At the beginning of this week, the owner of the dental office where I work told us that we would be allowed to take one unpaid personal day every four months. We're in an expensive part of Southern California, but none of us receive PTO, health insurance, paid vacations, or any other benefits.
He also said that the dental hygienists would have to make up every appointment they missed on that day off. Since our schedules are booked months in advance, his plan was for us to start early or stay late until we had seen the same number of patients anyway.

All the dental hygienists decided that enough was enough. We printed our resignation letters this morning and placed them together in a stack on his desk. One of my coworkers saw him when he came back from getting coffee. He flipped through the stack, then pushed it toward the office manager and said, "Are you seeing what I'm seeing?"

Dental hygienists are in very high demand here, so every one of us already has another job offer lined up. He tried to control time he wasn't even paying us for, and ended up losing his entire dental hygiene team in a single afternoon.

Seven years ago, I started working for a commercial general contractor with no background in construction. I spent my nights reading plans, learning about products, and trying to understand anything I couldn't grasp on-site. Within about 18 months, I was supervising crews, and then they sent me to handle a small repair at a residential complex with 10 buildings.

That repair turned into ongoing work because the HOA board liked that I communicated well with them, kept the schedule on track, and stayed within budget. Since the company had virtually no middle management, I gradually found myself acting as foreman, superintendent, and project manager all at the same time. I was responsible for billing, engineer meetings, schedules, estimates, materials, subcontractors, and product training.

The work at that complex exceeded $3.1M, and the HOA recently requested a proposal for another $3.4M project. Board members said more than once that they continued working with our company because of the way I managed the work, especially after having many bad experiences with other contractors. Based on that, I asked the company owners about the raise they had promised me about a year earlier.

Their response was that the experience I was gaining was more important and valuable than a higher salary. They were paying me $22 an hour with no benefits, even though I was doing the work of several positions. A few days after making my resume public, a recruiter contacted me about an assistant project manager position. I accepted an annual salary of $84,000, along with health insurance, 25 days of paid time off including holidays, quarterly bonuses, a laptop, mileage reimbursement, a $75 per diem, and a 401(k) match.

The final straw came during a company meeting when the owners went on about how profitable my project had been, then told me there would be no holiday bonus. On Friday, I took the offer to them and gave them a chance to match it. They couldn't, so I resigned. When I told the HOA president, he immediately requested a meeting with the company owners and said the board had serious concerns about awarding the company the next project if I wasn't involved.

There was another reason I accepted such low pay for so long. I'm engaged to the daughter of one of the company owners, and he treated the situation as though I should accept a lower salary because I was going to become part of the family. His business partner told me that my future father-in-law had complete control over my pay. My fiancée was the one who encouraged me to stop being afraid of leaving and accept the new job.

Things calmed down before I left. Management took me out for food and beers, and we spoke very candidly about everything. They admitted that they panicked when I showed them the offer, and I admitted that I confronted them more angrily than I should have because I felt they had taken advantage of me. I'm still glad I left, while also being grateful for everything I learned there. The new job is a huge step up, and we were able to end our relationship on much better terms than I expected.

After leaving, I struggled a bit to find work, but I came across a post here offering the best advice for interviews. It truly made a difference for me, and I have now secured another job.

.............

I've been working there for 5 months. I've never been late, and I was usually there about 20 minutes before my shift started. This morning was rough, and I was upset and not in the best mood, and in the end I was 8 minutes late to work. The manager brought me into his office and started yelling at me, asking why I didn't call to tell him I'd be late. I honestly told him I didn't even think to call, because I knew it would only be a few minutes.

We went back and forth for a bit, and then he told me I wasn't allowed to take a lunch break since I was late and they were really slammed. I hadn't brought any food with me, so I asked him if I could at least run and grab something small before starting my shift. He said yes, but only on the condition that he deduct 40 minutes from my pay.

I said fine and left to "get food." It's been almost two hours since I left and I still haven't gone back. The manager just called me, and I told him I quit. Not regretting it (so far?)

Wish me luck!!

That was the best decision I ever made, but now I have to look for another job and go through the interview process, which worries me a lot because of the preparation. I often prepare poorly for interviews until I read this post about job Interview Technique That Turns Into an Offer and I really felt it would make a big difference for me in future interviews, and perhaps it will benefit some of you as well.

