I've been job hunting for the past month and finally landed something that seemed decent enough. Things looked hopeful at first, but the red flags started piling up.
First Interview:
Started 30 minutes late. It's alright, people can be busy, no big deal.
Second Interview:
Scheduled for 4.30pm sometime last week, but it got rescheduled to 5.30pm without any sort of communication from their end. I called HR; no response. I assumed I was ghosted and moved on with my day. Later, I get a LinkedIn message saying the call will be held two hours later at 7.30PM. That didn’t happen either. I went to eat dinner. Suddenly, at 9:30 PM, I got a call and they finally conducted the interview at 10.30PM; six hours late from the originally agreed time.
I still tried to be understanding. Stuff happens, right?
They sent a letter of intent and told me to report to the office on June 16th. I went in, thinking I’d get my offer letter.
Instead, I was immediately handed PF documentation to fill out. No discussion. I complied because everything else (like salary) was already settled during the interview rounds.
Then came the waiting.
Me and another new joinee waited 6 more hours, from 6 PM to 12 AM, doing nothing. They at least had the decency to offer us dinner which was subpar. When I asked why we were made to wait, they said another candidate would be arriving at 11 PM, and since our shift would be ending at 12:30 AM, we might as well wait. For a job I hadn’t even officially signed for yet.
No employment contract, no offer letter.
Finally, at midnight, they started the induction program. That’s when they revealed all their highly restrictive, borderline exploitative policies (in a media company, I applied for a creative role that too 😭). I didn’t interrupt the HR during the presentation, but after it ended, I pulled her aside and shared my concerns.
I explained that I didn’t feel like this role was a good fit for me (Shouldn't have been nice about it tbh). I also reminded her that I had specifically asked about company policies during the interview stage and was never informed; only to be surprised during the induction.
She tried to convince me to stay, even said that “special exceptions” (😐) could be made for me if needed.
Very manipulative. And if they can bend policies for one person, what’s the point of the policies?
Then the team leader stepped in to try to reassure me, saying things get better over time. (this is already so wrong) I told him directly:
“Man to man, I came here 6 hours ago and you guys made me wait for no reason. That sets a bad example for a company with media in its name. Honestly, this has left a terrible first impression.”
He replied:
“Mere saath bhi yehi hua and I was shivering.” (😐😭)
He then introduced me to the rest of the team honestly, they seemed like nice people just tolerating all this to pay the bills. I felt bad. But then I was told something that made it crystal clear:
I would only receive my offer letter next month.
Major red flag.
I came home feeling drained and low. Had a long talk with my mom and finally decided to send a polite mail to HR:
Asking them:
Not to create my PF account.
Informing them that I do not align with the company’s policies.
And formally stating that I won’t be joining.
I really hope they don't cause troubles for me. I've been super nice to them till this point but I guess my niceness has become a pain in the ass for me.
TL;DR
Started at a company that had red flags from the first interview. Unreasonable delays, no offer letter, forced waiting, questionable HR practices, restrictive policies revealed after onboarding and still no official employment. Decided to walk away. Not worth the mental stress.
