SipsTea
What exactly are we supposed to ask in a job interview if not about salary, responsibilities, or work culture? This email is a masterclass in corporate absurdity.
Discussion
Dodged a bullet.
Yeah this has real “we’re a family here who appreciates unpaid overtime” vibes
"My 2 best employees are amazing, however... once 6pm hits, they just stop working and go home. How can I get my employees to think about work even when they're not clocked in?" - Some stupid ass LinkedIn CEO
My local cinema is amazing, but once the film ends they don’t let stay and watch the next film for free.
My local supermarket is amazing. However after picking food and paying them, the cashier won't let me back in to grab snacks and drinks for free
As an aside, my local asian market actually does this. While they're bagging the groceries they almost always say "go grab whatever drink you want out of the fridge as a treat." It's such a nice touch.
And also a great marketing ploy to make you walk through the shop again, and perhaps make an impulse buy, or something to compliment the tasty beverage you are about to enjoy.
Absolutely. I don't think it's a coincidence that the drink coolers are at the back of the shop. And it's good word of mouth advertising because I mention it to everyone who asks about local markets.
You also mentioned it to a lot of people on the Internet without anyone even asking you. This word of mouth advertising is really working.
Although to be fair I didn't name the place, so it's not exactly great marketing here.
Mine hands out these delicious little yogurt drinks. It's maybe a mouthful or two in each one.
It's stupidly brilliant. You just bought groceries so you are giving them money, you get a free little item that isn't expensive individually that you'll try and then realize they are fuckin' amazing and you go buy a case.
The bank I work at is amazing.But after doing a withdraw for a customer I dont get to skim the till like the bartender in roadhouse
It's because you're not as good looking as Bucky
ROADHOUSE!
My supermarket is fine, for some reason they really didn't like it when I started bringing their staff home to stock my cabinets and make sure the food comes out good
Capitalism is all about robbing the resource until it's empty and no longer serviceable. Then it's on to the next one. Look how Elrong tossed one of his loyal lieutenants aside like an empty syringe Kit Kat bottle.
I got let go, in an exit interview they were like, you did great work, you showed up at your desk every day, on time, but you left right at 5 everyday.
After that, I quit my 20 year career in computer engineering, I went to trade school, and never looked back.
Can I ask what trade you entered? I’m sitting in my cubicle right now contemplating that very thing. Also, what age did you do this?
I became a CNC machinist so I could still work with machines and indulge my love of programming.
My father was a machinist for 50 years and only got laid off 3 times.
Whereas I got laid off from companies every 2 years or so because of BS like restructuring and whatever.
If you don't mind getting dirty, standing on your feet for 12 hours a day in 100 degree machine shop in the summer, and like to use your hands, you can do great.
I moved from graphic design to CNC programming and machinist.
Graphic design went nowhere for nearly 30 years. Multiple layoffs redundancies etc, bad pay whilst expected to be an expert at everything not even related to design.
Within 4 years I've become the CNC dept manager. Pay is way better, the job is really interesting and challenging in a good way. I love it. Didn't think I would though, for the first year or so I felt I'd bitten off more than I could chew, the learning curve was steep. I was on the verge of tears sometimes but I stuck with it and found my calling. I would very much recommend it as a worthwhile satisfying career.
Oh, and my machine room has air-conditioning. Good for the machines and good for me.
Happy for you my friend.😎👍
It's often looked down on by elitists but I was like you, intimidated at first, but really loved it.
Ironically, we are having an incredibly hard time hiring graphics designers and simply can’t find them with any experience (and we are filled up with graduates and need senior people to train them).
Can't find them or can't find them at the price you're willing to pay?
What package are you offering the seniors who are ignoring you?
I’ve always thought that could be so cool but why 12 hour days and can’t you put an AC?
A lot of machine shops don't have AC still. Best they give you is a fan.
Combine that with a building with not a cross breeze and heat from 100 or so machines. While wearing a polyester uniform. 😂
Our shop was 10 hours for 4 days, but often peak production we'd work 12 hours mandatory to keep up for the transportation industry.
i'm in aerospace and all our manufacturing and machine spaces are air conditioned. We have some bigstuff too, CNC's with 60ft beds for titanium work, etc.
