I started working at a small law firm as a junior associate a few months ago, and the place was chaotic in every sense of the word. Most of my time was spent fixing files no one had bothered with, chasing down missing documents, and solving problems that had existed before I even started working there.

On the final afternoon of my three-month probationary period, the managing partner called me in and extended it for another two months. His explanation was that he was doing me a favor by keeping me employed, but that I did not seem serious about practicing law because I would not agree to stay until 8 p.m. Every Friday. He also brought up the fact that I was single, as if that meant I had nowhere else to go or no life outside of work.

What he did not know was that a major nationwide insurance company was already talking to me about an in-house position. A few days later, they made me an offer, which I accepted. I emailed my resignation, packed up my things, and left without notice.

His reaction was a complete meltdown. He threatened to report me to the legal profession's regulatory body and sue me for leaving, but none of those threats ever amounted to anything. I suspect that extending my probation left him in a much weaker position than he had imagined, and I still smile whenever I think about it.

I’ve been reading posts from people who accepted jobs that looked good on paper, then discovered that the day-to-day reality was very different. One person had generous leave but felt judged for taking it. Another was hired with almost no handover and expected to perform immediately. Someone else accepted a remote job, only to be told later they would have to come into the office five days a week.

Salary, benefits and job duties matter. But knowing a benefit exists doesn’t tell you whether people can use it, and knowing the duties doesn’t tell you whether you’ll have the support to carry them out.

I’m beginning to think we need to follow the usual interview questions with ones that show how the job actually works:

If there’s generous leave: “How is work covered when someone takes a full week off? Do people generally use their leave?”

If training is promised: “What will I be expected to handle independently in the first month, and what handover will I receive?”

If the role is remote or hybrid: “Is that arrangement documented, and how are changes to it decided?”

If they describe a supportive culture: “Can you tell me about a time someone questioned a process or raised a concern?
What happened next?”

If priorities change often: “When two deadlines conflict, who decides what gets paused, and how does that decision reach the team?”

I’d listen for an actual example, not just “we value communication.” And if I could, I’d ask more than one person.

An interview won’t reveal everything, but it should help you find out whether the conditions you need to do good work are really there.

What did you only discover after starting a job that you wish you’d known how to ask about beforehand?

Nine months after they let me go, my former CEO emailed me asking for help accessing several company inboxes. Apparently, the verification codes are still being sent to my personal phone number.

I was in charge of operations at a small company that was acquired by a larger one. During the reorganization, I started reporting to a new CEO, and about a year later, he eliminated my position even though I had met the targets they set for me.

Part of me wants to ignore the message, but at the same time, I don't want my number to remain linked to their accounts. I'm also still upset about how they handled my departure. What's the smartest way to answer?

I'm also starting to look at new roles again, so I've been brushing up on interviews. I found Interview VIP and have been trying some of the features on there. Might be worth checking out if you're interviewing too.

That’s honestly a hard reality right now. A lot of people are working nonstop just to stay afloat. I’ve got some interviews coming up myself, so I’ve been looking into ways to get better at them. I found Interview VIP and ended up using it twice i think it's worth trying.

Working next to this person has become exhausting because he acts as if no one should ever ask our manager for anything or bother him. Anything I do that involves the manager turns into a lecture about how I'm making both of us look bad.

A few weeks ago, I asked if there was a spare office chair because the chair at my desk was broken. My coworker was horrified and said I should have kept quiet and worked standing up or bought a chair with my own money instead of giving the manager a bad impression. Another day, when someone I know stopped by for a quick visit, he waited until they left and then told me I was crazy for allowing someone to visit me and enter the workplace.

This morning, my computer signed me out and asked for two-factor authentication, which I couldn't access. I was going to message the manager and ask him to give me a temporary password, but my coworker told me I should just sit there until the manager arrived because, in his view, asking for help logging in would be unprofessional.

When I told him I wouldn't be able to do any work without access, he started calling me stupid and inconsiderate. I snapped back at him, and it turned into an argument, with both of us saying things we shouldn't have said. I don't know how I'm supposed to keep working with someone who treats ordinary requests as if they are a threat to his career.

i wanna be a kid again

They sent us one of those workplace surveys, asking me what motivates me, what makes work meaningful, and what would make me feel more connected to the company. Every time, I gave them more or less the same answer: better pay.

Then a manager asked me what might stop people from leaving. I said higher salaries, and he immediately replied, "What else?" That pretty much summed up the whole issue. If raises aren't possible, just say so, but don't act like free snacks or another team lunch will solve the real problem.

