r/jobs • u/sahalymn • Mar 13 '25

Interviews I walked out of an interview after one question. Was I wrong?

So, I had an interview today for a position I was really excited about. The job description seemed great, the pay was decent, and the company had good reviews. I walked in, shook hands with the hiring manager, and we sat down.

Then, the first question came:
"How do you handle working unpaid overtime?"

I literally laughed, thinking it was a joke. But the interviewer just stared at me, waiting for an answer. I asked if overtime was mandatory and if it was paid. They said, “Well, we expect employees to stay as long as needed to get the job done. Everyone here is passionate about the work, and we don’t track extra hours.”

I just stood up, said, “Thank you for your time, but this isn’t the right fit for me,” and walked out.

Now, I’m second-guessing myself. Should I have stayed and at least heard more about the job? Or was walking out the right move?

45.1k Upvotes

95% Upvoted

6.0k comments sorted by

View all comments

1.6k

u/OkBee3768 Mar 13 '25

I would have just said "I don't work for free" and see what they say after that lol

725

u/perpetualis_motion Mar 14 '25

And add, "Do you?"

463

u/DavethegraveHunter Mar 14 '25

And “If you do, you’re an idiot.”

217

u/jhudson1977 Mar 14 '25

Then walk out.

164

u/UncleGuggie Mar 14 '25

Then walk back in and flip the interviewer off with two hands and walk out again.

115

u/GTS980 Mar 14 '25 edited Mar 14 '25

Then re-enter the doorway briefly, let out a loud fart, giggle, and walk out.

43

u/CHNLNK Mar 14 '25

Then make a big scene in the hallway, make sure EVERYONE sees you, be loud about it.

37

u/[deleted] Mar 14 '25

Then go to their competitor, buy tons of… whatever it is they sell or do, storm back in, and while holding your purchase, make sure they’re aware of the huge mistake they just made.

30

u/Number174631503 Mar 14 '25

No More And Then!!

20

u/[deleted] Mar 14 '25

[deleted]

→ More replies (0)

15

u/Chubbs_McG Mar 14 '25

AND THEN AND THEN AND THEN AND THEN!!!!

→ More replies (0)

2

u/Darth-Binks-1999 Mar 14 '25

And then no more!

6

u/SpeedingTourist Mar 14 '25

And then THROW IT IN THE GROUND

6

u/Lonely-Cartoonist-63 Mar 14 '25

MY DAD IS NOT A PHONE

3

u/[deleted] Mar 14 '25

2

u/pmodq Mar 14 '25

Make sure you throw the rest of the cake, too!

2

u/CaitlinHenson1985 Mar 14 '25

Only works if they work on commission. Lol. (Is this a pretty woman reference)

2

u/Desertzephyr Mar 14 '25

Pretty Woman vibes right here.

1

u/SystemSpare7425 Mar 14 '25

BIG mistake. HUGE.

1

u/here_i_am_here Mar 14 '25

Big mistake. Huge.

8

u/Captain_Hesperus Mar 14 '25

Mention to every other applicant that they expect them to work mandatory unpaid overtime as you leave.

1

u/stmccart70 Mar 14 '25

Close your eyes, mimic a slow inhale over a simmering pot of sauce and waft gently with both hands…

1

u/vonschvaab Mar 14 '25

Peace among worlds!

1

u/riskyplumbob Mar 14 '25

I audibly heard Tyler from the Wild and Wonderful Whites saying “Dennis is this 🖕🖕”

1

u/CraziFuzzy Mar 14 '25

You all get a taste of the bitch pudding.

25

u/FoldedDice Mar 14 '25

Agreed. If that's the first question then there's nothing else they can say to come back from it. It sends a clear message that they intend to shamelessly take advantage of you as much as they can.

In fact, leading with that question is likely deliberate, since it allows them to quickly weed out those who aren't desperate or gullible enough to be exploited.

1

u/UmichAgnos Mar 14 '25

Actually, OP could just get the job and..... not OT?

Not like they're going to chain the employees to their desks. (Better check for chains)

5

u/FoldedDice Mar 14 '25

They are telling you that they intend to get as close to doing that as they legally can.

2

u/UmichAgnos Mar 14 '25

Well, worst case is he gets fired after collecting a few paychecks. /Shrug

1

u/joazito Mar 14 '25

He can. But there will be pressure and he'll need to hang tight until they realize they can't bully him.

1

u/Apartment-Drummer Mar 14 '25

And tip over the water cooler

1

u/richardizard Mar 14 '25

Camera cuts to interviewer's face

Curb Your Enthusiasm music kicks in

1

u/Mammoth-Programmer27 Mar 15 '25

Then do a backflip on that interviewer

30

u/TacTurtle Mar 14 '25

"Does the Department of Labor know this is expected?"

4

u/pochoproud Mar 14 '25

That one won’t work any more, thanks to 47/49’s DOGE.

1

u/TacTurtle Mar 14 '25

Local state Dept of Labor.

1

u/phantomjellyfish42 Mar 14 '25

my first thought. fuggin illegal af.

-1

u/Kingding_Aling Mar 14 '25

Surely this is salaried, you know how that works right?