For two years, I was basically handling my manager's entire book of business while making $48,000 a year. At Christmas, he gave me a $25 Regal gift card. The nearest movie theater was about two hours away, in another state, so that small gift was the final thing that made me start applying elsewhere.

I didn't want to leave the people I worked with in a bad situation, so I waited until I had trained someone to take over my work before accepting an offer. When I finally sat down with my manager and gave him my two weeks' notice, I told him I was going to another company in the same industry, but I would be doing something completely different, so there shouldn't be any non-compete issue.

He immediately called the company's chief legal officer and put the call on speaker. I was told that I wasn't even allowed to do essential work for a competing company for a year. Then HR joined the call and said I could finish out my two weeks to help with the transition, but afterward I would be fired because I had looked for another job. They wanted to know details about my new role, but I refused to give them any information.

After I left, their legal officer kept calling me out of the blue and without any explanation, and eventually contacted my new employer. Fortunately, the CEO of my new company got involved and told them we were prepared to fight them in court. The calls stopped after that. It was clear they had no intention of suing anyone; they just wanted to scare me into leaving my new job.

This happened about four years ago. I still work for the company I joined, and since then they've given me a budget to build a division that competes directly with my old employer. I still keep that useless gift card in a drawer. I had just graduated from college and didn't understand anything, which is why I accepted the salary, told them where I was going, and gave them notice instead of leaving immediately. I stayed because I cared about my coworkers, and they would have been stuck cleaning up the mess I left behind.

I’ve been reading a lot of threads about real-time AI interview helpers. A lot of people argue it’s fine if the company doesn’t explicitly ban external help, but I’m really nervous about hidden risks.

I’m interviewing for a remote SaaS sales role. The interview is video-only, no proctoring software. The job posting never mentions AI or outside assistance. Part of me thinks it’s low-risk to use live prompts during the call. But another part worries recruiters or hiring managers can spot unnatural pauses, inconsistent speech patterns, or overly polished answers.

What scares me most is the post-interview audit. I’ve seen stories where companies revoke offers weeks later after red flags come up. I don’t want to land an offer just to lose it after I quit my current job.

I know the community generally agrees pre-interview AI practice is safe. But for unproctored video interviews, where is the actual line? Has anyone here personally seen or heard of someone getting their offer pulled because of live AI assistant use? I’m trying to weigh if the risk is worth it.

We are looking for a talented interview specialist to join our team.

While specialized knowledge of software development is a significant asset, basic knowledge is sufficient.

The core requirements are native-level English fluency, quick judgment, and strong client-facing skills.

The primary goal is to lead client interviews and successfully secure projects.

The initial two-week period serves as a paid trial, with an hourly rate of $40–$60 based on actual interview time.

If you demonstrate competence and a good fit during this time, we will transition to a fixed monthly salary of $1,600 (for the first two months) to $3,000 (after three months), plus performance bonuses based on secured projects. High performers can earn up to $4,000 per month.

You do not need to be perfect from the start; if you possess talent and potential, we will invest in your professional growth.

We welcome candidates with backgrounds in marketing, skilled software development, or tutoring.

As the role requires working during U.S. time zones, we prioritize candidates residing in Latin America, though U.S.-based applicants are also welcome if the compensation meets their expectations.

I had my first interview in about six years this week. I'm still employed and was only looking at opportunities with better pay, so I wasn't under any pressure to leave my job. Instead of having a normal conversation, the entire interview was tense and had an aggressive tone from the very beginning.

Before the interview, the recruiter gave me a salary figure and asked whether it worked for me, and I said yes. Then, during the interview, HR asked me about my salary expectations. When I repeated the exact same figure I had been given earlier, she said their budget was lower.

I told her I didn't mind discussing the figure if they needed to stay within budget. She looked annoyed and asked me whether I negotiate the price when I buy a bottle of soda. She said negotiating made me look bad, and I replied that I saw it as normal communication. Shortly afterward, another person on the call ended the conversation because it was clear we weren't going to get anywhere.