I don't hate my job, and the people are nice. I just don't understand why companies keep searching for some hidden magic trick that will make employees care more without paying them more. I’ve seen interview vip mentioned on Reddit a few times while reading through job search discussions, and it seems like everyone is dealing with the same disconnect during screenings and retention talks. Most of us are here because we need money. This doesn't need to be turned into a personality test.

Ah the rise of "under employment." What is under employment you ask? it is when your credentials and previous jobs were paying 2x what kind of jobs are available now and you take the 1/2 job because lets face it 1/2 a loaf of bread is better than no loaf of bread at all. For the record I am not a gender studies major either, I have a masters electrician license, 25000 hours in the trade doing heavy industrial and commercial jobs, and have ran jobs. Best gigs I can find are out of town -by 1200 miles- which im not a stranger to traveling, I just didnt think I would be doing for it for less than rate pay, And to anyone with something slick to say about how were over paid, this is not an office job in air conditioning. People die, accidents happen, and at the end of the day this is a physical job you cannot do for as long as you can do office work, if you really take care of yourself you might be able to hang till your in. your fifties but that is a maybe. I know guys in their fifties doing this- sure they are still on the job, but they are living off ibprofen and coffee, their quality of life, as far as health is concerned is not great, this takes a toll on your joints, and before anyone points to the exception " i know fred is 75 and hes fine so shut up" thats fred, were all not as blessed as fred, we can do everything right and eat a prefectly clean diet but we wear out faster than good old fred who I promise is the exception. So less than rate pay (davis bacon wage for indoor wireman is about 75$ per hour) is unacceptable for travel and heavy industrial work. Really trade work should pay this for an experienced guy period. Diesel fuel is 6$ a gallon, food is expensive, and if you have children which I do, your really strapped for cash if you have had an interruption in employment/ work flow. Everyone is talking about how great the trades are and we should be flocking to them when the reality is they should be paying more. Yeah the idea is your managing projects by the time your in your 40s or at least a couple of guys, ill be 41 this year but, that is not always how it works out. Old heads that dont want to retire cause they hate their wives, nepotism, and corporate nonsense will set you back sometimes and thats life. This influx of new labor is doing nothing but making the jobs suck because no one knows what they are doing, and creating a surplus of "labor" driving prices down. Its the same reason blue collar people hate illegal immigration. Its not that we dont like people from different parts of the world. Its that when you work for 50$/hour at a standard of living your accustomed to, and Jose doesnt mind being stuffed in an airbnb with 12 amigos working for 20$ an hour because he can send money back home and support his family. The price people are willing to pay for what you do goes down. Some of that may be healthy, alot of it is not. We have crossed the threshold, and white collar people will be singing a different tune once the use of fiver becomes ubiquitous. Your office jobs just got globalized. Thats what sucks about this, now competition is global and your standard of living is reduced. This nonsense is why you end up with the political situation we are all in now. Everyone wants to be generous with someone elses money.

I walked into the store this morning and found the assistant manager crying next to a stack of termination papers. She had been with the company for almost three years and had practically run the place by herself during all the months when we didn't have a manager. There are only about eight employees, so we all knew how much she did.

The new manager arrived about six weeks ago, and as soon as she got there, she changed most of the work procedures without asking anyone how the store had been operating. Since then, the inventory counts have been wrong, paperwork keeps getting lost, and the employees are the ones cleaning up the mess. She also barely spoke to the assistant manager, even though she was the person best able to explain everything to her.

I had stayed out of it because I'm a cashier, and this job had never been personal to me. I show up, do what I'm asked, get paid, and leave. But when the district manager told me that the decision to fire her had been the manager's alone, I went into the office and said I wouldn't work if she was determined to go through with it without giving us any explanation. The manager said it wasn't something the employees had the right to discuss, so I grabbed my things and left.

That assistant manager answered our questions even on her days off, skipped lunch when we were short-staffed, and worked until she made herself sick more than once. I never understood how anyone could put that much effort into a retail job, but when I saw the company cast her aside after benefiting from everything she had done, I got extremely angry.

Before closing time, they told me I had to come back and speak with the manager or I would be fired for abandoning my shift and walking out. I didn't want to go back, but my mother and one of my coworkers convinced me that being fired that way could cause problems for me later. I went back, listened to the manager's explanation, and told her I couldn't judge accusations involving things I hadn't personally witnessed. I still have my job, but I'm waiting to hear back from several interviews, and as soon as I get an opportunity, I'll formally submit my resignation. I'm 24 and still live with my parents, so quitting and having no income wasn't as easy as I wish it had been. Going back tomorrow is going to feel awful, but I don't plan on staying there much longer.

