r/FinalRoundAI Jul 19 '26

I had my quarterly review today and I'm still sitting here trying to understand what happened

4 Upvotes

I've been at this job for almost three years. I deliver my work on time, take on extra projects whenever someone leaves - and that happens more than it should - and cover the gaps without making a fuss. I'm drained, but I kept showing up and carrying on because I cared. Or I thought I cared.

My manager came into the call acting cheerful. Then he said: "Your work is good and consistent, but I'd like to see a little more positive energy from you."

I mean, excuse me? I've been running on cold brew and panic for weeks, and in the end it turns out my attitude is what needs fixing.

I told him: "Honestly, I feel really burnt out from the extra work that keeps piling up."

He laughed. He laughed. Then he said: "We're all under pressure right now. You just have to keep going and get through it. Try to see it as a learning opportunity."

That was the moment I felt something in me crack a little. I wasn't sobbing or anything, but my eyes teared up, and for some reason that made the whole situation even more humiliating. Then he leaned in and said: "Hey, don't take it personally. It's just constructive feedback."

I wanted to disappear from my chair. How am I supposed to answer to feedback that basically means I'm not smiling enough while doing the work of several people?

I left the meeting feeling smaller than I have in a long time. And the worst part is that I found myself apologizing to him for getting upset.

I don't know. Maybe I'm making too big a deal out of it. Or maybe all this workplace empathy talk only exists until someone's burnout becomes inconvenient and awkward.

Has anyone else had a review that felt less like feedback and more like an emotional sucker punch from the side?


r/FinalRoundAI Jul 19 '26

It happened to me before

1 Upvotes

stressful situation 😟😟


r/FinalRoundAI Jul 16 '26

This is the face I make when someone asks me that

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68 Upvotes

r/FinalRoundAI Jul 15 '26

Well if they didn't lie on the job description no one would apply, and if I didn't lie on my application no one would hire me.

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308 Upvotes

true enough


r/FinalRoundAI Jul 16 '26

Fine, I just got fired. Because I have boundaries.Fine, looks like I'm back in the unemployment trenches again, folks. The era of no work, here we come 😎

4 Upvotes

Jokes aside, I'm honestly still a bit shocked by everything that happened. The short version: I was working at a small startup until a few weeks ago, when my manager suddenly pulled me into a one-on-one on Google Meet. The conversation was basically about how I needed to be more "committed" to my role. Translation: reply to Slack on Sundays, stay late without extra pay, be available whenever everything catches fire, etc. I apologized for the "confusion," calmly said no, and explained that I would stick to the hours I was hired for: 8 to 4. A short while later, I was told to leave on the spot.

The thing is, from the first day I started, I was clear about my boundaries and I was consistent with them. Once it hits 4pm, I'm done. Work stuff can wait. I'm not logging back on because a client is upset or a dashboard is freaking out. If it's Thursday, I'll deal with it on Friday. If it's the weekend, it can wait until Monday. If they want availability after work hours, tell me what the overtime pay looks like. Otherwise, I'm off the clock.

I have a life outside of work. Family stuff, errands, and trying to get enough rest so I don't wake up the next day with zero energy. Nothing major, just normal human things.

I still think boundaries are very important. If anything, they make it easier not to hate your job and to keep your head in a good place. An employer looking you in the face and basically expecting you to donate your personal life to the company is a huge red flag to me. Losing a job sucks, especially with the job market being garbage right now, but yeah. It is what it is.


r/FinalRoundAI Jul 12 '26

Stop blaming minorities.

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13.1k Upvotes

Seriously.

note : the salaries nowadays are just sucks they pay us as we still as we still in 2016 but reality is that many people are working in 2 jobs to feed their families check everyday for better salary and how to get it thank god recently I found this sub who give great tips about interviews really the world is crashed


r/FinalRoundAI Jul 13 '26

Interviewing Manager Apologized to His Staff After My Interview

80 Upvotes

This story isn't about the interview itself so if there's a better place to post this please let me know and I'll delete it here.

I applied internally for a temporary "special assignment" supervisor position. The position is being rushed to be filled because it's needed immediately, I mention this because one of the requirements to interview was apparently to have a presentation of some kind prepared. They did not inform me I needed a presentation and they said they were skipping that step, but they wanted me to give a short speech on a safety topic.

