20+ Job candidates who spotted red flags during job interviews: 'You could not pay me enough to work for that place'

Author image for Remy Millisky
Remy Millisky • Writer and Editor
Jun 7, 2025 11:00 AM EDT

When an interviewer refuses to tell you the salary for the job you're interviewing for, that should raise a few red flags in your mind. When seeking a good candidate, you need to pay a proper salary. So when the person is acting sketchy about telling their candidate the proper salary, it should raise a red flag that maybe they aren't looking for the best person for the job, but rather the cheapest. 

A lot of companies do look for the cheapest labor, and when that person gets irritated with the job and leaves, they'll just find the next cheapest person to hire. 

That's not the only red flag people noticed during their job interviews. Read a bunch of interesting stories for yourself down below and see if you've encountered any of the same types of red flags! 

Next up, read about some bosses who got stuck with the strangest employees, like one employee who got fired after he "showed up 45 minutes late, wearing shorts and Crocs." 

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  • 01
    SanaJisu "We're legally not allowed to tell you not to take your breaks, but nobody here does it, so keep that in mind."
    via u/SanaJisu
  • 02
    jbsinger Two things, really. I was interviewing in for a job to work on a new Windows based spreadsheet (a long time. ago.) The group of people I interviewed with all seemed in fear. That was the first thing.
    via u/jbsinger
  • 03
    The second thing was that on the way out, talking with HR, they said that they had paid $10,000 to the recruiter to send recruits, and if I left before one year, I would have to pay them back $10,000. It would be in my employment contract. You could not pay me enough to work for that place. I never want to talk to them, ever. Next.
    via u/jbsinger
  • 04
    Twitch_Yung FeetG... When the first thing they ask is if you're a available outside of your listed availability
    via u/Twitch_YungFeetGod69
  • 05
    NoxRiddle When asked if they had a radius requirement (that I needed to live within X miles in case of emergency), they laughed and said "doesn't matter, you won't be going [home] very often."
    via u/NoxRiddle
  • 06
    floridas_lostboy "How negotiable are you on payment?" Like bruh, your salary range was already scraping the bottom of the barrel.
    via u/floridas_lostboy
  • 07
    BarcoDiaz I was once desperate for a paycheck and set up an interview for a truck washing job. I showed up in my nice. clothes only to find that not only were they interviewing 3 candidates at the same time for 1 open position, but
    via u/BarcoDiaz
  • 08
    that it was a "learning interview", so we would be washing trucks while interviewing. I told them I had to use the bathroom, walked out a bay door, and never looked back.
    via u/BarcoDiaz
  • 09
    Teslaohm I have a weird one, the interviewer asked me about my hobbies and I mentioned some typical ones: reading, writing, cooking, etc. He then asked about my writing and I just mentioned I've been working on a novel in my spare time. "Hmm, in my experience, writers make poor engineers," he said.
    via u/Teslaohm
  • 10
    I didn't really know how to respond to that. He elaborated that, "Writers typically think that they will hit it big once they finish their book and don't focus on the job," I assured him that I applied for an engineering job because I wanted to do engineering and that writing was a hobby. Kind of thankful I didn't get that job.
    via u/Teslaohm
  • 11
    Cheezburger Image 10514306304
    via Getty Images For Unsplash+