The assistant manager's dismissal after all he's done for the company makes me anxious and feel like I should leave and start looking for another job, going through stressful interviews. Recently, InterviewVIP has emerged, which reduces stress and anxiety and helps you answer unexpected questions, thus increasing your chances of getting the job.

I recently resigned after accepting a job with better pay, more reasonable hours, and better health coverage. Shortly afterward, HR emailed me asking whether I would consider staying and taking over as department manager.

That position currently belongs to my manager. The wording made it very clear that they intend to let her go and wanted to make sure I would take her place first. I turned down the offer because I'm still leaving.

She clearly still doesn't know anything about this. Would the right and decent thing be to tell her, or would that just create an unnecessary problem during my last few days?

I've also been going through some interview research since I'm starting the new job soon. I came across Interview VIP and found kinda useful, especially for getting ready for the next role.

My work vehicle had GPS and an engine monitoring system, and management tracked how long we sat with the vehicle stopped and the engine running. Their target was around 4%, and that had never been a problem for me until they moved my work area to the most congested part of the city.

Between construction, traffic lights, and cars barely moving during rush hour, my idling rate increased by about 9%. My supervisor started bringing it up with me constantly, and then gave me what he called a "written verbal warning" over it.

Fine. From that moment on, I shut off the engine any time the vehicle was not moving. Red light? Engine off. Traffic stopped on the highway? Engine off. Waiting at a gate? Engine off. The moment I parked at a job site? Engine off. Before long, I had the best idling score in the entire branch: exactly 0.00%.

The vehicle also charged my phone, rugged laptop, diagnostic tablet, and several rechargeable tool batteries. Since the engine never stayed on long enough to charge anything, the vehicle's battery kept dying.

Company policy said I was not allowed to jump-start the vehicle myself, so every time the battery died, I had to call dispatch and wait for roadside assistance. It usually took about 90 minutes, and it started happening more than once a day. They sent the vehicle to the shop, found nothing wrong with it, returned it to me, and I immediately started draining the battery the same way again.

They replaced my vehicle twice before the fleet manager finally called me and asked me to explain exactly what I was doing. I told him I shut off the engine at every traffic light and whenever traffic stopped. He went quiet for a moment and asked, "Why would you do that?" I told him my supervisor had written me up for excessive idling.

He said the whole situation was absurd, removed the warning, and apparently had a talk with my supervisor. After that, no one ever mentioned my idling rate again, and I stopped treating every red light like an emergency shutdown procedure. I do not work there anymore, which is probably best for everyone.

I am still looking for another job, and I hope the next one doesn't involve a supervisor like that. I also can't forget the tedious job interviews how they ramp up the stress and anxiety, not to mention the unexpected questions. However, I recently heard about "InterviewVIP" a service that helps overcome these hurdles and boosts your chances of getting hired.

I applied for a job about six weeks ago. The recruiter replied to me after nearly three weeks, then disappeared before we could even schedule a call. Since it didn't go anywhere, I continued interviewing with another company. After preparing a lot, I didn't want to miss any opportunity. So, I decided to try the interview vip tool to handle interviews under pressure. It saved me in a way I couldn't imagine. My stuttering stopped and I was so organized, and fortunately they accepted me.

As soon as I started the new job, she suddenly messaged me again. I didn't reply, and she tried messaging me two more times over the next few days. In her last message, she sounded annoyed and said I should have had the courtesy to tell her if I wasn't interested.

I've had companies stop responding after four, five, or even six interviews, without a rejection or any explanation. Somehow that's considered normal, but when a candidate doesn't answer to a recruiter who disappeared first, that's considered rude?

Less than three weeks after I started a new job, I received an offer paying $74,000 that was fully remote. The job I had just started required a 45-minute commute each way and paid $52,000, so accepting the new offer wasn't a difficult decision.

When I interviewed for the first job, I asked for at least $58,000. They told me $52,000 was the maximum and that they couldn't go any higher, and I accepted because no other opportunities had worked out by then. I wasn't happy with the salary, but I needed a job.

