15+ Employees who couldn't make it 1 day without getting fired: 'They hired me but never told me, so I was fired'

Author image for Remy Millisky
Remy Millisky • Writer and Editor
Nov 14, 2025 3:00 PM EST

These workers had barely stepped foot in the building before they found themselves jobless once again. 

The bad vibes found these workers right from the get-go — they were fired before they'd even had much of a chance at their job in the first place. So it goes… Especially when you're young, just starting out in your first job or two, being fired is incredibly common. It's okay when you're a teenager. No one will care in a few years when you're starting a career in a new field, post-college! In the meantime, you can probably find another minimum-wage job and start fresh. New coworkers, new bosses, and with any luck, maybe a pay raise, too. 

Not everyone had the worst time when they were fired — some people have really memorable (and hilarious!) stories to share, which you can read all about below. For example, one kid got his start at a popular sandwich chain… only to be fired. Why? Because his heart wasn't in it, or so said his boss. Incredible. Just an excellent story to be able to tell throughout the rest of one's long, and presumably sandwich-less career. Kudos to every employee here who shared their story, whether they were totally blameless, or whether they were the reason the bosses had to implement new rules!

Up next, read about the exact opposite — these workers quit on the spot and never looked back, like one person who shared that "It was worth it to watch [the manager] stand up to the VP like that." 

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  • 01
    Cheezburger Image 10576074752
    via Getty Images For Unsplash+