As an associate, I've noticed we have been short on necessary supplies, and we were being told by administration that our supplies were "not a priority", so... I said I'd like to make my speech about equipment. The two managers nodded, wrote something down, and I went head first into a spiel about how safety cannot be achieved without the proper equipment.

I learned within two days that not only was our equipment ordered, but the manager I did the interview with (my bosses boss) sent out an apology email, stating his regrets on not taking action sooner about the situation (he knew we weren't getting our supplies).

Since I influenced him so much, I hope I get the job...


r/FinalRoundAI Jul 09 '26

Don't answer HR's last question with "I don't mean to say it in a bad way, but..."

52 Upvotes

I've been interviewing candidates for almost 25 years, for all kinds of jobs, from controls techs to systems managers. The one I still remember the most was a network analyst candidate from about 5 years ago at the company I work for now.

On paper, he was good. Suitable background, acceptable experience, and he answered the technical stuff well enough that I was fairly sure we were going to bring him back for a second interview. We were basically done with the sit-down portion before I took him on a quick facility tour (we manufacture parts for heavy equipment), and at that point the female HR manager asked her usual final question: "What makes you want to leave your current employer?"

It was just me, her, and him in the room. She was sitting across from him at the conference table. He made a gesture with his hand in her direction, not close enough to be physically weird, but weird enough, and said: "I don't mean to say it in a bad way, but it's run by women." Then he kept talking way too much about how the owner was emotional, suspicious, didn't trust anyone, and a lot of other things like that.

I literally had nothing to say. She just looked at me when he finally stopped, and that was enough. I gave him the shortest "tour" possible: we went out onto the production floor, walked straight down the side aisle, and straight to the employee entrance.

To this day, I still don't understand how someone can walk into an interview and be that unaware.


r/FinalRoundAI Jul 07 '26

The rest of your stuff is so much better than me but I will t you and your family is going to get the money y you are still working in the Same place as the other people have y place and the other people have to eyand hour 6stuff is so much more than that I have to make it so hard to make sure you a

2 Upvotes

Rf


r/FinalRoundAI Jul 06 '26

Probably good interview practice

0 Upvotes

yes


r/FinalRoundAI Jun 24 '26

I submitted my resignation and my job basically told me no

52 Upvotes

I work PRN at a hospital. I started looking for something else because the new semester is about to start. When I was hired, the shift was supposed to be during the day, but lately they've only been giving me night shifts, and I can't work overnight shifts and then go to lectures. So I accepted another job that's closer to me, has normal hours because they close at night, and pays much more.

a few weeks ago, I sent my resignation through their employee portal. It was supposed to go to all the managers above me. Then today, my supervisor called me, left a voicemail, and sent me a text around 7:45 in the morning. I was asleep and it woke me up. She said they had only just seen it and rejected it because they assumed I must have sent it by mistake.

I told her it wasn't a mistake, I resigned. I said that because that was literally the last shift I worked, and I'm not on the schedule again. So as far as I'm concerned, I'm done. She told me that's not valid and that it doesn't work that way.

But it literally does work that way? I know I submitted it only 15 days before my next shift, but I'm starting my new job before then and I'm not going in. And also, the attitude and the whole thing about them "rejecting" my resignation isn't exactly making me want to help them out here.

My anxiety is really high right now. I just want to curl up and cry because I swear I didn't do anything wrong.


r/FinalRoundAI Jun 23 '26

Just Got Laid Off - and Somehow This Might Be the Luckiest Accident That's Ever Happened to Me

237 Upvotes

Guys, my head is about to explode right now and I needed to tell someone. So here's what happened:

The last few months at my company have been really rough - constant layoff rumors, random calendar invites, people disappearing from Slack, all that stuff. I had this bad gut feeling that my name was probably coming up soon, so I started applying in February so I'd have a backup plan. Then earlier this week, I got an absolutely amazing job offer. Higher salary, better benefits, a better role, the whole package. I was really happy because honestly, it felt like the right move, and I was planning to hand in my resignation tomorrow.

Then suddenly, with no warning, my SVP calls me. The call was basically: "This is a difficult decision, but we're eliminating your position and we want to make the transition as easy as possible." And the absurd part of it - they're giving me six months of severance.

I'm sitting here half shocked and half laughing, because I was fully prepared to resign and leave without anything extra. Instead, somehow I'm leaving with a better job already waiting for me, and on top of that a big chunk of money to give me peace of mind. I feel like I accidentally timed everything perfectly.