Do you get to do your own pet projects like your own custom lightsaber hilt?
All depends on the shop, or if you can sneak it under the radar.
We worked second shift. So there were always machines not being used, and administrators and foreman were gone by 6PM.
I never did, but the other guy I worked with brought his own hobs and material, and cut gears for a local Porsche club on the one high end gear cutting machine we ran. He sold those for like a few grand a piece.
But if I was gonna do it on a turning center, for a lightsaber hilt. I'd bring my own material and tooling so nobody could bitch if they found out. Alternatively you could contact the local trade school that teaches CNC and ask if you can get some machine time.
This sounds like a dream job, standing for 12 hours a day, in an unairconditioned shop. This cubicle bullshit is stupid with all its horrible sitting in nice cool buildings. You paint a very compelling picture...
I agree. Today I had to meet the HVAC guy who came to fix my furnace. I let him in, showed him the things he needed access to and then went up stairs to get some work done. An hour later I went down to the basement to see if everything was going well and he was having such a great time getting high on the fumes and covered in toxic waste. I was even more jealous when he spent the next hour carrying pipes down the stairs.
I'm quitting 25 years in marketing to go back. Good luck to you, fellow Fuck-This-Shit person
That’s fucking wild to me! In 23 years of working I’ve never clocked out any more than 10mins late, never clocked in any more than 5mins early. Stuck to the letter of my contract and any time a manager has brought it up in a review I’ve always had my contract to hand and showed them the part where it says I won’t be paid overtime unless it’s agreed upon with the manager 24hrs in advance.
If they’ve not asked me to work overtime and agreed to pay me for it, I’m not doing it. As per the terms and conditions of my contract.
Never been fired, never had any trouble. However, I don’t live in the US where the employment laws and rules are… well, they’re fucking dogshit, let’s be honest
My work doesn't pay overtime, however, if I am requested to work overtime, e.g. we have a function from 5 pm to 9 pm, the next day I show up an hour late, and go two hours early, or sometimes stagger the time spent until my time is made up. I tell my bosses I need to balance my life 8-8-8. Never been fired since I started work way back in the early 2000s, but I only work for a company for no longer than 5 years. Luckily, it is not the US.
Oh don't get me started, in a recent performance review my managers told me, and I quote; "We've noticed you're showing up for your contracted hours, but we're very disappointed that you haven't been taking on any open shifts. It feels like you don't care, like the job isn't your number 1 priority."
Bear in mind I am just about to finish the 3rd year of my degree, and I have spent most of the last few months pulling long hours stressing the fuck out about my dissertation. Yeah no shit a minimum wage job doesn't take priority over my degree which I hope will lead to a proper career.
"Y u no work past your breaking point???"
Indeed, oh won't somebody think of the corporation!
"It feels like you don't care, like the job isn't your number 1 priority."
That's because it's not?
LOL, if my managers ever said, "t feels like you don't care, like the job isn't your number 1 priority." to me, I'd be out the door leaving a trail of F-Us so fast, they'd be dizzy.
40 hours =23% of my total week. Why would it be my #1 priority?
I was told this once, I was let go by the end of the week.
I once had a boss tell me, "You arrive on time, you leave at 5 and you take your lunch and your breaks. That doesn't look good."
I replied that I was entitled to breaks every so many hours per state law.
She didn't bring it up again, although she reprimanded me on a later date because I appeared" lackadasical" when walking to and from the bathroom. 😆
That happened to me. I preferred the bathroom that was less high traffic area. It was near the owner's office. My manager was like, the boss sees you walking to the bathroom and we're getting complaints about it.
Then I started using the owner's private bathroom til they started locking it. 😂
Hopefully you didnt flush.
You should have flushed that boss down the toilet.
