u/acuity-creel

I'm a sales engineer and achieved almost 2.5x my target, but they're refusing to give me my commission, saying that the company's overall situation isn't good. But at the same time, from the projects I brought in, they sent other colleagues for trainings abroad and didn't send me.

When I brought it up with the big boss, he told me that I'm getting sales experience and that this should be enough for me. Honestly, after hearing that, I stopped caring. Now I waste time, say I'm visiting clients, go to the office around 2:30pm, and leave at 4:45pm.

I'm planning to change jobs in a few months, but until that happens, I don't know what the right thing to do is. Should I keep pushing to get my commission, leave quietly, or do something else?

Look, I know some of you might already be doing this, but honestly, I wasn't... And this changed everything. Now I have 6 interviews lined up over the next 8 days. It's a bit stressful, but I'm honestly very relieved.

I used to go on Indeed, search for my job title, and mass-apply to anything that looked okay. I did this for a month and didn't get any response at all. The site analytics showed there was no traffic on my portfolio, and I was starting to feel really hopeless.

Then I tried a different approach. I started filtering specifically for jobs posted in the last 12 hours with fewer than 15 applicants. Most of what I found had just been posted a few hours ago or the platform hadn't boosted them yet. Since I started doing this, I've received 6 interview requests in less than a week, and my portfolio views have started to skyrocket.

Many of these roles are in small startups or specific niche agencies that aren't very well-known. So if you're only looking for big corporate names, this method might not be for you.

But seriously, it worked really well for me. Even if I don't want all these jobs, the interview practice alone has made me much more confident.

I spent my early thirties jumping between soul-crushing startups because I needed the money and felt like I had to prove myself. The straw that broke the camel's back was when my old manager tried to guilt-trip me into finishing a presentation while I was literally in the ER with a kidney stone. That was it. In my next job search, I decided to treat the "Any questions for us?" section at the end as the most important part of the entire interview.

Everyone asks about PTO or the tech stack, but those answers don't tell you if they'll treat you like a human being or just a line in a spreadsheet when things go south. My opener now is: "Why is this role open right now?" If they start stuttering or give canned responses like "trying other things," I'm immediately on high alert. If they say the person got an internal promotion, that's the best green flag.

Another heavy question I use is: "Can you tell me about the last time a project completely failed?" The responses reveal a lot. One hiring manager told me bluntly that they "don't accept mistakes," and that was my cue to get out. A good lead will explain how they support the team during crises and what they did to solve the root cause. I also make sure to ask the teammates I'll be working with - not the manager - this question: "If you could fix one thing about how the team works, what would it be?"

If there's a long, awkward silence or they look at each other as if they're afraid to speak, then you have your answer. With this strategy, I turned down 3 offers that looked amazing on LinkedIn but felt wrong during the Q&A. Finally, I found a place where the lead was transparent about their flaws and the team seemed like real human beings. You aren't just a beggar looking for a salary; you are a specialist selling your limited time. Make sure the person buying it won't make your life hell before you sign anything.

I left my last job because I was completely burned out. Honestly, I'm not built to be on the phone with clients all the time, day after day. I was honest with my manager about why I was leaving, and she seemed very supportive. She also told me to put her down as a reference for anything I applied to after that, and said that if I ever wanted to come back to the same role, the door was open. I believed her, so I listed her.

A few weeks later, I found a position that seemed like a much better fit for me. It involved much less client contact, and they were fine with adjusting the work around my availability. The person doing the hiring seemed happy to speak with me, and after the initial interview, she scheduled a second interview right away.

When I went to the follow-up interview, the vibe was completely different. The hiring manager was noticeably colder. She said she had spoken with my references and that my old manager had told her she had concerns about me because of my burnout. Honestly, I didn't know what to say, because my old manager knew exactly why I left.

I explained to the interviewer that I left because of the constant client-facing work, and that the new job wouldn't have the same issue because the client interaction would be limited. Apparently, that concern was enough to change the decision, because I didn't get the job.

I feel like I want to contact my former manager and ask her why she would offer to be a reference and then ruin my chances. I'm confused and honestly upset. If she was worried about me, she could have talked to me instead of messing with my income and future job opportunities.

There are a lot of people who don't know the difference, and put former employers as references because they think they have to, or employers who will do anything to blacklist a former employee

So, it is very important to listen to other people’s experiences and advice, whether they share them on Reddit or LinkedIn. Paying attention to all of that and reading it carefully is important before getting involved in an actual job.

I make about $70,000 a year in my supervisory role. The net amount I receive each week is about $1050. Just two weeks ago, I worked 68 hours.

If you calculate it, that comes out to about $15.44 per hour.

And what's the shocker? Most of the team members I supervise earn more per hour than I do.

Honestly, I'm fed up with this whole system.

I've shared thoughts here before, and I've always supported the collective pursuit of better working conditions and respect for personal time.

I'm a finance professional in my early forties, holding a Controller position, earning a good income to support my household.

Lately, I've been receiving calls - not from external headhunters, but directly from internal recruiting teams at various companies - asking if I'm open to a new challenge, as they have an open senior leadership accounting role.

Overall, I'm comfortable where I am, but I usually listen to what they have to say. However, when I ask about the salary range, I'm always surprised by their reluctance to disclose it. Instead, they turn the question back to me, asking things like