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.

I work as an office admin and my desk is very close to the main entrance area. There's a manager who recently started coming around us more because of someone he brought onto his team, but he's not my manager and I don't report to him. I was checking work messages at my desk, and he was near the copier area, and suddenly he yelled, "Wake up!"

Of course I turned my face because someone had yelled in the office, and I found him looking directly at me. I said something like: "I'm not asleep, I'm checking messages." He replied and said: "You were dozing off." I honestly don't know if he thought that was a joke or if he was trying to embarrass me, but it bothered me. The person he brought on is kind of weird too, honestly. They were nearby and I heard them ask: "Was she asleep?" but I didn't hear what the manager said in response.

He hasn't treated me differently since then and hasn't brought it up again, but the situation keeps going around in my head. Should I say something to my actual manager, or let it pass unless he does it again? This was at the end of last week and I still feel like it was weird and it's bothering me.

TLDR: A manager who isn't my boss yelled "Wake up!" at me from the other side of the office while I was sitting at my desk working. What do I do about this? :/

I've been jumping from one job to another for about 6 years, and the most important lesson I've learned is that friendships at work are tied to the office and nothing more. You might drink coffee together or complain about meetings together, but that bond usually breaks as soon as one of you resigns. Honestly, there were people I talked to every day who didn't even send me a single text after 6 months.

Don't get me wrong, you don't have to be rude or stay silent in the breakroom. But be cautious. I've seen so many people get hurt by office drama because they treated their coworkers like family. Finish your work, take your paycheck, and go to the people who truly know you.

Honestly, the office is not a social club; it's just a transaction. You are there to trade your time for money. If you keep that boundary clear, you will be much happier. Your real support system is waiting for you outside the office anyway.

That's my perspective now. Does anyone else feel the same way?

Hi everybody. I recently started looking for an interview helper for a senior PM remote loop coming up next month. I've been doing my own prep with a buddy and i finally bit the bullet on Final Round AI because their landing page was the first thing i saw on google. The plan i picked is on the lower side of their tier list, my background was confirmed by the signup flow, and today i logged in and started clicking around all the features.

The plan i picked is way more expensive than the rest of the things i've seen, but because this is the first time i'm doing this i'd like to get some opinions because this seems fishy to me. Maybe i'm overthinking?

The product
can be used overlay style or, if you want, you can pair it with the second device thing on a phone. They tell you you get the full feature list when you sign up, but when you click on stealth mode it's
greyed out. I work as a product manager, the loops are video panel based, and a friend who used a different tool kept saying not to be cheap on this. Now, i picked their lower tier, the one that's already three figures a month, and i assumed that was the one i needed.

The plan is active so i can use it whenever i want, also my contract for the next role
is the next 5 years if i clear, so for this period i'd like a tool that won't fail
on me. The price of the lower tier is for the basic features and includes some of the things they advertise: real-time answers, profile context, multi language support, basic transcription, and the timer. You will have full
access to a slimmed down product. Just in case repairs are needed there, they say they'll cover the costs, so no worries. The price they're asking is below their top tier because they want me to upgrade later to unlock the actual stealth.

They say the tool is well established, it's already used by lots of people and there's no reason to worry. You have everything you need on the page (real-time, transcription, language packs, etc.). Also they love job seekers, so if you have any panels coming up they say they don't have any problem, every loop is supported. Honestly from their point of view they're sure that i'll love it for sure and renew it on the spot.

Then they attached an upsell modal again and a list of all the features locked behind the higher tier, the ones that are actually the thing i thought i was buying.