I didn’t receive full marks on a quarterly performance review because of this exact thing. It was my first job out of college so I thought that was the norm
I know better now, and if I hear that kind of thing come out of my employer I go from selectively browsing jobs to full on fuck you I’m out searching
In an interview I was told "We have so much fun here. It's often 8PM and we don't even notice."
Pass.
Sad but so true. Log into any page on that site and you'll see several LinkedIn lunatics beating the "hustle culture" drum.
This has real "fake email" vibes.
A company rejecting someone for asking about work responsibilities is insane.
It's even more insane to believe a company like that would send a personalized email explaining why they rejected a candidate.
I've been rejected asking about pay. That's what they told me over the phone "you seemed more interested about the pay than the great working environment we provide". My response was "a great work environment doesn't pay the bills".
I got rejected for asking about benefits, they more or less verbatim said "We believe that you are used to working in a different more corporate environment and that this would be a bad fit".
People can rag on bigger corporations, but id hardly call small family companies and offices better.
The meaning is that you are not a sucker and we’re not going to be able to drain you and bully you into submission.
The subject of the email "job interview"
This was faked by someone who has never had to keep an organized email inbox.
vague email subject lines piss me the fuck off... that and getting 4 different emails all with half thoughts for the same subject, not in the same same thread all with different subject lines
This is it. No employer is opening themselves up a lawsuit by stating the reason they rejected a person in the email. I asked companies what I could’ve done to improve next time and either got very generic answers or they would call if it was actually something I did.
@CorporateDudes is a satire social media account, definitely fake.
Or quite literally a family who hires outsiders to do shit work for shit pay while treating them like shit.
We should start to expose such a companies names
Not sure if it’s OK to do so but naming the company should be normalized. Bullshit responses like this are warnings to the rest of us but not if we don’t know who it was…
Naming the company would require it to be real.
absolutely. with how people act on social media right now, leaving out the company name is a pretty obvious sign they're trying to cash in on outrage. imagine being dense enough to complain about that, while going out of your way to "protect" the companies reputation, as if you're at any real personal risk by posting a rejection email.
Most platforms consider something like this where you name the company "cyberbullying"/"harassment" or if you're real lucky, they'll hit you with some kind of a defamation/libel lawsuit. That's why it goes unnamed.
Not really? Countless line cooks list fake companies on their resume by name.
I mean, OP can't name the company because there isn't one and this is karma farming.
This is what websites like Glassdoor are for.
And to boycott them ourselves so that when we need to look for job, they're not around to obstruct the process with crap interviews like this.
Op
Summarize this email:
"Brother, nothing of value was lost, keep looking for jobs, this one wasn't it for SURE."
Exactly. I am super upfront about it in interviews. "I couldn't see anything about the salary in the advert. How much is it?"
If they say that they don't talk about until further down the interview process, then i don't end things but I normally prioritise the other leads I have
If they finally make an offer then maybe I'll follow it up. But if they want me to do things that take time - like coding challenges - then I don't normally get back to them
I live in a state where a law was recently passed that, theoretically at least, a salary must be posted with every job posting.
Should be a federal law.
I ask about staff turnover and the last time they gave a written warning and what that written warning was for. I'm over management bullshit.
Dodged a bullet? Dodged an artillery battalion. These companies / HR people are getting more and more ridiculous. This guy also would have been passed over for not asking questions as that would indicate a lack of interest in the details. 😂
Yup. The only reason I signed on with the company I currently work for is because I was contracted put to them.bwfore hand and knew what I was getting into and knew the salaries etc.
During the interview the same thing asking about salary work culture etc was not talked about just how well you fit in with people. I should have know better that jt was a red flag. The pay to hullshit ratio is tolerable so I'm sticking it out but I'm also looking at endeavors outside of work for future income.
Came here to say this!
Seems like bait.
Masters at baiting
Masterbaiting
It's a bait. Companies don't take time and effort to write a personalized advice for their candidates.
Some absolutely do though! I had one place include very specific post interview feedback in their rejection email.