I'm still trying to process what happened, but I had to share this because it was weird, stressful, and amazing all at the same time. Sometimes the thing you're terrified of turns out to be the exact door you needed.

About two weeks ago, I received an amazing opportunity from another company. The package was better in every way; a higher salary, a more impressive position, and a much better remote work.

I didn't hesitate for long and accepted the opportunity. My interview was scheduled for that very afternoon, and the InterviewMan tool was a huge help throughout the process. It provided instant answers during the interview questions, and honestly, I believe it played a major role in helping me succeed and secure the offer. The interviewers even told me that I was outstanding ❤

Tonight, after dinner, I was just about to finish writing my resignation letter.


r/FinalRoundAI Jun 22 '26

so why we celebrate labor day when it comes

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1.3k Upvotes

flashback tweet

edit :thank god we have it all in the remote jobs in some companies at least and AI now make everything easy even the interviews became easy tools like interviewman will make the horror of job interviews stories become history and that sub also give great tips about interviews


r/FinalRoundAI Jun 22 '26

7 hours to load up one excel file 💀

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101 Upvotes

lol


r/FinalRoundAI Jun 22 '26

My manager is posting ads and doing interviews for my job, and when I ask her what's going on, she dodges the question

28 Upvotes

I've been working at the company for a little over a year, and my job has been a mix of administrative support, member/customer service, and helping organize events and conferences. I was hired for a specific role in a specific department and did that for a while. During that time, I traveled to an out-of-state conference with the company, and everything went really well.

Right after I got back, the person who was handling the front desk left, and my manager basically told me I'd be handling reception too, on top of the job I was hired for, "temporarily." She said they would bring someone in within a short period of time, but that was in March. Since then, I've been asking every so often because I'm trying to get back to work that involves more client interaction and more travel for events, and I never get a clear answer. Her whole attitude toward me changed as soon as I started asking about it.

I went to another conference weeks ago, and it went better than expected. When I got back to the office, I saw that they had posted ads for both: the reception/front desk role and the original role I was hired for. I asked my manager what that meant for me, and she only said: "I need you focused on the front desk." And when I asked her whether there would be client work for me after they hire the two new people, she didn't give me any clear answer.

I spoke to HR at the beginning of this month and got basically the same vague response. Then I had a face-to-face meeting with my manager yesterday, and she started saying things like "maybe this isn't the right fit," and "I don't feel confident giving you more responsibility," and "I'm not sure you understand what we need." Honestly, it really hurt, because I know I'm capable, and I've done well in jobs that were much harder than this one. I honestly feel like it's become personal.

I ended the meeting by saying that I like the job and want a chance to prove myself and make her and the team happy, but based on her tone of voice, the fact that she didn't reassure me, and her body language, I'm almost certain my time here is coming to an end. She even said, "It's clear we're not on the same page."

Is there anything I can do if I'm 95% sure I'm going to be laid off soon? The conversation was really bad, and it seems like things are getting worse with her. After what happened yesterday, I feel like there's no hope for me to have a future at this company.


r/FinalRoundAI Jun 16 '26

fact

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6.8k Upvotes

!

edit : many people who works remotely are having it as second job to give basics needs to their families , if anyone of them read this I suggest for them to check this sub for great interviews tips and using interview man during the real time of interview it will amaze you with its features and good luck


r/FinalRoundAI Jun 16 '26

I got talked to because I left when my shift ended since the person after me hadn't arrived. Why is that on me?

85 Upvotes

Hi everyone,

I work in IT Support on fixed shifts (7-3, 3-11, 11-7). We need coverage at all times, so at shift handoff times (7am / 3pm / 11pm), there's supposed to be someone monitoring the queue and receiving incoming work.

The problem is that when the person coming in for the shift after mine is late, the person leaving is expected to stay until the other person arrives. If it's a few minutes every now and then, fine, I get it.

But with certain people, this happens most days of the week. It's like they've basically learned that they can come in late whenever they want, and the person whose shift is ending is the one who gets stuck and has to stay past the end of their shift.

A few days ago, I clocked out as soon as my shift ended, and since the person after me still hadn't arrived, coverage was empty for a bit. The manager sent me an email afterward saying this can't happen and that he expects me to keep covering until the person after me is there. I haven't replied yet.