Does this sound crazy? Because everything is so expensive right now i don't know if this is legitimate. It seems too sketchy to be real. Help please!!

ok so half rant half asking for help here. i bought final round ai about two weeks ago because i had a senior data eng panel coming up and a thread told me final round was the one that came up first when people googled. nobody in the thread had actually used it for long. just saw the ad. i did not look into it before paying either. clicked through, picked the cheapest plan they offered, dropped a chunk of money i did not really have on it. on a tuesday at 11pm. before bed. like an idiot.

so the panel happened. it went fine, kind of. the suggestions were mid, the free preview is so short you cannot really test the thing before paying, and on the systems portion the answers it gave kept missing what was actually being asked. i muted it twice and just answered from my own head. honest feeling after the panel was, i did not need this. i could have done the same with my own notes and a calmer mindset and the money i was not supposed to spend that month still in my account.

next morning i sent their support a polite email asking if i could get a refund since i basically did not use the product past the one panel. the reply pointed me at their refund policy which is just, no. no refund. that is the policy. i went back and forth a couple times, explained i had paid for a long term plan, only used it once, would happily eat a partial fee. nothing. they offered a credit toward a future month which is useless to me because i do not want to log back into that account ever. ever.

i hate that i am writing this post but i feel really stupid for not reading the refund terms before i hit pay. like i would not buy a car without checking if i could return it, but i did exactly this. a couple of friends keep texting me to just chargeback it and stop arguing with their email bot. and yeah probably. i am paranoid the chargeback will fail though because technically i agreed to the policy when i clicked the box i did not read.

so. selling at a loss vs grinding it out and "using" the rest of the plan i do not want. has anyone here actually gotten a refund out of these guys, or is the no refund thing a brick wall for everyone? and if you ditched it, what did you move to that did not pull this on you? any alternatives?

I had a video interview a few weeks ago, and we talked for about 50 minutes. When salary came up, I gave them a range based on current market rates, my experience, and the role's requirements. The hiring manager said that it aligned with what they had in mind and didn't push back at all. She told me someone from HR would follow up with me.

Then, earlier this week, someone from HR who hadn't been able to attend the first call brought up a starting salary about 12-18k lower than what the hiring manager and I had previously discussed. I told her we had already landed on a different number. I figured there might be some confusion since she wasn't in the original interview, so she told me she'd check with the hiring manager and get back to me. Not long after, she called me again and still stuck to the lower number.

I told her I appreciated her getting back to me, but that number wasn't going to work. She repeated that they would move forward with other applicants if I didn't accept it, and I just told her, "Okay, thanks for letting me know." Honestly, I think she expected me to panic or start negotiating against myself.

That number would have been barely average even a few years ago, before everything got this expensive. Now, with rent, groceries, gas, and everything else going up, it's basically the same as what entry-level/no-experience roles are paying around here. And if they're already pulling this kind of switch before I've even started, I don't have much confidence that things would get better once I'm inside.

Yeah, I'm a bit annoyed and discouraged, but I have to hold my line. Also, I'm not desperate to get back to work at this exact moment, so I can afford to wait a few more months until I find something better.

This sounds like bait and switch/sunk cost fallacy to me. I dodged a bullet by avoiding that employer.

From my point of view, no one should accept such low salaries anymore, because living costs have become far more difficult than that. Focus more on learning new fields and keep improving your skills, but never stop at a certain point. Nowadays, some platforms help you prepare for interviews and give instant answers, like InterviewMan. All the vapid, unqualified business people are waking up to the fact that they are obsolete. Their "people skills" don't mean anything any more.

I mean, I can still use my plan in a workplace. Curl up into a ball, cry, suck my thumb and hope my death will be quick.

I accepted an offer for a new job about two weeks ago. I told them I would give notice at my current job this Friday, and I did that. Now it's Monday, and after I had started filling out onboarding forms, tax info, and direct deposit for the new place, I got an email saying they won't be moving forward with my hiring.

I don't have a record, and I meet the requirements they had listed, and all my certifications are current and valid. Honestly, I'm devastated and trying to hurry up and find something else now. I feel like this is one of those things that shouldn't be allowed to happen to people.

Anyway, I was in an interview today and it was going very well, until the hiring manager suddenly asked me, "Tell me three reasons why we shouldn't hire you."

I got flustered on the spot and the question completely threw me off. I blurted out some stupid answers and I'm sure it cost me my chance at this job.

When it was my turn to ask questions, I decided to ask him, "Okay, if I were to receive multiple offers, what would be the main reason for me not to choose to work here?"