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • 12
    FunnyShirtGuy Them: 'It's about getting the job done. Most of our people come in up to an hour early to get everything done' Me: 'Oh, that's cool. It's nice to have an overtime option available' Them: 'Nooooo, they come in off the clock because the job just can't be done in a shift' Me: 'Wait, so you expect people to work off the
    via u/FunnyShirtGuy
  • 13
    clock?' Them: 'Absolutely. It's about getting the job done even if it's not something that even CAN be done in the time you're working' Me: 'LOL, that's illegal' This dude had been working there 20 years and said he'd come in a minimum of an hour early every f'ing shift and expected everyone working under him to do the same!
    via u/FunnyShirtGuy
  • 14
    [deleted] So I went to a psychoanalysis counselor for an internship interview. I was expecting normal questions. Then he goes "what do you think of the trees outside" and I was like "they are pretty, I like trees." And he was like "no. Dig deeper." So it was a half hour interview just digging deeper about trees. Then at
    via u/[deleted]
  • 15
    the end he just goes "Ok Goodbye. I need you to leave now." And that was it. I obviously didnt think i got it but at like 9pm a week later he called and was like "I guess we can make this work" and I was like "Um. No. I already got one thanks."
    via u/[deleted]
  • 16
    null... I showed up 10 minutes early in my best suit. They sat me in a room and put on Mighty Joe Young. Over the next 45 minutes, about 20 other people shuffled in for what was apparently a group interview. I was comically overdressed. The owner was an hour late. Upon entry, he didn't ask, but rather told us to smile.
    via u/nullhed
  • 17
    The job was supposedly a sales position that also required setting up and breaking down presentations. In reality, it was two girls in a small car going door to door and asking to do "presentations" of a product in rich neighborhoods. Once someone accepted, I (and four others) were to show up in a van (which was to be roaming the neighborhood)
    via u/nullhed
  • 18
    and the girls would leave to "set up more presentations". It was the skeeziest operation I have ever seen. Owner was very adamant about rushing right in so they "didn't have a chance to change their mind". I was 18 and naive, but I still managed to call them out on their massive red flag collection by day two.
    via u/nullhed
  • 19
    dylangoesfast Interview was at 10AM, they made me wait until 10:45 before someone could finally see me. First question they asked me was how I feel about working overtime. They asked me another 2-3 times if I was REALLY sure I was okay with it, which tells me that A. They're going to
    via u/dylangoesfast
  • 20
    make me work over a lot and B. they've had people quit shortly after being hired because this job clearly SOCKS. When I asked them to describe the work environment/culture, one guy says they get at each other's throats sometimes and its intense, but they're like a big dysfunctional family. No thanks.
    via u/dylangoesfast
  • 21
    Crie DeCoeur "We will figure out your variable comp after the first year..." "What are your salary expectations? No, we won't tell you what it pays." <hastily notes that you're not a team player>
    via u/Crie DeCoeur
  • 22
    "This is a brand new role for which we have not yet determined what success looks like." To name a few...
    via u/Crie DeCoeur
  • 23
    Fcktheadmins He wanted 3 references for an unskilled, low paying job, and ranted politics during the phone call.
    via u/Fcktheadmins
  • 24
    [deleted] I had applied for a marketing position with a local tech company. A woman called to set up the interview, but a few things seemed a little too vague in the job description. Since I really didn't need the job I was very direct with her and asked "is this an actual marketing job or is this a sales job that's been given a marketing title?" I had run
    via u/[deleted]
  • 25
    into that a couple times, but usually the job description clarifies it. Her response was, "all I can tell you is what is in the job description." So there's the red flag, but because the office was only a block away from where I was already working I figured I would go and entertain myself. Anyway, to make a long story short, |
    via u/[deleted]
  • 26
    was right. It was a sales job, and to make matters worse it was probably the slimiest company I have ever applied for, and I once went to an Amway meeting so that should say something.
    via u/[deleted]
  • 27
    Cheezburger Image 10514306560
    via Getty Images For Unsplash+

