, I discovered we were signing a mystery document. Clauses included "I agree to abide by the personal search and seizure security policy (attached)." Without other pages, there was no way to determine what I was agreeing to. I kept requesting more and more pages until the HR drone said "ok, I guess [me] is just dete
    via u/ManiacDan
  • 09
    After I walked out and drove home, I called the hiring manager to apologize for not taking the job. He informed me that HR reported I had walked out after refusing to be d tested 10.9k Share
    via u/ManiacDan
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    [deleted] Last job I worked. "Yea, everyone here is new, but it's totally because of c 'd" "The boss doesn't like people going out to get lunch because they're afraid you'll never come back, so being your own lunch" "You'll get weird looks if you leave on time". It was a chinese owned company with heavy chinese work culture influence so you were expected to stay overtime all week. Also "the people here are nice but it's pretty stressful".
    via u/deleted
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    Space2345 When they ask out of no where what clients can you bring with you. 6.8k Share
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    DragonsLoooveTacos This actually happened to me: Interviewer: Do you have any questions for us? Me: what is a challenge this department has recently faced? Interviewer: Job security 37.9k Share
    via u/DragonsLoooveTacos
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    Saxon_Shields69. When you are signing all the forms they give you and you are taking your time to read over every document so that you can fully understand what you are getting into and people come in and start telling you that you don't need to read this and that just sign here and so on. 16.2k Share
    via u/Saxon_Shield69
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    [deleted] I didn't know it at the time, but "you'll be wearing many hats" was a sign that they were going to give me the work of four positions and the wage of one. I didn't last a year there before I left and now I won't even finish reading job ads that include that line. 32.9k Share
    via u/deleted
  • 15
    kharmatika My current boss gave me a great tip on the last interview I had. He said "Ask them if you can pick an employee to chat with about how they like the position you're applying for. They'll give a better impression of the place than management". I got the job I was interviewing for. I turned it down because the above is the kind of management I want to keep in my life. Also the place undercut my pay offer I found out which is certainly also a red flag. 4.5k Share
    via u/kharmatika
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    accidentpronehiker "You are required to wear clothing that has the company logo. You must purchase it yourself. From the company." 27.8k Share Kamikazepyro9. This is illegal in most US States, unknown about outside the US 12.0k Share ...
    via u/accidentpronehiker, u/Kamikazepyro9
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    53raptor I once showed up for an interview and the manager wasn't there that day. No one called me to let me know. The assistant manager was not apologetic for the scheduling issue at all. She was literally just like "oh, she's not here today" in a tone that suggested I should somehow already know that. She said they would call me to reschedule some time the next week. I told her I was currently unavailable M- W but could come in any time Th-F. She said if I couldn't make time for the interview,
    via u/53raptor
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    You'd think that would be the end of it, but both the manager and the assistant manager badmouthed me to a few other people in the industry, including one of my friends. Hello? I made time for an interview. You disrespected me by not calling me to let me know it was canceled. I gave you the times I was available to reschedule, and that was disrespectful somehow? 25.7k Share ...