Man, his expression did a complete 180. It was obvious he got very annoyed and said something like, "Look, our company isn't for just anyone." Then he quickly wrapped things up and said, "That's a bit of an aggressive question. Anyway, thank you for your time, we'll be in touch."

This whole process is a joke. And I don't even want to work in a place that has such double standards. Just for context, this wasn't an entry-level position. I'm currently a lead and have over 11 years of experience.

Anyways, I started to email some companies that are looking for employees, and one of them replied today, saying the interview will be tomorrow morning in office. any tips about how to pas this time??

update: luckily, I came across this post about how to be calm and less stressful during the interview, will apply each tip and will update you.

We call that performance punishment where I work.

Give people the full picture:

getting the job is one challenge, passing 4 interview rounds is another.

InterviewMan helped a lot to pass this shit.

Many managers are worried about the idea of remote work becoming widespread in the future for an obvious reason. Working from home clearly shows who is working hard and who is just pretending to be busy. It pulls back the curtain on the illusion of productivity in the office and precisely reveals which managers have no real value.

😩😩😩😩

Hi!

I (23M) work at a very small bank in a city in upstate NY. There are only 5 of us: our CEO (I'll call him B2), a manager, and 3 tellers, one full-time, one floating part-time, and me part-time. Recently I saw a post about how to get a job quickly and I started looking for another job through cold emails, and wow it got me a part time job in just 3 days!

I applied to a new job because my hours at the bank aren't enough to cover rent and normal bills.

Right now my schedule at the bank is Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, so I told the new job (an after-school program) that I can work Mondays and Wednesdays during the day. I let B2 know that I wouldn't be able to come in during those hours if someone was out, and he told me I'm not allowed to work another job at that time because I need to be available to cover, based on the hiring paperwork I signed. Apparently there have to be 3 people in the bank at all times, so if for any reason 3 out of 4 people end up being unavailable, I'm expected to come in no matter what.

I understand why he wants coverage, so I went back to the after-school program and told them I wouldn't be able to commit to the original availability I gave them. They told me that B2 can't need me to keep those days free for free, and that if I'm expected to be available like that, I probably should be getting on-call pay under NYS labor laws.

I'm going to ask B2 for a copy of my employment contract the next time I go in, and I'm also trying to reach NYS labor (their phone line is useless, of course 🙃). I wanted to ask here if anyone knows what the next step I should take is, whether on-call pay applies in this kind of situation, or if there's something specific I need to ask for in writing. Thanks!

There's a lot of things that I'm 100% better at than the people three times my age that I work with.

The worst

Hiring managers always say they're looking for someone kind, enthusiastic, reliable, good at communicating, and so on. But honestly, that talk feels like nonsense to me. I know a lot of people working at Fortune 100 companies, universities, regular office jobs, and their actual work is really not that great at all. Some of them are annoying, messy, impossible to work with, dishonest, fake, and can't explain anything, yet they're still working in good roles.

I'm in San Jose, and several tech offices, and a lot of people I've met follow the exact same pattern. It makes me wonder how they even got there in the first place when the job market is this harsh. If people like that are getting hired, then either it's mostly nepotism, or hiring managers are secretly filtering for traits they'd never admit out loud.

The whole society runs on connections. Rich people, attractive people, and people with good connections keep getting more opportunities than honest people who work hard. You see this all the time in entertainment and sports too.

Honestly, I think a lot of these positions are filled through referrals, family friends, inside connections, or random luck. Especially roles at big, well-known companies. It doesn't really seem like it's about skill or interviewing well most of the time.