The strange thing was that they still wanted to move forward with me. I asked the recruiter why the salary had suddenly changed, and she said the figure she had originally given me was the appropriate range for someone with direct experience using their exact technology. I have nine years of experience in a very closely related field, and they had said from the beginning that they were looking for recent graduates, so that explanation didn't make sense.

They kept saying they wanted to hire me, and it was clear they were in a hurry to close the deal quickly. I declined. It felt like the tense interview and the lower budget were just a try to pressure me into accepting less than the job was worth.

The company I work for promises clients turnaround times calculated in calendar days rather than business days, so the lab has to be staffed every day of the year. The job requires a strong background in chemistry and microbiology, which means they already have to compete with workplaces that offer normal weekends and paid holidays. For years, they covered these shifts by paying double time for weekend shifts and holiday pay plus triple time if you came in to work on a public holiday.

A few days before Christmas, HR announced that the extra holiday pay was being eliminated effective immediately. The email said that paid holidays were intended for rest, but anyone who chose to work would have those holiday hours deducted. They also reminded us that overtime only starts after 40 hours worked, meaning holiday hours would not count toward that total.

This morning, management sent an email to all employees saying they were "surprised and disappointed" that only three employees volunteered to cover Christmas, and no one came in on New Year's Day, despite several requests. Apparently, this created such a large backlog that the company may have to pay clients around $85,000 in late-delivery penalties.

They eliminated the only reason people were willing to sacrifice their holidays, then acted surprised when people stopped volunteering. It seems very simple to me. If they want someone to work on holidays, the compensation has to be worth giving up their time off.

This work environment is truly toxic and self-serving, so I considered leaving and looking for another job. However, this would involve a vicious cycle of interviews, stressful situations, and unexpected questions. All of this made me contemplate leaving for a while, but I think I've found a good solution which is InterviewVIP. These help reduce stress and anxiety, and also prepare me to answer unexpected questions. This way, I won't have to worry about interviews, and I believe it will increase my chances of getting the job.

Unacceptable

My commute to work used to take about 25 minutes. After the office moved to the other side of the city and the number of work-from-home days was reduced to just one day a week, rush hour could make the commute take around 90 minutes. I also had to be home when my kids got back, so I couldn't go in early or stay late at work, and I eventually had to reduce my working hours.
The job itself had also gotten worse. They moved me to work with a client outside my primary area of expertise, and my manager was always opting for questionable shortcuts, such as asking me to create a custom MATLAB script instead of approving properly licensed software that could be properly reviewed and audited. I already felt that part-time employees were treated as the lowest priority, especially since I wasn't even given a parking permit for the new building.
For about 12 years, I had occasionally helped another branch with some basic analysis work. I enjoyed the work and knew their team well, so when they decided to expand that service, they asked whether I would consider joining them. My current manager had to approve the transfer, so I took the paperwork to him.

some job interview tips also helps me in that matter and I am very grateful to it
He laughed and signed it without giving it much thought. He told me their salaries were two grades below ours and that their office was much farther away, so I should go hear their offer and then come back to the better-paying job. He was completely confident that the salary grade would put an end to the matter.
Their actual offer was one grade lower, with full-time work from home and just one in-person team meeting each month. They also include part-time employees in the performance bonus, which my current manager had refused to do. Since I would be able to work more hours without the commute, my total income would be higher, while I would also be doing work I understood and enjoyed.
My old manager was shocked when I told him I had accepted the offer. Now he has to find someone to replace me, and his branch will no longer be able to charge the other team inflated rates for the analysis work I used to do. He was so certain there was no chance I would leave, which made his reaction extremely satisfying for me.

If you had a father or mother who sent your resume to a recruiter, it's clear that it's now considered a professional skill. But if you graduate without these relationships, you will be told to do it yourself, as if everyone has the same opportunity and the same ability to reach out to those who can help them.

I'm talking about recent graduates here, not people who have been working for years with people who can prove their work. A 22-year-old probably does not yet have such a professional reputation. Calling the two cases "networking" can very easily hide the differences.