That is pretty unusual, in my experience
Which is why OP posted this I'm guessing
It is pretty unusual, most place just send some template rejection, but stuff like this isn’t entirely unheard of. Other people in other subs have posted some weird shit potential employees email them, usually chastising them for the way they turned down the job or not responding promptly enough. The recruiter or the HR person or whoever happens to take it personal and feels the need to condescend.
Many places don’t send a rejection at all
I once got a call back from a job interview who gave me some advice. I appreciated it and they had a point.
Well?! What was the advice?
Wear pants to the interview.
Advice sucks
Prudes.
It is bait yes, but fuck if that other bit is true. I recently done a round of 9 interviews, 4 were given a technical test, 8 in total rejected. I give every candidate feedback to highlight why we’re not continuing and to help them improve going forward. I spent a good 30 minutes writing the feedback for each candidate that failed the test. The more time they’ve put in to the process, the more I feel I owe them for their time. It’s just basic decency.
Yes some do. Esp if you ask the interviewer for feedback. I've done it and received feedback after unsuccessful interviews in the past.
'Re: Job interview' in the subject is a giveaway.
Definitely rage bait. Not only do companies never include specific reasons like this in why they didn't hire you, them being petty about discussing the job responsibilities in the interview? Yeah OK this is fake as fuck.
Yeah I get a toxic company wouldn't want to discuss salary during a job interview, but not talking about the responsibilities of the position? That is literally the most important aspect of a job interview. I don't buy it.
Noooo the very real legitimate email titled "Job Interview"? Come on now
Yeah this is fake because while it’s true that thousands of companies feel this way, none of them are stupid enough to express said feelings in an email
Why obscure the name of the company? These companies deserve to be shamed
Because it's fake.
But is it though? There really are companies that feel this way…
A real company would never tell you why you failed an interview.
Exactly, they aren't going to make themselves liable for absolutely no reason whatsoever.
Also this is by CorporateDudes which I believe are the same guys who do job TikTok skits.
Yall are seriously underestimating the level of stupidity in this world imo.
The sort of people that blindly trust TikTok clout vampires really push that level up
Few small companies would but not at this tone. I got a feedback from a small company i interviewed with.
There are hundreds of millions of companies in the world, they don't all operate in the same way
That’s true, but there are also a lot of incompetent companies/HR that shouldn’t be real.
Actually this isn't uncommon. Asking about how you can improve your interview skills when you've been denied a job is a recommended thing to do, or was a decade ago. So this very much could be real.
Feel that way? Maybe. Are there that would put it in writing? Doubt.
I could almost believe that there are HR reps out there dumb enough to say that they don't talk about work culture. Almost, because it's absolutely asinine. But what interview doesn't discuss salary and responsibilities? None, because discussing what you'd be doing and how much they are going to pay you to do it are the key elements of a job.
I haven't heard a single verified anecdote about a company rejecting someone for asking about work responsibilities.
I went on a series of interviews with a company a number of years ago. I kept pressing them for specifics on pay, and the best I got was that they were familiar with the pay at my current company and we sure they could make a competitive offer. I was eventually told I wasn't a good "culture fit". I'm very level headed and personable. The only thing I can think of that would have rubbed them the wrong way was my repeated questions about salary.
It's super common in the UK.
Discussing salary during interviews is perceived as rude, and it gives them the impression you only want to work there for the money (which you obviously do).
Instead, you're meant to ask about it right before the pen touches the contract, and hope they don't just say "yeah it's in the contract silly".
There are companies that are cagey about salary and there are companies hiding a bad culture. I don't think there are companies cagey about asking what work you'll be doing.
It's also incredibly rare to get a personalized rejection that tells you what you did wrong and when you do get those it isn't from shitty companies.
I don't think companies care enough to actually write this kind of stuff out. Very unprofessional and unnecessary. It's fake
I don't know why but over the last month or so there has been a lot of fake rage bait on this sub.. mostly about under appreciated men. Which is a shame I come here to the boobs.
A real company would just ghost the applicant lol
Because it’s not real.
Fake…that’s why.
I'm guessing this is fake.
