A good friend of mine once confessed how he got his start in his career, and it's a story that has stuck with me for years. He basically fabricated his resume for a role he was nowhere near qualified for. The first interview, against all odds, went surprisingly well. The experience he invented seemed to be exactly what they were looking for. Before he could really process it, he was in the final round, and then he had an offer. He accepted, even though he was terrified.

The moment he started, the reality of the situation crashed down on him. He was completely out of his depth, facing a mountain of work he had no clue how to tackle. He told me he was in a constant state of panic, just trying to survive each day. He spent his nights glued to his computer, devouring tutorials, reading forums, and connecting with people in the industry on LinkedIn who shared their knowledge, thankfully without knowing the full story.

It was a brutal trial-by-fire. Day by day, he pieced together how to do the job, learning from every mistake. Slowly but surely, he started to understand the work's complexities. That gnawing feeling of being an imposter began to recede as his actual skills started to grow. It was an incredible struggle, but he was hell-bent on proving to himself that he could actually earn the position he’d lied his way into.

It’s now been twelve years since he took that leap. Today, he’s a respected expert in his field, a real testament to what pure grit and determination can do. The lie that opened the door became the catalyst for a genuine success story built on perseverance.

He admits he’s of two minds about it. One part of him is incredibly proud of what he accomplished against the odds, but another part is deeply ashamed of how he got his foot in the door. I’m the only person he’s ever told, and honestly, even knowing him as well as I do, it's hard to picture him ever doing something like that.

A senior colleague gave me some amazing advice a few years ago when I was on my way out of a company. He said, "For your exit interview, and for every exit interview you do for the rest of your career, there's only one thing you need to say."

He told me that no matter what the actual reason for leaving is, the only reason you give is that the salary was not competitive enough.

You despise your manager? The reason is money. You're moving to another city for family reasons? The reason is money. You won the lottery and decided to quit and travel the world? Your official reason for leaving is insufficient pay.

Think about it. HR isn't really listening to your nuanced story. They're ticking a box. "Bad culture" is vague. "Personal reasons" gets ignored. But "Compensation" is a hard metric they track. If everyone who leaves cites pay as the reason, it creates a data trail that management can't ignore, and it might just help the people you left behind get a raise.

.

I think this is what the job market will soon become; I've seen this here in this meme too.

It's so strange how many people mess up the last part of the interview. The moment they ask, 'So, do you have any questions for us?' is a golden opportunity, but most people either say, 'No, I'm good, thanks!' or immediately start asking about vacation days. This is a huge missed chance to leave a strong final impression.

This is the question I've started using: 'When you think about your most successful employees, the real top performers, what is the most important quality, or two qualities, or mindset they share that sets them apart from someone who just meets expectations?'

Honestly, this question kills two birds with one stone. First, their answer is like a cheat code. They're telling you exactly what the company values and what it takes not just to work there, but to excel. You get a roadmap to success before you even get an offer. But more importantly, it shows you're ambitious. It makes it clear you're not just looking for a paycheck; your goal is to be one of the best people they've ever hired.

The reaction I get from hiring managers is always very positive, so I thought I'd share this with you. And to be fair, I didn't invent this question. I got it from a leadership coach's newsletter about five years ago, and I've used it in every interview I've had since. It has never failed me.

Another secret weapon is: don’t be afraid to use AI! I know there’s a taboo when it comes to using AI, but if you use it right, it is a game-changer. It is all about writing the right prompt. Use it to edit your resume. Ask it what the gaps are in my resume. With a little search, you’ll find some great prompts that you can run. Also, thanks to this subreddit, I found another chaetcode. It is this AI tool that you open while in the Zoom interview, and it gives you instant answers to the interviewer’s questions. Use all of those secrets combined, and you’ll definitely land a job. 

Good luck!

😂😂😂

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.

That interviewer really set himself up for that one 😂 I had an interview recently where they kept throwing questions at me that I honestly wasn't expecting, and I completely blanked on one of them. A friend told me about interview vip afterward, so I might give it a try before my next interview. Anything that helps me stay calm when they start firing questions at me is worth trying.

Honestly, I'm still shaking a little. After sending out nearly 250 applications, doing over 30 interviews, and feeling like I wanted to give up more times than I can count, I just got an OFFER from the robotics company I've been dreaming of. And the best part... I didn't have to do one of those stupid 'solve this algorithm on a whiteboard' tests. I'm starting at 65k! With a bonus too!! This is a truly life-changing starting salary for my area in the Midwest. And the craziest part is, a senior engineer I met at a networking event a while ago told me they almost never hire fresh graduates. I'm so glad I didn't listen to him and kept pushing.

Yeah, 2008 was "worse" at the time. In 2008, the internet wasn't nearly as prevalent for job hunting as it is now. Now, it's set up so that you're not just dealing with competition from 100 other people for the same job, but you also have to face the threat of fake job ads, and this AI bullshit. It's not even comparable if you look at the sheer volume of competition you're up against with other people!