    via u/53raptor
  • 19
    Xerodo Jobs where the expectations of the position aren't clear. The person hiring you should be able to give a clear idea of your responsibilities are day to day in a practical way. It shows that the company understands what it wants out of the position. I've worked a couple positions that had a really hard time figuring out who was supposed to do what that lead to a lot of confusion and both of them had this in the interviews. If the company you're working for can't define what success in that
    via u/Xerodo
  • 20
    beard_lover When you ask, "what do you like about working here" and the interviewer talks about the location of the job ("it's a great place to live!") instead of the actual job. 37.9k Share
    via u/beard_lover
  • 21
    T98i. I asked this at one of my first interviews right out of school. My interviewer went, "That's a good question." and was ruminating for a good 2 minutes. She went with, "We get pretty good parking spots..." and quickly followed with, "...and the people are nice." Umm... 10.8k Share
    via u/T98i
  • 22
    madeamashup I interviewed for an independent contractor position on a piece rate. It's hard to predict how much you're going to earn on a piece rate, so to attract me the manager showed me some paystubs from his guys. I noticed that: 1. He could easily cherry pick paystubs to show my his best guys best weeks. All that tells me is that I'm likely to make less than what he's showing me, at least on average. 2. The paystubs were obviously designed to be confusing. They were a full page and absolute
    via u/madeamashup
  • 23
    has to deduct and pay) but he took them away before anyone could have deciphered what the pay period, piece rate, number of jobs or kms was. 3. He showed me other people paystubs! Another red flag is that they were desperate to hire, because they didn't have enough contractors to deliver the work contracts they'd already sold. I had two guys from different offices call me after I'd declined the position who apparently still thought I was considering it. 14.5k Share
    via u/madeamashup
  • 24
    glitterpumps I brought up a company's awful Glassdoor reviews and they got so mad they ended the interview. Well. Guess I dodged that bullet 46.8k Share CorporateCesspool I've done this a few times during interviews. I've gotten the same responses and it has never been addressed professionally. Even when companies have stellar reviews, I like to ask about their online reviews. It shows me their reactions to stressful situations. I also figure they're looking at everyone's LinkedIn or whatever, s
    via u/glitterpumps, CorporateCesspool
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    dachjaw I was once told "Sometimes the hourly workers go on strike and they lock us in to keep the production line running, but management brings us steaks and we have an informal agreement with the unions so you can cross the picket lines once a week to visit your wife." 14.6k Share splorkt The question was SUBTLE red flags. 12.7k Share
    via u/dachjaw, splorkt
  • 26
    VictorBlimpmuscle When they feel the need to reassure you in the interview that at that company, they "work hard, but also play hard." They don't play hard - it's a sweatshop and they're just trying to convince that's it's anything but one. 8.1k Share [deleted] 100% - work hard play hard translates to a MINIMUM of 50 hours a week, BUT you can use our games room because we totally have one. 2.6k Share
    via u/VictorBlimpmuscle, deleted
  • 27
    [deleted] "We don't like 'clockwatchers' here. We expect everyone to be committed." Expecting more work for no extra pay. Getting mad at you when you leave at 5 even though your stated work hours end a 5 20.4k Share FogeltheVogel Well, then you won't mind if I come in at 9:30. You're not watching the clock, after all. 11.8k Share
    via u/deleted, FogetltheVogel
  • 28
    [deleted] I once turned down a job offer because they mentioned that the previous person in the position had quit after a few months, and most of the people I interviewed with seemed stressed out. 31.5k Share
    via u/deleted
  • 29
    JimboSpicyP They dodge questions on pay, meaning they don't pay enough for what they expect of you. The word "Family" in reference to the employees. Means they want you to work lots of unpaid overtime. EDIT: Also forgot, but if they keep talking about the "experience" you'll gain, that's also code for "We know we're going to be underpaying you." 7.5k Share
    via u/JimboSpicyP
  • 30
    bunintheoven2. I went into an interview for a low-level admin position, and they made my put my cell phone in a bucket up front, stating "no phones are allowed in the back. it reduces productivity." Big NOPE for me. 1.5k Share
    via u/bunintheoven
  • 31
    ChellynJonny "do you have a strong personality" meant everyone else who worked there were raging I who i literally got into massive shouting matches with and quit over within 6 months of having started. The money was good but no ty. 3.1k 43 more replies Share Edward_Morbius The ad for the job has been running continuously for 10+ years. 1.3k Share
    via u/ChellynJonny, Edward_Morbius
  • 32
    ikogut I always ask about training and learning curves. Every job I've had that went wrong- I notice that when that question came up they stumbled. The current job I have, when I asked the question they had sparks in their eyes as they explained the whole process from day 1 of shadowing to the transition to working solo. And even when c 1 hit they managed to continue without skipping a beat.
    via u/ikogut

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ask reddit humor salary boss hr hiring manager coworkers weekends new job working hiring process employees overworked-employees red flags overtime job interview quitting
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