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • 28
    virgilreality Not so much an interview as a job offer. I was recently divorced, and teaching part-time for a technology education company in Wisconsin. They send people in for required training on Excel, that kind of thing. Six months in, they offer me full time. I was barely making ends meet, so it looked promising.
    via u/virgilreality
  • 29
    I read the contract fully. I would have to attend training so I could teach upper level courses (think server management instead of Excel) any time period I was not teaching. Sounds reasonable on its face. They would keep track of the courses I took. If at any point I ended my
    via u/virgilreality
  • 30
    employment, I would have to pay back the full retail value of any courses I took over the previous two years. The retail cost of those classes started at $500 per day, and I was only making $125 per day plus expenses.
    via u/virgilreality
  • 31
    It was basically signing up for indentured servitude at the risk of my credit rating. This was my introduction to the phrase "predatory employment". I said no thank you in the most polite way I could, and started applying for actual developer jobs closer to my kids. Good thing that worked
    via u/virgilreality
  • 32
    out fast, because I found my schedule diminishing, and my subjects changed to ones way outside my skills. and comfort zone.
    via u/virgilreality
  • 33
    AdWorldly4588 I was interviewing for a local gas station. The pay was great. I went to the interview and woman immediately said, "Good! You're not a millennial!" I am, in fact, a millennial... "I don't hire millennials. They are lazy and entitled." We chatted for
    via u/AdWorldly4588
  • 34
    a while and somehow she got into explaining how she punishes employees. She would schedule them for shifts they didn't want, save them tedious tasks, cut hours, etc. That was a big nope. I'm glad she was stupidly honest.
    via u/AdWorldly4588
  • 35
    IntuiNtrovert I interviewed with a certain big satellite tech company, for a L2 tech support job. When the hiring manager took me for a tour of the rest of the team/building, every room we went into there was a sudden attitude shift, when everyone shut up, straightened up, stared at their screens, stopping idle.
    via u/IntuiNtrovert
  • 36
    chat amongst themselves, etc. I realized basically he was a manager from everyone's body language of the current employees.
    via u/IntuiNtrovert
  • 37
    Cheezburger Image 10514332160
    via Getty Images For Unsplash+

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • 38
    SkittleCar1 This story is from 20 or so years ago. I worked in a parts department at a dealership. Another dealer owner called me out of the blue and wanted to talk to me. So I swing by after work. The owner says he's interested in hiring me but as a formality I need to fill out an application. He hands me one, leaves the office to give me time to fill it out. He
    via u/SkittleCar1
  • 39
    comes back in, we are talking as he's reading my application. First question, so tell me why it would be worth us paying you $5 an hour more than what you get paid now? That caught me off guard. I said, sir, you called me, I wasn't looking for a different job. This isn't going to work. Shook his hand and walked out. I did
    via u/SkittleCar1
  • 40
    end up leaving to go to another dealership where I have worked the last 18+ years. Two months ago, my current owner bought the dealership from the guy who I felt insulted me. My boss doesn't know how much of a win that is for me personally that he bought them out.
    via u/SkittleCar1
  • 41
    Chris_Thrush When I was young I went to a job interview and they wouldn't say what the job was or how much it paid. They acted like it was really important and there were a bunch of people waiting.
    via u/Chris_Thrush
  • 42
    The guy said I quilified for some advanced testing and when they got me into the next room there was an E meter on the table and a list of questions. It was a front for scientology and they were looking for people to work the org with out being paid. I got up and left.
    via u/Chris_Thrush
  • 43
    SchizoFreako Threw away my application in front of me. Goodwill, was there for community service. I was doing the equivalent work of 3 of her less motivated employees while I was there. I didn't have the heart to tell her that they were about to quit.
    via u/SchizoFreako
  • 44
    Loves_me_tacos125 The infamous "we're like a family here..." which just translates to: "you're gonna be overworked, underpaid and under appreciated...so yeah, f K thanks!!" you, you're hired!
    via u/Loves_me_tacos125
  • 45
    OtherwiseChange... Temp Job that ends in 2 months but recruiter says "It'll definitely be extended" Then on the job interview they say "Here's the scoop, we've got about 2 months left to finish such and such for years end and need help with that"
    via u/OtherwiseChange3621
  • 46
    [deleted] "Our next step is a 3 hour test followed by another round of interviews" for a $14/hr tech support position that amounted to telling people how to unjam printers.
    via u/[deleted]
  • 47
    Chrismesstv vacancy post: we can offer 60k. interviewer: we can offer u 40k. - but its says 60k. interviewer: eeeeem yeah. we posted 60k for finding person who can do this job for 40. Hilariously.
    via u/Chrismesstv

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