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

  • 02
    VEyeDoubleNWhy I didn't get fired, but I got hired at K-Mart when I was 16, went in and filled out all of the New Employee paperwork. After Manager and I finished the Paperwork, she told me to come back in on Monday because the register trainer was on vacation. I came in on Monday and the manager acted like she had never met me. Claimed that I never
    via u/VEyeDoubleNWhy
  • 03
    submitted an application and that I never filled out paperwork. I got a job across the street at a Price Chopper that same day, but the entire experience was bizarre as fuck.
    via u/VEyeDoubleNWhy
  • 04
    DarkFlounder Went in for interviews. Seemed to go well. Got the call with the job offer. Yay. Two hours into my first day, and I get called into the manager's office. Turned out they called the wrong person with the job offer, they intended to hire someone else. So, I need to go.
    via u/DarkFlounder
  • 05
    cxjoshuax21x I had gotten hired on a tv show in the art department and got sick the day before my first day. I called my boss and informed her, but told her I will show up regardless. She told me to stay home and that it wasnt a problem. She called me that night freaking out about how I wasnt there. I asked her why she told me it was ok if it actually wasnt. She
    via u/cxjoshuax21x
  • 06
    then said to me "It doesnt matter what I said, you should have been there." Her boss got mad at her for me not being there, and she then took it out on me. She fired me. It sucked. A few months later she calls me out of blue telling me she got fired and it was my fault somehow. I just hung up on her. I worked on a few shows and movies and got the fuck
    via u/cxjoshuax21x
  • 07
    out of it. I had many other awfull experiences. The job is fun, and the pay is good. But the people are the worst. It really sucked finding out again, and again, that my passion was ruined by shitty people. I never had a good experience. I work in news now and its much better.
    via u/cxjoshuax21x
  • 08
    squirmdragon A Mexican restaurant "hired" me, I worked one day and they never called me back or gave me a schedule. I was a white teen girl in a kitchen where no one spoke English. It was a difficult day. I'm absolutely convinced they made me come in and work one day because they were short handed and never officially hired me.
    via u/squirmdragon
  • 09
    Bo... My SO was fired on his first day of work when he was 16. The boss over at the Subway sandwich place told him that he just didn't think his heart was in it...
    via u/Bodymindisoneword
  • 10
    dustind2012 Security messed up my badging process going from being a contractor to a permanent employee. Got to work and security was looking for me to get me off site (of a nuclear plant). My badge was accidentally deactivated. One of my co-
    via u/dustind2012
  • 11
    workers caught me on the way in asking why he heard I got fired and I didn't know what he was talking about. Took a few hours of sitting in my car outside the plant, but they got my badge activated again. That's how I got fired on my first day as a nuclear professional.
    via u/dustind2012
  • 12
    MrMeeeseeks There's a story on reddit about a teenage kid who got fired on his first day of working at the supermarket for eating all the skin off the rotisserie chickens. His side of the story: I just fuckin love rotisserie chicken skin.
    via u/MrMeeeseeks
  • 13
    Raverzel Worked a six hour shift at Quiznos once when I was 16. I should have suspected something was off because they told me I was hired and that I'd start working that same day, and when I got there I was given a Quiznos shirt and no paperwork to fill out whatsoever. Finished the shift and when I asked when I should come back, my boss told me he'd call.
    via u/Raverzel
  • 14
    Found out later through an acquaintance who also worked there that the dirtbag running the place was short on people that day and just called someone from their job application pile at random (me) to fill up a slot. Never intended to keep me. That place was shady as hell right up until it closed not too long after.
    via u/Raverzel
  • 15
    [deleted] Got fired on accident once. I have the same name as someone else who worked for another depot. At the time I was working for the state as a mechanic and our supervisor was out of an office in Indianapolis. So he drives down, fires me work "work related issues", has me submit my uniform and stuff, and tells me to go
    via u/[deleted]
  • 16
    home and that my papers will come in the mail. So I go home madder than all hell and file a grievance with the state and get a lawyer thinking there has to be something I can do.
    via u/[deleted]
  • 17
    After my lawyer contacts the state, the figure out that I wasnt supposed to get fired and that this other guy who has the same name as me was supposed to get fired. Supervisor got in trouble for making that mistake and I got my job back with a pay raise.
    via u/[deleted]
  • 18
    Calamity_Jay I was fired from an assignment at the U.S. Postal Service without ever actually showing up to do anything. I had been working as a mail handler/dock worker at the downtown station, which was a pretty cush gig. My supervisor, some cantankerous old cunt who thrived on people cowering
    via u/Calamity_Jay
  • 19
    at her authority, didn't like me very much as I never gave a wet, runny shit about her, did my job better than anyone they ever had there, and she was failing at getting a family member of hers into my position. Time goes on, I'm eventually told I'm being transferred to another station and to expect my last check from the current station in the mail. No big. Check never
    via u/Calamity_Jay
  • 20
    comes, so I go back to my old station (important to note that I still hadn't started my new assignment yet) to find out what's going on, only to be greeted with "Why'd you come here?" and "Why did you never show up at the other station? Boy, they fired you!"
    via u/Calamity_Jay
  • 21
    Turns out I was expected to show up at my new assignment the very next day... only I was never told this. I'll give you three guesses as to who was supposed to tell me.
    via u/Calamity_Jay
  • 22
    kingjoffreysmum I worked at a hairdressers for my first Saturday job when I was 15. I was asked to carry some dishes of mixed up hair dye from the prep area, to the little tray the hairdresser was using.
    via u/kingjoffreysmum
  • 23
    I tripped over the cord of a hairdryer another hairdresser was using (small salon and bad timing), and dropped the dishes straight onto another customer's Mulberry handbag. I cried, the customer screamed at me and I was ushered out the back door 15 minutes later, still crying. I felt so bad; it was just an accident.
    via u/kingjoffreysmum
  • 24
    It also made me never set foot in a hair salon for another 3 years!
    via u/kingjoffreysmum
  • 25
    Karenswalk I got fired for not having a collar on my shirt. I was told to dress business casual. It meant no jeans, shorts, or tank tops. I had on a pair of slacks and a pretty blouse.
    via u/Karenswalk
  • 26
    optimaloutcome I went in to an office supply store and turned an application in to the manager. We talked for a few, and they asked me to come back the next day for an interview. They loved me in the interview, had me take this computer-based 'morality test' which I passed with no issues.
    via u/optimaloutcome
  • 27
    Manager said I was hired, so we start putting me in to the system, he gets to my birthdate, stops, looks at me and says "Wait, you're only 16? We can't hire people under the age of 18 here. No one thought you were younger than 18 so we didn't bother to verify up front." Doh.