I have heard a lot of wild stories, but I have never heard of an interviewer being offended by asking about the work culture or responsibilities. That part just screams bait.
i bet it says we treat every one as a family on the job post😂
Thank you guys for all the hard work you've put in this year! Here are your $10 starbucks gift cards and there's plenty of pizza for everyone!
Narrator: It was cheese pizza and there was not, in fact, "enough for everyone".
It was a frozen pizza from the gas station all you needed to do was cut it into 37 slices after you microwaved it and there would have been enough for everyone but no, someone got greedy and stopped at 8 slices so that's on all of you.
Work hard and play hard too
Companies wanna work you hard and play with you even harder
If you can’t ask basic questions like this the place is toxic and you don’t want that shit in your life.
You asked the correct things (I say this as someone in HR). You got your culture answer with this email though :)
Questions such as...
"Can I work 30 hours extra a week for free?"
"Is it ok if I completely ignore and law breaking regarding working directives ignored by the company in the treatment of it's employees?"
"Do I have to take my disengaged holiday days or can I just let them expire?"
These are appropriate for an interview.
If the company has a bad financial quarter can you just dock my pay for a bit? I really want to help out where I can.
Is it cool if I spend my nights and weekends to make up for your terrible leadership choices?
"Tell me about your biggest weakness?"
"Well, I'm a workaholic. If you let me I'd give you every waking hour of my time. I'd practically live here to the detriment of any form of family or social life a normal person might desire. And to make matters worse I feel intense shame if compensated for all of my additional work."
"Really?"
"No, pay me, bitch."
is it wrong to have sex with the cleaning staff on my desk?
This must be rage bait
This is fake for engagement farming. How do people still fall for this?
"We're sorry, you apparently aren't desperate and expect a reasonable work life balance and being treated with respect. We will continue looking for a candidate with lower standards"
Just cut to the chase. "Who do I need to fuck to get ahead in this company?"
You may find they keep that within the family too.
Name and shame
Joe's Fake Email Shack.
Name and shame or it’s fake imho
Congratulations Gavin, you dodged a bullet.
I think sometimes hiring managers forget that they’re being interviewed as well. It’s a two way street.
Yeah. Will they panic if you asked them, “Where do you see yourself in 5 years?” It’s a common question and it should be fair to ask them the same thing.
Hiring manager here. That would be a weird question to ask, since it doesn't effect the candidate at all. But I would answer it. A better question that is entirely appropriate is "where do you see this company in 5 years?"
Or "what is a typical career path look like for an employee coming in at my level? Please give specific examples." They can withhold names, but if the hiring manager cant answer with enthusiasm about an employee who's killing it, that's a negative in my book. If no one is thriving there, its unlikely you'll be the first.
Unless the company is named i will assume this is fake
It's not real. It's from a Linkedin creator advertising their ability to generate engagement.
Neo dodging bullets there
You should respond by saying that job interviews are a 2 way street: a candidate has to be able to find out if a place is somewhere they'd fit in working at just as an employer needs to find out if a candidate would be a good fit.
More red flags than a communist parade....
that response confirms you should never work there
I'd respond with. "Interviews are two way. I was interviewing your company. You just failed the interview."
If your potential employer doesn’t want to talk about salary, responsibilities, and work culture, then they all suck at this employer. Run!
“So what sort of tasks will I be responsible for this position?”
“Wow how inappropriate! This interview is over, I’ve never been asked to describe job responsibilities during an interview”
Oh, ok, can we talk about preferred sexual positions?
Because if you are planning to screw me, I would like to discuss THAT.
I would be posting this all over with their names on it. Seems shady AF to me.
“Hi Gavin, you tried to get us to admit we pay poorly, we overburdened with work and our culture is toxic, and we didn’t like the way that made us feel.”
you dodged a bullet there pal
We don’t like to talk about benefits responsibilities and work culture bc they all suuuuuck 😇
Some states have laws that salary, at least salary range, must be posted
You're already viewed as a burden and, with the list of other candidates that I hear employers are receiving, expendable. The questions that are asked are completely legit and I would want to know about those things myself: but I would never dare ask them if I was desperate for a job
Salary I get. It’s shady as hell, I wouldn’t work for any company that banned it, but I get why they wouldn’t want that in the interview and leave it for the HR negotiations.
