Job candidate leaves in the middle of group interview after company refuses to provide health insurance to new hires: ‘I don't care’

Author image for Bar Mor Hazut
Bar Mor Hazut • Senior Editor
Mar 26, 2026 4:00 PM EDT

How can you tell that the company you're interviewing for actually cares about its employees?

It can be tricky, finding ways to glean into a company's culture while you're in the hiring process. It's not like you can ask how they treat their employees, because obviously, they will never tell you if they treat them badly. And most companies don't really let current employees talk to potential hires. 

This means that job candidates have to be smart about how they can find out if the workplace they are interviewing for is worth their time. You have to ask the right questions, know what benefits are a must, and what it means to you when a company refuses to provide something.

The job candidate below, for example, recognised a few signs in their hiring process that pointed to a company that doesn't really care about its employees. First, the hiring process itself was a red flag, since the workplace insisted on doing a group interview with other candidates, which is not a good indication of how attentive the company is to its workers.

But the real reason why this candidate decided to withdraw their application was because of something that happened during the group interview. When the hiring manager asked if anyone had any questions, this candidate decided to inquire about the health insurance for the employees, and to their surprise, they were told that the only employees who are eligible for health insurance are branch managers, meaning only four employees in the whole company.

This was an immediate sign for this job candidate that the company doesn't value its employees. If they refuse to provide something as basic as health insurance to all their workers, they obviously don't care about their health. And this candidate has no interest in working for a workplace like that.

The candidate decided they are not going to waste another minute for this company, and left the group interview the second they heard the hiring manager's response about the health insurance. Was that the right call? Keep scrolling to read all about it.

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  • Woman job seeker at the interview, the girl answers the interviewer's questions
    via dikushin

    Woman job seeker at the interview, the girl answers the interviewer's questions.

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

  • I left in the middle of a group interview and I don’t feel bad

    I applied for a sales job that had a group interview. I'm not fond of group interviews to begin with, but the pay for this job was good and it worked well with my hours.
    via big***sbiggerdrive
  • At one point, she asked if we had questions and I asked if there were health insurance plans.
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  • She explained that branch managers have the option to get health insurance, meaning that four employees in the whole company are able to get insurance.
    via big***sbiggerdrive
  • And of course that would be after years of me working there and might never happen at all.
    via big***sbiggerdrive
  • I just said "I'm not interested in working for a company that doesn't care about my health." and I hung up.
    via big***sbiggerdrive
  • I don't feel bad at all. Companies get to vilify and scrutinize employees for literally any reason, from past convictions regardless of circumstance and growth, to literally "gaps" between unemployment because we're expected to work every second we're breathing.
    via big***sbiggerdrive
  • I don't care about making a company look bad when they don't care about the well being of most of their employees.
    via big***sbiggerdrive
  • Lizzy_Of_Galtar The idea that your health depends on what company you serve is some serious 1984 level thing.
    via Lizzy_Of_Galtar
  • big biggerdrive Original Poster's Reply I hate it so much too. I haven't had healthcare for months while I have health issues. My health issues aren't even that hard to take care of but because I can't I'm exhausted all the time. We're literally cattle
    via big***sbiggerdrive
  • Woman walking down a hallway, looking back
    via Sueda Dilli

    Woman walking down a hallway, looking back

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

  • Survive 1014 I accidently found myself in group interview once. I walked out when they explained everyone was expected to work mandatory overtime Saturdays frequently. Nope. my family is way more important.
    via Survive1014
  • big biggerdrive Original Poster's Reply I interviewed for a job recently that said I have to work one weekend a month. I said that was great because I love having a day or two off in the week to do business hours stuff. She responded and let me know that they can't do a full day off but that they would try to get me a half day. So every single month I would have been expected to work 12 days in a row with one of them possibly being a half day. No thank you, I have a life to live
    via big***sbiggerdrive
  • MzHellfier I can guarantee you that they are not paying more just because they don't offer health insurance. It is a scam that we have to rely on our employers to provide insurance, but in the current situation, it's not a choice between government sponsored or employer sponsored, it's a choice between having insurance or not. Personally, there is probably no amount of pay that would make up for not providing coverage. I have multiple chronic conditions and and take 9 different medications. One
    via MzHellfier
  • bigt biggerdrive Original Poster's Reply Yeah it was a pay rise but definitely not enough to afford the monthly specialist visits I need and meds. And if there's any diagnostic work that needs to be done in a hospital I'm cooked. My pcp visits are 120 out of pocket, but if I get any test done at all those are billed separately. And that's all if I don't need an emergency visit.
    via big***sbiggerdrive
  • Fantastic_Key_8906 If the company you work for don't supply EVERY employee with health insurance, you live in a country.
    via Fantastic_Key_8906
  • bigt biggerdrive Original Poster's Reply I live in the us so definitely
    via big***sbiggerdrive
  • RetiredCIABloke more people should walk away from setups like that instead of tolerating them just to have a job. At the same time, I get why people still accept these roles, the economy is rough, jobs are limited, and it feels like a system that keeps people stuck in debt and desperation. They'll still find. someone willing to take it. Still, if you end up searching again, you could try what was shared in that other post, there are huge lists of recruitment firms and it actually worked for me,
    via RetiredCIABloke
  • ReeveStodgers I walked out of an in-person group interview after they revealed that the pay was $14 an hour to manage a store, no benefits. That was after a 30 minute description of the job, which included being a full time mall photographer, 7 days a week. This was almost 25 years ago. I didn't look back, but I hope some of the 30 other people followed suit because that was ridiculous even then.
    via ReeveStodgers
  • AsexualNinja Years ago I went to a group interview for temporary managerial rolls. The first sentence out of the lead interviewer's mouth was "This job doesn't have health insurance" and six people got up in near-perfect unison and left.
    via AsexualNinja
  • Neat_Shallot_606 I left during an interview when I learned it was to be a mortgage broker. I had to get all my own leads and then "rent a desk" which included some programs needed to do the job. 'So I have to pay you, to bring you my leads, give you all the money, and then you give me some of it back?' No benefits, but "unlimited income potential." Even in my 20's I could read scam.
    via Neat_Shallot_606

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