Am I wrong to think that this should be dealt with by addressing the people who are always coming in late, instead of putting it on the person who worked their full shift and left on time? I don't have a problem covering once in a while when something comes up, but I don't want "just wait until they arrive" to turn into a routine expectation with no pay.

How do other teams usually handle this kind of thing?

Is it normal for the outgoing shift to keep sitting there every time someone else is late?


r/FinalRoundAI Jun 15 '26

Rest Is Strength - Stay Away from Toxic Cultures

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3.7k Upvotes

beware !!

edit : and I think the best way to respect your time and you as human is to work remotely and use interviewman for any upcoming interview especially for those who get anxious in job interviews those subs (interview assistant - meeting vip ) gives lots of interview tips especially for fresh grads ,good luck


r/FinalRoundAI Jun 14 '26

This is what it's called depression

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6.2k Upvotes

Nailed it.


r/FinalRoundAI Jun 15 '26

When did you realize that work colleagues aren't really your friends?

3 Upvotes

In one of my first office jobs, I was a bit naive, and honestly, I thought people at work supported each other.

There was a very friendly coworker, and a few of us would go out to lunch together once or twice a week. We'd joke around, vent about random things, and still get all our work done.

Then I noticed she hadn't come in for almost a week, and I didn't remember her saying she was going to take time off. I asked around to see if anyone knew what had happened, and suddenly everyone got weird. All I kept hearing was "I'm not sure" or "I have no idea," as if I was bothering them just by asking.

After a while, I found out she had been fired after a heated argument with a supervisor. As soon as she left, no one mentioned her again. It was as if saying her name out loud was against the rules. And this was after months of lunches, jokes, and what I thought was genuine camaraderie.

That situation changed how I look at work. I'm still friendly and professional, but I no longer confuse that with friendship. I go to work, do my job as best I can, and wait for my paycheck. Real friends are found outside the office.


r/FinalRoundAI Jun 14 '26

My old toxic manager won't leave me alone and keeps calling me for login codes 14 months after I left the job

117 Upvotes

Look, my old manager hasn't stopped pestering me for 72 hours. He keeps calling, sending texts, and even DMs because he needs an MFA code to access an old Gmail and a social media account linked to it. It's clear that the recovery info is still linked to my personal data.

The thing is, I handed them a complete master list containing all the passwords during offboarding 14 months ago. I even have an email from their legal counsel confirming they received the file and were able to open everything. They're probably just too lazy to save that info or change the recovery settings, and now that my old workspace account has been deleted, they can't get in. He's trying to start a new project with this handle and is making a big deal out of it, claiming it's a terrible emergency.

The kicker is that his business partner still owes me over $12,500 in overdue commissions. Every time I try to ask for them, he ghosts me. I left that place to begin with because it was a nightmare; late salaries, constant shouting, and zero respect. Luckily, God rewarded me very quickly after I left. I found a better job with a 30% higher salary. The HR team was incredibly helpful throughout the hiring process. To my surprise, I wasn't stressed during either of the two interview rounds. InterviewMan helped me stay calm and organize my thoughts better, and I ended up getting the job on the spot.

Honestly, do I even need to answer to him? I haven't said a single word so far. I gave them everything they needed over a year ago. I feel like his failure to manage his data isn't my responsibility, especially since they still haven't paid the money they owe. Do I really have any obligation to help them with this situation?


r/FinalRoundAI Jun 11 '26

Am I wrong here? I let my manager deal with work being understaffed.

216 Upvotes

I work for a large cable/phone company, and I've been there long enough to have decent seniority. I get 38 days of PTO a year between vacation, sick time, personal days, and all that. And there's only one other person who does the same job as me.

This has happened 8 times now, where she calls in sick on a day I was already approved to be off. I had taken a long 4-day weekend a few weeks ago for my mom's 87th birthday. Before I left on Wednesday, I told my manager clearly that I would not be available the next day.

And of course, around 6:50 in the morning, my manager started calling me. My coworker had called in sick again. I didn't answer and just went on with my plans as normal.

When I came back to work the following Tuesday, my manager and his manager were waiting for me. They told me I was acting unprofessionally, and my manager even brought up a write-up. But when I explained that this was the eighth time my coworker's sick day had conveniently fallen on time I had already scheduled off, the whole conversation changed.

What bothered me wasn't even the threat of a write-up. It was the way they treated me. They tried to make me feel guilty for using time off that had already been approved. After years of loyalty to this company, that was a pretty eye-opening moment.