Responsibilities and work culture though? What the hell? You want people going in completely blind? Who the hell does that benefit?
If that's something they don't want to talk about, you don't want to join, they did you a favour 👍
In short form, what the fuck are you hiding.
How dare you ask about salary or what the job actually entails in a job interview...
That’s pretty standard conversation during an interview
This place is hiding shit
If their not willing to dicuss the benefits of working for them, then you don't want to work for them
Makes no sense, those are the questions I expect when I interview people. It’s strange if they aren’t asked. This is at a giant tech company.
This is a toxic company. If I am interviewing you and you don't ask about the job, the culture, and the comp at some point in the process, this is a huge red flag.
This company is flat out bad.
They did OOP a favor
Can't ask about responsibilities? Then why ask me about my qualifications?
"We don't like to talk about how little we pay, how much work you'll have to do, and how shitty it is around here."
Salary, sure...since that should have been known when applying and negotiated at the offer.
The culture and responsibilities, though? Lmfao what? Don't want a future employee to know what theyre doing? Is it like illegal?
Those are the businesses to stay away from.
🙋 Management speak translator here: “Only looking for desperate candidates.”
If compensation and responsibilities aren't in the job description, I'm not sure why you would apply in the first place.
Work culture is an appropriate topic in the first interview but salary negotiations, vacation and that kind of thing aren't until you are in the final stages.
The red flag is that they took the time to say that. It’s an inexperienced HR group right there.
If you’re not going to hire them, why expose your company to risk by saying anything more than thank you for interviewing, We’ve chosen not to move forward with you at this time
Reality:
Salary - low
Responsibilities - whatever we say they are
Work Culture - brutal and unyielding.
That's.... exactly what you should be asking questions about... and more
🤡 oh yeah that is what is call "we are a family" corporation
Dodged that bullet!
Can’t ask about responsibilities? WTF?
Salary - that’s kind of an old school mentality about not asking about salary in the first interview.
Work culture - they’re just gonna lie to you anyway.
Sounds like they didn’t actually want to work there anyhow
At this point, companies are giving mothers in law a good name.
Imagine working in the culture 👎
Hiring manager here. These are questions you should absolutely ask at a job interview. I would never reject an applicant for asking these questions.
Should name and shame the company. If you can’t ask about the company when you’re in an interview then when can you?
You should respond with a thank you for their assistance in dodging a bullet…
I get (but don't agree with) salary questions; they don't want you to be smile to negotiate that. But the other two‽ Jesus Christ. Only explanation: "we may ask you to do ANYTHING"
"Thank you for sharing this information with GlassDoor. Best of luck finding the right indentured servant."
This seems illegal?
A lot of companies don't understand that they are being interviewed as well, it goes both ways.
“Thanks for letting me know that you think all of your replies on these topics will be unsatisfactory. Did me a solid. If I find a job that’s hiring for your position I’ll let you know. Keep your head up, brother.”
Sounds like a company that's embarrassed about its work culture, roles, and compensation.
If they aren't proud to discuss those things, then I wouldn't want to work there.
So it was underpaid, you'd do a lot of overtime (free) and the "work culture" was a pizza slice per year. Gavin dodged a bullet
Wth?? Why can’t a person ask about work responsibilities? That’s the bare minimum a candidate should be able to ask. And almost same with Work Culture.
Yea this isn’t a place you would want to work. They did you a favor.
Tell me that the job I interviewed for is toxic, without actually telling me it’s toxic. OP dodged a bullet on this one, this sounds like one of those companies that will tell you about work life balance and they hand you a 65 hour week schedule.
So you’re saying it’s a job with zero responsibility and so much salary that money is no longer a concern???
“We’d prefer to ask intimate details about you and your work habits, skills, and background, but would also prefer to not be asked basic job description questions. Thank you.”
“It’s always ‘how’s the salary,’ not ‘how was your day’” - that employer
Rage bait
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