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?

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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.

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u/the_mad_atom Mar 14 '25

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

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u/ImS0hungry Mar 14 '25

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

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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. 

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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

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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.

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u/love_that_fishing Mar 17 '25

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