Job candidate blindsided when their new employer terminates them on their first day on the basis of their first day being a "trial period": 'I had accepted a full-time job at $22/hour'

Author image for Brad Dickson
Brad Dickson • Managing Editor
Dec 22, 2025 6:00 PM EST

The hardest part about wrapping your mind around even starting the job search is the feeling of uncertainty. That loss of security that you will experience through the interview process. While you hope to end up in a better place, advancement in career, higher earnings, and more growth potential, you fear that you'll actually end up taking steps backward.

We're taught that our careers, like our lives, will have a linear progression: work hard, get promoted, earn more, and become more financially secure. 

It really is for this reason that the idea of "trial periods" in employment doesn't really make sense. The idea of leaving a job that is a secure "sure thing" just to enter into an uncertain "trial period" really leaves you scratching your head. Sure, in jurisdictions with strong employment protections, they save a small business the pain of being stuck with a "dud," someone who should have never made it through the hiring process, who, for one reason or another, they now cannot get rid of. But, for candidates and employees, the very idea of the concept is backward and serves as the opposite of what you're hoping to achieve by taking a new role.

But in areas where the doctrine of "at will" employment is the root of all employee/employer relationships, there is no need for any cause to dismiss an employee anyway, so the idea of a trial period is always implied; your entire employment becomes a trial period. And, if at any point your employer decides they no longer want to employ you, the ability to terminate you is at their discretion. 

The reality is that life doesn't follow a linear path. We can't always know what's in store for us, or just around the corner. But we can control one thing: continuing to learn and grow from anyone and every experience. This is the surefire way to ensure you find success wherever you end up in life; success just won't always look like you anticipated.

Unfortunately, this wasn't going to help this candidate in the short term, given that they were blindsided by their new job with a trial period that they hadn't been told about. Given the constantly moving goalposts that they experienced on their first day on the job, it's doubtful that this was even a trial period at all, and that their new "employer" was just getting cold feet for some other reason and couldn't be trusted.

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  • "I was accepted for a full-time job, left my old one, and on my first day, they told me it was just a trial period."

    This just happened and I'm still processing it. I had accepted a full- time job at $22/hour, submitted my resignation from my old job with three. weeks' notice, and even arranged to take two weeks off between jobs to decompress.
    via tiHdayare
  • Two candidates sit waiting to start a job interview in a grey interview room
    via Vitaly Gariev

    The image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • Then I got an email from HR saying they needed to push my start date back another week. It was a bit annoying because it meant a longer period without a paycheck, but I figured, no big deal, just more time to relax.
    via tiHdayare
  • Finally, my first day of work arrived. I met the team lead at a nearby cafe, and he gave me a quick 15-minute rundown of what I was supposed to do. Honestly, the training was a joke. He basically just gave me a map and a list of street names and told me to get to work.
    via tiHdayare
  • After about 5 hours out, I returned to check in with the manager. He pulled me aside and said, 'We appreciate you coming in today. We've decided not to move forward with your
    via tiHdayare
  • employment, but thank you for your help.' I was shocked. This was after they had explicitly told me the full- time job was mine. So now I'm unemployed and back to square one with the job search. Just fantastic, honestly.
    via tiHdayare
  • sciarabbal225 Was it on paper that you got the full time job, like a welcome letter?
    via tiHdayare
  • Superb Ordinary_325 You need to sue them. This is unfair treatment are wrongful termination. Do you have anything in writing that states the position was fulltime? There are so many stories on Reddit like this one. Until we start fighting back, nothing is going to change. There are attorneys that will take a case on a contingency bases. Please contact one. Also report them to the Labor board.
    via tiHdayare
  • Relevant-Context-874 Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that. That probably nothing to do with you. If that's any kind of consolation. In addition to looking for the other work, you might want to write your old place back and say you made a
    via tiHdayare
  • terrible mistake by leaving and would they consider having you back. You might also want to write the other place and ask them to give you another shot. I realize that both are long shots but couldn't hurt. Sorry to hear about it.
    via tiHdayare
  • Catsareawesome007 Wow, that sucks. Ask for your old job back. Next time, get everything in writing. Read the reviews online too.
    via tiHdayare

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workplace discussion employment issues antiwork jobs candidates job candidate employees overworked-employees Horrible Bosses workplace story employment
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