    via u/optimaloutcome
  • 28
    twistlock Didn't get fired but I quit.. When I was a teenager I was a waiter at an Italian restraurant for one day. I actually quit before serving my first table because the code I was given to login to the POS system was coming up as invalid. When I asked the manager for help he said
    via u/twistlock
  • 29
    "leave me alone and figure it out". Since I literally couldn't do my job without a working code I just told him to fuck off and went home. The restaurant was out of business a couple months later.
    via u/twistlock
  • 30
    Itomasini I was a normal college kid looking for a job at O'Charlies. I had a friend who already worked there who was going to be my reference. I had an interview and it went great! I also had to take a personality test.
    via u/Itomasini
  • 31
    They called me later that night to tell me I failed the personality test and would not be hired. I was so bummed. They called me again the next day wondering where I was. I told them I failed the test and they said I wasn't supposed to know that and would I still be able to come into work. Nahhh...that was a sign for me.
    via u/Itomasini
  • 32
    RARBird Got hired at a beach concession stand after I finished graduate school and wanted an "easy" job for a while while I built up my business. My only task was microwaving frozen pizzas.
    via u/RARBird
  • 33
    They only had one microwave, so it was easy to get backlogged. They asked me not to come back because I wasn't putting out the orders fast enough, but there was no way to even put two in at a time.
    via u/RARBird
  • 34
    NDoilworker It was 104 degrees, I hadn't done anything physical in 2 months, the elevation change was 4,500 feet, and we were understaffed to be pouring that concrete foundation...also that concrete was dry as hell. Owner handed me 200$ and sent me on my way at the end of the day.
    via u/NDoilworker
  • 35
    Zyphur009 I got fired from my first job ever at Subway. It was more like on day three but it was on day one of working with the manager and actually getting "proper training". I didn't get hired by him but I was hired by another manager who switched stores and handed me off to him. This one dude was also working there on day six and he was outshining me. The
    via u/Zyphur009
  • 36
    manager kept putting me down for not knowing certain things and ended up firing me because he said I wasn't "learning fast enough." It wrecked my self- confidence and I felt worthless for months. But then I got a job at Walmart and they treated me much nicer. Now I look back and think about how much of a
    via u/Zyphur009
  • 37
    douchebag he actually was, ughhhhh makes me wanna go order a tuna sandwich and smash it all over his floor. But oh well, I liked working at Walmart more than Subway anyways so it was for the best.
    via u/Zyphur009
  • 38
    k⠀⠀krazy Was hired for graveyard at McDonald's as my first job when I was 16.part way in my shift and went on break to nap. 2nd graveyard manager didn't know apparently that I went on break so fired me. Got a call a day later from that manager apologizing but I got a new weekend job
    via u/k***krazy
  • 39
    ScripterAl Not first day, but I was a replacement for someone who was recovering from a surgery or something (not too serious). I was told I would probably work weekends for the next 3 months while he was recovering. Cool, I just want to get my feet wet so this seems like a nice first job without any expectation of commitment from me.
    via u/ScripterAl
  • 40
    Finish work first day: tired, smell bad (I was a dishwasher at a restaurant), already want to kill myself, go home eat a bowl of ice cream then go to sleep. Next morning: "Turns out doesn't need more than a week to recover! So... we're jsut gonna give you the option to leave whenever you want within this next week, but after that we can't keep you."
    via u/ScripterAl
  • 41
    Noped right outta there cause that job was awful. Not really a firing but still, 1 and done.
    via u/ScripterAl
  • 42
    100000nopes Went to an interview at a snowball stand when I was 15. This was my first interview and first job. The guy that owned the place took the job extremely seriously. Giving me speeches about work ethic and whatnot. Anyway, he asks me a few questions, goes over a list of rules, then tells me to start
    via u/100000nopes
  • 43
    go fill bottles in the back. He never said I officially had the job, I didn't sign any papers or anything. I fill the bottles. then he asks me to go break up some ice bags. Next thing you know 5 hours had passed and I did pretty much everything there is to do in the store. The guy comes out and hands me a $20 and a piece of paper with a schedule for the next week. I tell him that this is all
    via u/100000nopes
  • 44
    good and fine except for the last day because I was leaving with family for San Antonio and would be back after 5 days. He sighs loudly and asks. why I didn't tell him about it before. I said that he never asked about my availability nor officially offer me the job. He sighs again and tells me to "just leave and don't bother coming back." so I did.
    via u/100000nopes
  • 45
    000-000-000yea I got hired to do some construction at a festival site, great summer job. Well they never told me they hired me, so I was talking to an acquaintance who worked there, and he asked me why the fuck I never came in. Turns out they hired me but never told me.... so I was fired!
    via u/ooo-ooo-oooyea
  • 46
    [deleted] Delivering pizzas at Papa John's in 1999. The magnetic sign blew off my car. Manager said they were rated 80 mph. I told her I had just waxed my car and it was slick on a windy day. Then some people called and said they had the sign, and saw it blow off. Said that I was winding my car out, speeding, yelling and
    via u/[deleted]
  • 47
    listening to some loud obnoxious music. All of which was true. I was just so happy that I got that job I was winding my Little RX7 down a long empty hill screaming WOOOO HOOOO! And had Kyuss cranked to 11. Never knew it even blew off. I deserved to get fired.
    via u/[deleted]
  • 48
    savealltheelephants I got a job housekeeping for a small local motel when I was 18. Worked my first day, no issues and no fuck ups on my part. Came back the next day and the girl behind the counter hands me a note that says "no longer needed" from the manager.
    via u/savealltheelephants
  • 49
    My friend who worked there later told me the manager told him that I lied on my application. I did not. What do you have so lie about to be a maid? Assholes.
    via u/savealltheelephants
  • 50
    clegg I got a job as a telemarketer. 1st summer job. I was selling tickets to an old timer hockey game. I got a girl the phone. After I explained the deal," portion goes to help kids in need, etc" she tells me that she's a broke college student but if it's for a good cause she'll buy 2
    via u/clegg
  • 51
    tickets and donate them to someone in need. She was a nice girl, compared to the shit everyone else was giving me, so I thanked her for offering to buy the tickets, told her it wasn't worth it, and how she should spend her money some other way.
    via u/clegg
  • 52
    She was confused, we laughed, and I got called into th office and canned a few min. later. I guess they screened the call.
    via u/clegg
  • 53
    Man in blue and red jacket smiles at woman in neon yellow vest wearing hard hat with nature background
    via Yunus Tuğ For Unsplash+

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

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