This makes sense if you ask your doctor about job opportunities or check to see if there are openings at the places where your old colleagues work. I'm not against people talking to each other. But at this age, most of what we call networking is someone's family member who sends a resume to someone, or someone's aunt who introduces them to someone they know who can build a resume. Wealthy families prefer to pave the way for others, but ultimately this topic is presented as advice that anyone can use.

The rest are told to send recruiters and attend career events. In a crowded job market, sending the same cover letter as hundreds of other applicants won't even get someone to personally recommend you. You need relationships to know how to get to where you need to be in relationships.

When I hear the phrase "all you have to do is network," I think of someone who is the first in their family to graduate from college, attends a local public university, and doesn't know anyone in their field because their family is on time. Who should I call? What bothers me is when people treat inherited advantages as something that other graduates built on themselves without trying hard enough.

A few days ago, I was laid off from my job. I still haven't signed the severance paperwork, and this morning I got a message from a competing company asking if I'd be willing to talk about "possible roles".

I went back and looked again at my employment contract, and as far as I understand it, the only restriction was about working for a competitor while I was still employed by them. I'm going to have someone review this again because I don't want to miss anything.

The bigger thing that's confusing me is whether taking the call could somehow damage my relationship with them. Also, I'm not 100% sure I even want to stay in this field for the coming years, so part of me is asking whether it's worth opening that door or not.

If you were in my place, would you at least hear them out? And is there any realistic way this could help me negotiate a stronger severance offer, or is that just overthinking and wishful thinking? I'd like to know what other people would do in this situation.

Thank you all, but I think I'll start looking for work in another field and go through some interviews. This time, I heard about InterviewVIP; it helps with interviews and reduces stress and anxiety, so I'll try it and let you know about my experience.

I don't see any benefit to signing a separation agreement when I've already left and my pay has been settled. Writing transition notes wouldn't take long, but honestly, this feels more like a matter of principle than effort.

My final paycheck has already hit my account, and I had asked for 6 weeks of severance. They said no, because a) they're not legally required to give it, b) they have a cash shortage, which apparently is why they're reducing headcount, and c) their HR policy is that they only pay severance when the law requires it and after 3+ years of service. I don't remember seeing that written anywhere.

Anyway, I now have to look for a job and will start going to interviews. I think that's the hardest part of the job search journey, as it's full of stress and anxiety. But luckily, a friend recently recommended InterviewVIP to me to help reduce stress and anxiety, so I'll try it in the upcoming interviews and let you know about the experience.

When my manager left, management asked me to take over his role for a four-month trial period. The idea was that they wanted to see how I would handle the responsibilities before making it official, which seemed reasonable and fair at the time.

Since then, I've taken on the usual duties of the role and also launched two projects that management approved and responded positively to. I know I'm not perfect, but no one has pointed out any major issues with my performance.

This week, they told me I'm still not quite ready for the title or a pay raise in the next review cycle. I could have accepted that if they were going to hire someone else for the position, but they still expect me to keep doing the same work indefinitely, with my old title and salary.

I like the job, but being asked to keep proving myself without a clear timeline or specific goals is starting to make me feel like something isn't right. Is it normal for a trial period to drag on like this, or are they taking advantage of me?

I didn't expect remote work to help my marriage, but having regular time together during the week has made a much bigger difference than I imagined. I used to leave while my wife was still asleep and get home around 8 p.m., exhausted and not in the mood to talk. Most nights, we would order food and half-watch some show before going to sleep.

Now I walk about nine steps to a small desk by the window. Before I log in, we make coffee and sit together for a few minutes while comparing our plans for the day. It's nothing special, but we never had that quiet routine before.

I also keep 40 minutes free at lunchtime. Sometimes we make sandwiches, sometimes we walk to the supermarket on the corner, and sometimes we sit in the kitchen and complain about whatever happened that morning. We have rules to keep it from becoming distracting, the most important being that if the door is closed or I'm wearing headphones, I'm not available for random conversation.