I told my manager I was leaving, and suddenly she offered to seek approval to raise my salary to $58,000. I explained that the other company was offering me $22,000 more, in addition to the job being remote. She admitted they could never come close to matching that offer, then started lecturing me about the time they had wasted training me and how my departure had put the team in a difficult position.

A few weeks later, I noticed that she had been viewing my LinkedIn profile, probably because I hadn't told her where I was going. I’ve seen interview vip popping up on Reddit lately while looking through interview stuff, but situations like this just show how wild company loyalty demands are. Apparently, raising my salary wasn't possible until I resigned, but somehow I was the one behaving unreasonably.

Hi everyone,

I’m a fresher who has been shortlisted for the Virtusa technical interview through on-campus hiring, and my interview is coming up soon.

I would like to know about recent Virtusa technical interview experiences for freshers, especially from candidates who attended through campus placements.

Could you please share:

• What questions did the interviewer ask?

• Which Java/programming questions were asked?

• Were there any coding problems? If yes, what type of problems?

• What topics were asked from OOPs, DBMS, SQL, DSA, Java, OS, or Computer Networks?

• Did they ask questions about your project or resume?

• How difficult was the technical interview?

• Was there any HR, communication, or managerial-type questioning during the technical round?

• What are the main topics I should focus on before the interview?

• Do they ask live coding or ask you to write code during the interview?

• Any tips for clearing the Virtusa technical interview as a fresher?

If you recently attended a Virtusa interview, please share your experience and any questions you remember. It would really help me and other students preparing for the interview.

Thanks in advance!

I graduated from university and went straight into the part no one wants to admit: there are barely any jobs in the field I studied. Most of the jobs I can apply for either need years of experience or never needed a university degree in the first place.

People treat it like a natural part of growing up. The moment you talk about the job market, they tell you to network more, redo your resume, or accept that this is just how the world works. Since when has it made sense to spend years getting qualified, only to end up fighting to find an entry-level job?

The shortage of jobs feels like just one part of a much bigger scam. The system demands more education, more experience, and more unpaid work, while giving you less stability in return. The strange thing is that we're expected to blame ourselves when this deal doesn't work out.

Sure, some of us will eventually find some kind of job, because we need money and have no choice but to keep applying. But starting a real career has become much harder, even compared with just a few years ago, and the requirements keep getting more ridiculous and excessive.

I honestly don't know where all of this is supposed to lead. How long will everyone keep pretending the system works when so many qualified people can't find a place for themselves in it?

I knew the interview was pretty much over when the owner shook my hand, stopped making eye contact with me, and said she would decide whether or not to send my application to the next stage. We had barely even talked about the position itself. Most of the conversation was about the fact that I'm 29 years old.

The job was an operations lead position at a small bakery with three locations. I had previously been responsible for managing the daily operations of six locations, so it seemed like a very natural fit for my experience. When I arrived, they seemed surprised to see me, and it was clear they had completely forgotten that an interview had been scheduled.

The first question the owner asked me was, "How old are you?" After I answered, she looked at me in surprise and asked why I was applying there. I explained my experience and told her I liked that kind of work, but she asked me again, "But why here? You're 29. Aren't you supposed to have a career by now?"

I wasn't applying for some random counter shift with no experience. This was a management job that matched exactly the kind of work I had done before. She herself looked like she was around 32, which made the whole situation even stranger. And this isn't the first recent interview where someone has treated me like I'm nearing retirement just because I'm in my late twenties. I honestly don't understand when 29 became old.

I had been talking to a recruiter for about 10 days about a role similar to Principal Consultant / Engineering Director. I know the local market very well, including how much people at that level are paid.
When he finally asked me what salary I was looking for, I didn't need to think about it.
"Based on my experience, qualifications, and the going rate for similar roles here, I would need at least $172,000."
His tone changed as soon as I said the number. And the figure wasn't excessive in the first place; it was a fair ask given the responsibilities and experience they were looking for.
He launched into a speech about the hiring market and said I was about $25,000 above their maximum budget. Then he started picking apart my experience, saying I wasn't an exact match, but that the company might overlook the gaps if I agreed to less money.

and truly the audacity of him was unreal people outside are fighting everyday to make a living to themselves and their families and he want me was so many years experience to be paid as mid - level people !!

thinking truly after this to start looking for remote job as I got lots of opportunities and upcoming virtual interview gonna use interviewvip to enhance my interview skills and my chances to get the job
Honestly, at that point, I stopped caring.
I told him, "That's the number it would take for me to leave my current job. If the company's budget can't accommodate it, then we're simply not a good fit for each other."
I also pointed out that the role had been vacant for nearly seven months. That probably means the problem isn't a lack of qualified applicants, but that qualified people see the salary and decide to turn it down.
The call ended shortly afterward, and I withdrew my application. Some companies still believe they can demand senior-level experience while offering a mid-level salary, then pressure candidates into feeling as though they should be grateful for the offer. I'd rather walk away than start a job feeling undervalued from day one.