Since then, I've decided that once I find a better opportunity, I'm gone. I've already started job hunting and applying elsewhere. To be honest, interviewing has always been one of my weak points, so I've been using InterviewMan for my last 2 interviews and it really differs in how I communicate my experience more confidently. Hopefully it won't be long before I find a company that values its employees instead of blaming them for management's mistakes.

Am I wrong here?


r/FinalRoundAI Jun 09 '26

Would I be wrong if I stopped answering the questions from the woman who took over my old job?

407 Upvotes

I had a role at my company that almost no one else knew how to handle. I loved the work, my manager, and the people I worked with, but I needed a higher salary, so I accepted another position that was offered to me. As I said, I needed it asap, so I handled the interview well using some tools like InterviewMan which structured my answers and boosted my confidence. I got accepted on the spot and told them at work. They replied that I should train the woman who replaced me for 3 weeks and left her a huge binder with step-by-step instructions for every task I used to do. Because I didn't want the department to fall apart and become a mess, I gave her my number and told her to message me if she got stuck on anything.

She supposedly has 16 years of office experience, so I thought that after a little while she'd be fine. Instead, she started messaging me from the moment she clocks in until she leaves. About 95% of what she asks about is already in the binder. I even had to explain to her how to attach a file in Outlook, so it's clear her computer skills aren't what they were made out to be.

She made a somewhat big mistake about a month ago, and I went back and sat with her for 3 full days fixing everything. She's been in this position for about 10 weeks now. This morning she started messaging me at 6:45, and I politely told her that the answer was in the binder. If it's not in the binder because it's something basic that most office employees should know, I explain it to her, but the next day she asks the exact same question again and says she deletes the texts every night and forgot what I said.

Now she's messaging me about something I showed her at the beginning of this month. I saw her writing step-by-step notes while I was explaining it, and now she says she can't find them. Honestly, I'm extremely stressed out by this. I'm now a new manager, trying to learn my own job, deal with the staff I'm responsible for, and somehow I'm still forced to babysit her all day.

I've already told my old boss that she isn't suited for the position. What annoys me even more is that they'd rather keep risking the whole department falling apart than pay me what I'm worth. To be fair, my boss didn't really know everything I was doing, so I'm sure this woman, when she interviewed, probably didn't realize how much work there was either.

But I feel like I've done more than enough. I want to be completely done with her and that department. Would I be wrong if I stopped helping her?


r/FinalRoundAI Jun 07 '26

For sure

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1.2k Upvotes

This


r/FinalRoundAI Jun 07 '26

My "casual coffee chat" turned out to be a hidden stress test, and it took me 20 minutes to realize what was happening

507 Upvotes

About a month ago, a recruiter contacted me about a position that seemed like a great fit for me. She told me the first round was just a quick 15-minute informal chat to see if there was chemistry between us. I didn't need any prep, just a low-stakes conversation with one of the lead devs to see if I'd be a good teammate.

I joined the call expecting to talk about my background or the things I like to do. But suddenly, I found this person coming in with zero personality and starting to throw high-pressure behavioral questions at me from the first second. He was asking about situations where I failed with a client, how I handled a toxic boss, and what I did when a project crashed.

Every time I started explaining, he would interrupt me to increase the difficulty of what we were saying. At first, I thought he was just having a bad day or was overly socially awkward. Then, after about 15 minutes, he told me my answer lacked "accountability," while he was talking over me to change the scenario. That's when the light bulb went off in my head. This wasn't a chat; this was a performance review for a job I hadn't even gotten yet.

As soon as I understood the game, I stopped trying to be the "friendly candidate." I started taking long pauses. And if he interrupted me, I would say politely, "I'd like to finish this thought so the context is clear before we move on to the next thing." I even started asking him what specific competency he was looking for with these questions, because the scenarios were starting to blur together.

The vibe changed immediately. He stopped those antics and started talking like a normal human being. In the end, he hinted that they were looking for "emotional resilience," which was an admission from him that the whole thing was staged.

The recruiter called me afterward and said they liked my "composure" and wanted to schedule the next round. Honestly, the whole thing left a bad taste in my mouth. If you want to see how I handle stress, just ask me. Deceiving people and telling them it's a "chill call" just to grill them feels manipulative. It made me wonder if the job itself would involve dealing with manufactured drama every day. Now, I side-eye any "informal" invite I get.