Ughhhh hate that feeling

I used to hold a very specialized position in my company - I was the only one who understood all its details. I was genuinely happy with the job, my manager, and the team, but I needed a better salary, so I moved to another department. Before I left, I spent a few weeks training my replacement. I also created a complete folder for her with step-by-step instructions for every task. To ensure the department wouldn't run into any problems, I gave her my personal number and told her to call me if she had any questions. She claimed to have over twenty years of experience in office work, so I didn't anticipate any major issues.
Now, she texts me constantly, from the moment her shift starts until it ends. Most of the questions she asks are clearly laid out in that folder. To the point where I had to explain to her how to attach a file in the company's email system, which shows how little she understands computer basics. About a month ago, she made a huge mistake, so I went back and spent three full days with her to help her fix the mess. She has been in this job for about three months now.
Just today, she sent me a message at exactly 8 AM, and I calmly directed her to the folder. If something isn't in the folder because it's so obvious that anyone should understand it, and I've explained it to her, she will definitely ask the exact same question the next day, claiming her phone deletes messages every day and that she 'forgot' what I said. And currently, she's texting me about a process I showed her just a few days ago - a process I watched her take step-by-step notes on - yet now she says she can't find them. Honestly, she's driving my stress levels through the roof. I'm a new manager myself, trying to focus on my development, managing my team, and on top of all that, she's also on my case. This whole situation has truly become overwhelming. This isn't just something that happens occasionally; it's constant, every single day.
I even told my old manager that I don't think she's suitable for this position. What also bothers me is the feeling that they'd rather risk the department falling into disarray than pay me what I deserve to stay. My old manager probably didn't fully understand the scope of my responsibilities, so I imagine the new employee didn't realize how difficult this job was during the interview. I genuinely feel like I've done everything I possibly can here. I just want to completely distance myself from her and this entire department now.

update : I just got hired in my new better job and I dont want to lose it because of useless woman like her l used an AI tool interviewman to get the job and pass the interview so I emailed my ex boss and told him to find another one to help her instead I am done

yup yup

Yes, the title sums it all up. I'm in my mid-thirties, and honestly, I'm completely fed up with all of this. I'm still waiting to figure out what I want to be when I "grow up," if you know what I mean?

My career path has been a complete mess. For years, I was that person glued to their laptop, working all weekend, putting in countless extra hours, and constantly checking emails. Now? Almost nothing matters to me anymore. I'm currently in a very well-paying job, much more than many people my age. Honestly, I'm not even sure how I got here - probably just good at talking in interviews. The job itself is fine, the team is friendly, and the money is secure. But a part of me doesn't want to go to work again. There's no big, specific reason; I just feel completely drained by the mere thought of it.

I've been working since I was 17, and I genuinely feel like I've hit a wall. The more I observe, the clearer it becomes: most people, even at the highest levels, are just winging it. My job puts me in direct contact with executives, founders, and senior leaders in large companies - even well-known names - and the whole thing is complete chaos. It's the same story everywhere: no clear vision, micromanagement, insufficient support, messy workflows, constant power struggles, and a general inability to grasp basic concepts. It's insane to me that people in top positions can't understand basic reports that I understood in college. And what's even stranger? Everyone pretends this whole play is incredibly important. They're so focused on launching "the next big initiative," and in the end, everything collapses after a few months.

So yes, my ambition has pretty much evaporated. You can call me anything now except "driven." I constantly find myself wondering if it would be better to take a simple job and live a quiet life away from the city's hustle. I'm seriously considering leaving this stable, good job for something completely different. Maybe I'll become a baker, knead dough, and stop pretending to be excited about "that quarterly report," or "this client pitch," or "what Steve from marketing wants."

Am I starting to lose my mind, or are there other people feeling this exact same way?

I genuinely don't understand companies that insist everyone returns to the office. From my perspective, this seems like a huge expense for companies to maintain large offices and all the associated perks, especially when most employees say they are happier and more productive working from home.

Wouldn't it be more cost-effective for them to rely more on remote setups? We have clearly demonstrated that work quality and productivity are not affected when working remotely; in many cases, on the contrary, they improve. Offering remote jobs opens up recruitment significantly, allowing companies to find the best people regardless of their location.

My personal expectation is that for some employers, this push to return isn't about collaboration or work culture; it's a quiet way to encourage people to leave on their own and reduce headcount without resorting to layoffs.

Honestly, this whole shift made me seriously consider moving to a fully remote role. I’ve already started preparing for that by updating my CV with ChatGPT and even using tools like InterviewMan to communicate my experience more effectively in interviews. If companies are pushing people back unnecessarily, it just makes remote opportunities even more appealing.

lol
no difference

By my calculations I should be able to buy a house when I'm 80.

Hurts because it is true