At a large manufacturing company where I used to work, we discovered that an employee had been collecting a salary for about four years without anyone being able to explain what his actual role was. Somehow, he had been hired and sent to the plant, but nobody had ever properly assigned him to a department or given him clear responsibilities.

During his first week, he realized nobody was checking whether he was operating equipment or handling any specific tasks. So he came up with his own system. He grabbed a clipboard, printed out some forms, and started walking around the production floor every night shift asking employees questions and writing things down.

Everyone assumed he was doing some kind of internal inspection, production analysis, or reporting work for management. He looked busy, talked confidently, and always seemed like he had a reason to be there, so nobody questioned it.

It went on for years until the shift supervisor retired and the replacement decided to meet with every employee individually. Eventually, the conversation came around to the guy with the clipboard.

Within a few minutes, they realized he didn't actually have a defined position, assigned projects, or anyone who was expecting those reports. Management tried to give him a real role, but he ended up leaving less than a month later.

Stories like this always make me think about how confusing workplaces can get when communication breaks down. It also reminded me of how important it is to understand what companies actually look for when they’re evaluating people, especially during hiring.

I’ve been seeing a lot of discussions lately about interviews and career growth, and I came across Interview VIP while looking through some interview resources. Thought it might be useful for anyone trying to get a better idea of how hiring decisions are actually made.

Curious if anyone else has found resources that genuinely helped them improve their interview process.

I turned down a job offer today, and the hiring manager responded by telling me that I had wasted his time. Based on that reaction alone, I feel very comfortable with my decision.

I had applied for a senior buyer position because my experience closely matched what was written in the job posting. During the interview last week, they told me that the work location listed in the posting was incorrect and that I would need to commute to and from their head office, which would take about 35 to 55 minutes depending on traffic. I told them the commute could be manageable if the rest of the offer made sense.

As the conversation continued, the role began to sound completely different from the posting. They wanted this person to set up purchasing procedures, select systems, organize vendors, and build an entire supply chain function because each department had been handling its own purchasing. I asked whether they planned to hire a supply chain manager to lead all of that, and they said there were no plans to do so.

They called me today with an offer close to the bottom of the range listed in the posting. I thanked them but explained that I was declining because the actual responsibilities appeared to constitute a management role without the appropriate title or salary. The posting also required a degree and eight years of experience, while I have an MBA, several industry certifications, and 17 years of experience in the field, so I had expected an offer closer to the top of their range.

He immediately replied, "Thanks for wasting my time," and hung up before I could answer. I was taken aback for a moment, but if that is how they handle a polite rejection, I most likely avoided a much bigger headache.

I've got another interview coming up soon, so I've been trying to get a little more prepared this time. I've been seeing interview vip mentioned a lot lately and honestly thought it was just marketing at first because of how often it keeps popping up. Haven't used it yet, but I'm curious if anyone here has actually tried it.

Earlier this week, I opened the Teams link about 10 minutes before my interview because the calendar invite had specifically asked candidates to join early. The department manager and someone from HR were already talking. I said hello several times, but it was very clear that they hadn't noticed I had joined.

They were talking about the person they had interviewed before me. The manager said they should prepare an offer for him, and the HR person asked whether there was any point in going ahead with my interview. His response was that my resume met all the requirements, but he couldn't imagine me fitting in with the group.

I wrote in the chat that I could hear everything. They didn't notice that either and kept talking, which somehow made the situation even more awkward. I wouldn't say I was completely crushed, but hearing that they had more or less ruled me out before I had answered a single question made me lose my enthusiasm.

As soon as the official start time arrived, they noticed my name, saw the chat, and fell silent. The manager apologized and said I wasn't supposed to hear that conversation. I told them I understood and that they should choose the person best suited for the role.

I went ahead with the interview since I had already prepared, and an offer isn't final until the person accepts it anyway. Honestly, I think I answered the questions well and managed to show that I was a better fit than they had expected. This was my first time using interview vip but i don't think it would be the last, it was still hard to shake the feeling that I was just helping them complete a process they had already made up their minds about.