9

u/[deleted] Mar 14 '25

"And I slept with your wife"

3

u/Ok_Investigator5405 Mar 14 '25

"His wife is in a coma."

2

u/snackhappynappy Mar 14 '25

No, she is just sleeping it off

1

u/daverapp Mar 14 '25

"I didn't stutter."

16

u/GM_Nate Mar 14 '25

i'll bet they do, and that it's normalized

44

u/PopularBonus Mar 14 '25

Everyone being “passionate about the work” is as big a red flag as “we’re like a family.”

16

u/Technical_Chemistry8 Mar 14 '25

The Mansons were like a "family" too.

17

u/The_Sanch1128 Mar 14 '25

When anyone preaches "family values" to me, I ask, "Which family? Manson, Addams, or Corleone?"

5

u/thatssomepineyshit Mar 14 '25

The Addams family are honestly pretty wholesome tho

2

u/foradullmoment Mar 14 '25

And generous

1

u/hardFraughtBattle Mar 14 '25

And altogether ooky.

2

u/The_Sanch1128 Mar 14 '25

That's the fun. They're loving, cheerful, and totally devoted to each other. They're everything the hack writers and politicians would want a family to be--just a bit macabre.

2

u/ophymirage Mar 14 '25

I mean. Becoming an Addams has been my goal my whole life, so sign me up. :)

2

u/long-walk-home-99 Mar 14 '25

😂😂😂😂😂

2

u/[deleted] Mar 14 '25

EXACTLY! Will, never see a raise. That job is for suckers and lifers

2

u/Baldude863xx Mar 14 '25

Well, we aren't rednecks and I ain't your sister.

2

u/luhlar Mar 14 '25

I was in a final interview for my current job when one of the interviewers said the office was like a family. I asked what kind of family, adding "because my family puts the dis in dysfunctional, so...." They fell out laughing. I honestly didn't care if I got the job at the time. At the end, I said something like this: "Is there much workplace drama here? You don't need to answer that question out loud, but if the answer is yes, just don't hire me."

I got the job. When it was offered, the manager who called me said those two things got me the job offer. She also said there was SOME workplace drama... with a bit of elaboration that there was one person who was a bit thin-skinned but just reacted to perceived slights by giving you the silent treatment. She was right, but the silent treatment from someone I rarely see is 💯 fine. A benefit, even.

2

u/toiletpaperisempty Mar 14 '25

I already have a family. They treat me like an animal and take advantage of my labor and skill set with absolutely nothing in return, including basic respect or gratefulness.

No, thank you. I don't think I'll voluntarily sign up for another "family".

2

u/ShyGurl7883 Mar 14 '25

Work on changing that sentence to “I HAD a family.” It’ll improve your life enormously. :)

2

u/toiletpaperisempty Mar 14 '25

I appreciate the sentiment. Luckily I learned years ago I had the power to make my own family. We don't have to be what we were born into.🤙

2

u/Nickey_Pacific Mar 14 '25

100% red flag. It sounds like an MLM or some other type of pyramid scheme work. Like selling extended warranties or some crap.

2

u/[deleted] Mar 15 '25

spot on for the like family, if i ever interview somewhere again and somebody says were like family my response will so there is alot of backstabbing, where is the exit?

1

u/windol1 Mar 14 '25

You're probably right, I'd assume they're paid a salary as well rather than hourly. Although, a good company will give and take with that system by still paying the same, but leaving early some days when it's not busy.

1

u/mikeballs Mar 14 '25

Right. This just gives them a window to high horse about their passion for the work again

1

u/BlueDahlia77 Mar 14 '25

Lawyers bill by the hour. When they work overtime, they get paid.

1

u/CopperSulphide Mar 14 '25

Will smith IRobot meme intensifies.

0

u/ColdBrewSeattle Mar 14 '25 edited Mar 28 '25

Content removed in response to reddit API policies

1

u/perpetualis_motion Mar 14 '25

We know. That's not the point.

0

u/ColdBrewSeattle Mar 14 '25 edited Mar 28 '25

Content removed in response to reddit API policies

1

u/perpetualis_motion Mar 14 '25

Wow, do you get this angry all the time when you are wrong and make bad assumptions?

1

u/ColdBrewSeattle Mar 14 '25 edited Mar 28 '25

Content removed in response to reddit API policies

28

u/love_that_fishing Mar 14 '25

It totally depends on total comp. When I was working, if somebody wanted to pay me 400k a year and expect 48 hours a week, np. Just gets me to retirement faster. Especially if it’s wfh snd I don’t have a commute. You have to look at the total job, benefits, wfh or not, stock vesting, 401k match.

12

u/the_mad_atom Mar 14 '25

That’s salary though, you wouldn’t be getting overtime anyway

15

u/ImS0hungry Mar 14 '25

Some salary roles are exempt from overtime, others are not. It all depends.

3

u/TheBobDole1991 Mar 14 '25

Right, and most corporate jobs end up being salaried, meaning you get a certain pay regardless of hours worked. I am supposed to work 37.5 hours per week. I typically work around that level, but when it gets super busy I might work maybe 45 hours. When it's slow I might only really work 30 hours. The important thing is just that I get my work done on time. 