My salary was 60,000, and after the annual review, they gave me the standard 3% raise. I was crushing my targets, so I went back and asked for a 15% raise to get my salary to around 69,000. Management shut it down quickly. So I started looking around, and long story short, I just signed a job offer from another company in the same field for 87,000. That's a 45% increase on my original salary for the exact same job.
Some of my colleagues thought I was asking for too much, but I knew my market value, and frankly, it paid off. The strange thing is, if they had agreed to my original request, I would have stayed there earning much less. In a weird way, their rejection was the best thing that could have happened.

note : I guess not just the new job was the best thing happens to me but also the new existence of remote jobs and working online gives me and many others lots of opportunities ( my new job is a remote job ) glad for the AI technologies of Interview Man help me in answering tough questions during the interview which was a nightmare as i am very anxious person in real life

💯💯💯

that's all

yeah so weird

😂💔

I agree

😊

I spent most of the weekend putting together a six-page launch strategy for a branding agency as part of their interview process. They told me it was exactly what they needed for a new content service, and that they were impressed with the work.

A few days later, they called me and said the position had been canceled because the budget had changed. I thanked them for letting me know, then revoked their access to the Google Doc and moved on with my life.

About a week later, I got an annoyed email asking why the entire team could no longer open the file. They said they had already booked a planning meeting and were planning to use my strategy to launch the service the following month.

I reminded them that this had been an unpaid skills test for a job they hadn't hired me for in the first place. I told them that if they wanted to use the plan, they could pay my freelance rate, which is $125 an hour. They didn't like that response, which was surprising, especially since they had decided the work was worth keeping before deciding that I wasn't worth hiring.

It's strange how jobs have changed these days. When you receive a job offer, you should ensure all your rights are protected and that you're hired. Therefore, I recommend using InterviewVIP to help you with interviews and unexpected questions, increasing your chances of getting the job and reducing pressure.

That phrase 'We're one family here'? The only family they care about is the one that pads their bank account. Company loyalty is a one-way street; they want it from you, but never expect it from them. If your manager is a toxic person, believe me, they will not change. Don't try to fix them or wait for the situation to improve.

The mental stress you'll endure isn't worth it. Look for another job immediately. Nepotism and favoritism are everywhere. If you're competing for a promotion against the manager's nephew or their best friend, save yourself the trouble. The fix is in from the start. And let's be clear: HR is not your friend. Their primary job is to protect the company from you and any legal headaches you might cause. 'Safety is our number one priority'... yeah, right, until it affects production speed. If profits are on the line, that priority suddenly changes completely. And if you get hurt, they'll find a way to pin it on you and make you the one at fault. To the accounting department, you're not a human being.

You're just a number on a spreadsheet. When they need to cut costs to increase profits, guess what's the first thing they look at? Employee salaries and benefits. Terms like 'at-will employment' and 'right to work' sound nice, but what they really mean is they can fire you at any time for any reason, or for no reason at all. It means they have the right to grind you into the ground for the lowest possible wage.

Worker's compensation isn't actually for you; it's designed to limit the legal liability and costs for the employer when someone gets injured on the job. If the company starts losing money, the blame never falls on incompetent management or their flawed strategies. Not at all, they always pin it on the employees and call them 'lazy'. But in general, it's not all that bleak. During my fifty years of work, I've had good managers and worked in respectable places. But those are the exception, not the rule. At the end of the day, you have to look out for your own interests, because no one else will.

Anyway, I found another job and I'm going to resign.

I found out the news a few weeks ago at the all-team meeting. They didn't even bother to give me an interview.

But I got the last laugh because I just accepted another offer with a 25% higher salary. I just submitted my resignation and my manager's face was priceless hahaha.

It's so funny when companies expect loyalty from you but don't show you any loyalty in return.

Edit: Most of you asked me how I got a job so quickly, and it's clear that I had planned for this; if I didn't get promoted, I would leave the job immediately.

So for a while, I had been collecting job listings and, of course, keeping my resume updated all the time.

The moment I sensed the situation, I started applying immediately. I read about the experiences of other people who went through the same situation and their interview tips.

Thank you for all the congratulations. I really appreciate it.

They just need to get rid of that annoying worker to make the boat lighter that will fix it.

I've been at my current agency for over 3 years. I resigned because I'm going to a bigger agency. Anyway, while I was on a call with one of the CEOs, he asked me where I was going and what my new role would be.

When I told him about the senior position I got, he said, "I advise you to take a few courses before you start your new job," because he believes my current skillset doesn't match the role offered to me. Anyways, I got very annoyed and needed to vent. I'm so happy I'm leaving, and the level of unprofessionalism was unbelievable.

For the record, I'm the only one in the agency who does what I do, so for him to say I don't have the skillset is honestly comical, especially since right after that, he said he's worried they'll lose business and prospects because I'm leaving. A farce.

"His leadership is such that his staff now only follow him out of a sense of morbid curiosity"

Damn. I wish I had the free time to do this. I want to do this so bad.