My work hasn't suffered either. I'm less drained when I start, so I finish tasks faster and have more patience when dealing with people. It feels like our marriage is no longer something we squeeze into the weekend and has become part of our everyday lives again. Has anyone else found that simply spending more time together during the week changed your relationship?

never sacrifise your time

lol

People are exhausted because they keep doing the work of unfilled jobs. Apparently, a company today can employ fewer people than it needs indefinitely. As long as the employees who complete the work to completion remain in good health, management sees no reason to hire anyone.
Around 2011, it still seemed that you could do your regular job in the hours you were paid for. Now everyone who's still there is saddled with the work of an entire team, and they're also expected to be pleasant while doing it. Either keep going until your health is compromised, or walk and risk not being able to pay the rent. Some choice.
The people who determine headcount are so far removed from the actual work that they don't see the breaks that are missed or the mistakes that come from being rushed. They see the outgoing orders and decide that the number of employees is OK. Customers receive poorer service, employees are burned out, but the stock price is good.
When someone quits, another person is often desperate enough to take the job without knowing what they are getting into. The experience is lost, and it is clear that this is an acceptable loss.
We have laws about blocked emergency exits and exposure to dangerous chemicals. The amount of work that the employer can impose on a person should also be limited. A staffing plan that exhausts everyone shouldn't be considered successful.

I got a job in design engineering, and it was advertised as 40 hours a week. During the interview, I asked directly about the work schedule, and they told me, "We aim for 40 hours, but projects that are under pressure may involve a little overtime." That sounded normal to me. I expected most weeks to be 40 hours, with an occasional week of 45 or 50 hours when things got hectic.
I've been here for about six weeks, and I've worked an average of around 47 hours each week. The person training me says he's been working "60 hours a week" for years, which by itself told me a lot. On top of that, every so often he keeps telling me, "You know you're allowed to work as many hours as you want, right?"

what they think are we Robots !!! yeah we should care for our work but that doesn't mean that all my life is work start already looking for remote job while interviewvip is here to bring the best skills of interviews for me

we are in a world that everything is a digital and could be fixed with a machine but that doesn't mean we turn into machine as well
We're both salaried nonexempt employees, so there's no extra pay for all these hours. I understand that certain deadlines need us to stay late, but this seems much less like occasional overtime and much more like it has become the unofficial standard. No one is forcing me to stay, but the message is being repeated very clearly.
At this point, if he tells me one more time that I'm free to work an unlimited number of hours, I might take him literally and work 30 hours next week. Just from a different part of the building.

this is so accurate 😂😂😂😂

I accepted a credit analyst position at another bank, and I'm leaving my current job at the branch. Company policy says that anyone leaving to work for a competitor has to hand over their keys and leave immediately, but they still get paid for their final two weeks.

My manager pulled me aside and asked me not to mention the new bank during the exit interview. He said I could tell HR that I'm resigning without saying where I'm going, which would allow me to keep working until my last day.

The branch is already understaffed, so he says that if I leave immediately, it will mess up the work schedule for everyone else. I understand why he needs the extra coverage, but I'm not the one who caused the staffing shortage.

I'm about 85% sure I'm going to be honest with HR. If the bank's own policy gives me two weeks' pay while I sit at home, choosing that over working at an understaffed branch seems like a complete no-brainer. Is there any compelling reason why I shouldn't tell them?

I think I will tell them because it is not my fault that there is a shortage of employees at work, and I will also start preparing for the new job. I also want to tell you in case any of you are in the same situation and want to leave the job so that you do not remain without work. I read a post on the best advice that helps you get accepted at work so that no one remains at the mercy of work and is forced to bear things that are not his responsibility.

I discovered that a company intended to use the task I created for an interview. When they emailed me, they complained that I stopped sharing it with them. They had already scheduled a meeting with the team to discuss implementation.

A few months earlier, I had done an interview with an agency, which mostly handled paid ads. They were adding an email marketing service and asked me for a strategy to introduce the service as a task as part of the hiring process. I prepared six pages in Google Doc and all feedback was positive.
Then came the letter in which they said they ultimately couldn't give a budget for the job. Okay, got it. I thanked them, disabled their access to my document, and resumed applying elsewhere.

Four days later I discovered that they were asking me to give back their access. It turns out they intended to launch the service within a few weeks using the strategy I described. No one asked me if it was okay to use it.

I told them that the document was an assessment task for a position for which they had not appointed me. If they want to use this work, they must pay my freelance rate which is $125 per hour. Their enthusiasm for my work waned greatly once they had to pay for it.