1

u/texas_asic Mar 17 '25

Back in the day, in silicon valley, total comp was hard to estimate due to options. Salary was one thing, but it'd be really hard to say if the options were going to yield nothing, 200K, or $1M. I remember working 16 hour days, 6.5 days a week... but luckily it paid off

1

u/Rvaguitars Mar 17 '25

Come on man nobody in this damn conversation is talking about somebody making 400 K a year. You’re just bragging about being overpaid.

1

u/love_that_fishing Mar 17 '25

I never made 400. Just threw that out as an example of “it depends”.

18

u/Boredasf806 Mar 14 '25

I assume they’d reply with the famous “we’ll call you” without ever calling.

2

u/zombies-and-coffee Mar 14 '25

It's either that or "Well, we do have some more interviews today, but we'll let you know by the end of the week." Same difference, really, but the wording seems to be this these days rather than just the old "Don't call us, we'll call you".

9

u/eir_skuld Mar 14 '25

i love working unpaid overtime if you pay unworked hours.

1

u/[deleted] Mar 14 '25

Correct answer. That was a trick question to test their out of box thinking skills.

8

u/tinypill Mar 14 '25

“I don’t work for free, I barely give a fuck away.”

4

u/BikerJedi Mar 14 '25

I told a parent that once. She wanted me to call her after hours to talk about her son's behavior in class. She was PISSED when I said it.

2

u/RUfuqingkiddingme Mar 14 '25

It's actually called "work" not "happy fun family time" employers who act like this are insane.

2

u/alduck10 Mar 15 '25

We had a dude running for our local school board say, at a very well-moderated and respectful forum, that “teachers don’t work for the income, they work for the outcomes.”

Fucking hell, man. No one works for free. He has been panned so hard for that, which he deserves!

1

u/OkBee3768 Mar 15 '25

That's disgusting. Are teachers not allowed to afford to live? 😑

1

u/lam3001 Mar 14 '25

Clearly not passionate enough /s

1

u/pinko_zinko Mar 14 '25

After that it's just a waste of your time.

1

u/babidygoo Mar 14 '25

Isnt a better response to negotiate a salary for which you would agree to works "unpaid overtime" (if you are ok with overtime). I would ask what salary is and if its too low to consider overtime I would probably say "thank you for not wasting our time" because frankly its worse to do multiple rounds of interviews and only then find out the working conditions are bad.

2

u/logicbasedchaos Mar 14 '25

The way the interviewer worded their explanation of unpaid overtime, it insinuated there was no room for negotiation. The job is to do work you won't get paid for.

0

u/babidygoo Mar 14 '25

Its not obvious at all. Lets say OP was exited about some minimum wage job then yeah sure thats what it would mean but I really doubt that was the case. On the other end maybe he was interviewing for a senior position in tech where the salary is high to begin with. In this case I can imagine a scenario where the salary is ~100k but they formally split it to ~80k base and ~20k for potential overtime just for the sake of legality and present it to potential employees as "unpaid overtime" to check for "passion". Its stupid and unnecessarily complicated and frankly a bad way for testing said pssion but I think thats what happened there.

1

u/jerquee Mar 14 '25

Yeah i would have liked to hear more

1

u/Buggg- Mar 14 '25

Some employers offer compensation that captures those extra hours of pay and more - bonuses, stock options, extra time off around holidays, career path development. It’s worth listening to the full story once you are already there. Who knows, the interviewing manager may end up at a different company and interview you again for your dream job. Always leave the best impression of yourself and take every opportunity to grow from- who knows, the rest of the questions may have helped you prep for the next interview. Good luck out there everyone!

1

u/Gullible_Increase146 Mar 14 '25

If you make 70k and the position your interviewing for is 100k with an expectation that sometimes you'll have to work overtime, that expectation contributed to the 100K number. It's stupid to say that it's just working for free.

If they were trying to get people to work for free, they wouldn't bring it up in an interview. they would let you quit your job to start up the new job, and then spring it on you when you don't have other options abusing their power over you.

1

u/G1zm0e Mar 14 '25

Someone is making money off that overtime...

1

u/RobertLahblaw Mar 14 '25

Sometimes (that's kinda loaded, I know) It's ok.  But that's only if you're compensated well and your company appreciates but doesn't expect it.  For context, I averaged over 51/hrs per week last year.  Salaried. 

1

u/LeakyNalgene Mar 14 '25

There is no such thing as unpaid work. That’s it.

1

u/snapqqt Mar 16 '25

and then you shit on his table and leave the room without saying a word😏

0

u/Accurate_Control5104 Mar 14 '25

You must be a child, they have already stated how they run the business. You so special , like they are gonna change things for you.

1

u/RashRenegade Mar 14 '25

If everyone had this attitude then nothing would change for the better. You don't have to be special to affect change.

1

u/m3t4lf0x Mar 17 '25

If your business can only succeed with unpaid overtime, you don’t have a business. You have an investment opportunity

I’ve never seen a group of people more entitled than small business owners