Hey everyone, I have two offers on the table and I'm going back and forth. Would love outside perspective since I'm too close to it to see clearly. Details below:

TL;DR: Torn between Offer 1 (EA, ₹30-32k, alternate Saturdays off, ~67 hrs/week total incl. commute) and Offer 2 (Sr. HR Associate, ₹33k in-hand/PF, ~78 hrs/week, 6-day week with only a vague verbal promise of future half-Saturdays). I'm leaning toward Offer 2 for the career fit, PF, and pay — but the no-confirmed-day-off part with my 4hr commute worries me for burnout. Anyone traded work-life balance for a better role/field early on — worth it, or did it wear you down?

Offer 1 — Executive Assistant to CMO at a well known real estate company in Kolkata
In-hand: ₹30,000/month (CTC ₹30,000 — no PF)
After 3-month probation: promised raise to ₹32,000
Hours: Mon–Fri, 10:00 AM – 6:30 PM
Saturdays: alternate off; the 2 working Saturdays/month are half-day (10:00 AM – 3:30 PM)
Offer 2 — Senior HR Associate at a Education Marketing Company not so well known yet but registered GSTIN
In-hand: ₹33,000/month (CTC ₹36,720 — PF deducted)
After probation: vague promise of a salary increase + Saturdays becoming half-day (nothing concrete, no timeline given but has mentioned wanting to change to 48hr work week model because of compliance )
Hours: All 6 days, 10:30 AM – 7:30 PM, no weekly day off currently
Other factors:
Both jobs are the same distance from home — commute is 2 hours each way, so 4 hours round trip either way.
Offer 2 has PF, which I've heard matters for background verification (BGV) if I want to move to an MNC later, plus it's long-term retirement savings.
Offer 2's role (Senior HR Associate) is in a field I actually want to build a career in — I feel I'd learn a lot and it's a more specialized/marketable title than "Executive Assistant."
Offer 1 has a lower overall CTC but meaningfully fewer work hours per week, and an actual guaranteed day off every other week.
Rough math I did on total time commitment (work + commute):
Offer 1: ~45 hrs/week work + ~22 hrs/week commute ≈ 67 hrs/week total
Offer 2: ~54 hrs/week work + ~24 hrs/week commute ≈ 78 hrs/week total (no day off)
So Offer 2 pays ~22% more (by CTC) but costs roughly 11 extra hours a week of my life, with no confirmed day off yet.

Where I'm leaning: Offer 2, because of the role fit, the learning opportunity, PF, and the pay — but the schedule (6 days a week, 9-hour days, no confirmed off day) worries me for sustainability/burnout, especially stacked on a 4-hour commute.
Has anyone been in a similar spot — traded work-life balance for a better title/field/pay early in their career? Did it work out, or did the grind eventually get to you? Any advice appreciated.

URGENT: Joined KPMG yesterday, now have another offer with 50% hike — need advice!

My friend joined KPMG just yesterday, but he already has an offer from another consulting firm offering around 50% higher CTC.

We heard that if he absconds from KPMG, he could potentially be blacklisted across all Big 4 firms.

Is this actually true? Is there any Big 4-wide blacklist/shared record for absconding? Or would it be better to resign properly even though he just joined?

Would really appreciate advice from anyone in KPMG/Big 4 HR or recruitment, or someone who has faced a similar situation.

Need urgent advice!

Hey, I am a fresher so I needed advice. I had applied to a job on a portal and got a call back. This call was made for the purpose of conducting an initial telephonic screening. They accidentally called me by my mother's name and then corrected themselves. I have absolutely never mentioned my mother's name (or my father's name) anywhere and my mom has a unique name so it is difficult for this to be a coincidence. I live far from the job location so it is difficult for them to simply know my mom or something.

I know companies like to do a background check, but doesn't that usually happen after the initial introduction? This was my first impression of them. Didn't really like it haha. Am I overthinking this? Is this normal practice?

I have had a pretty comfortable job for the last 6+ years. Work life balance has been good, hours were flexible, office attendance rules were lax, and I always had enough time to take care of personal commitments. It was very easy to take leaves, and weekend working was almost non-existent.

#Everything changed once we got a new CEO.

WFH/Hybrid rules have been slowly tightened over the past 2 years. Mandatory 3 days every week. Benefits are being systematically reduced. Leave policy is getting more restrictive.

My team even got a new boss, and he is a hard-ass who believes in daily office attendance, pushes long working hours, and even expects us to work on the weekends.

I'm no longer motivated to work like this, and want to look elsewhere for opportunities. However, it's going to be EXTREMELY difficult to find another job with the kind of flexibility I've gotten accustomed to.

BOTTOM-LINE: I'm not really an ambitious guy, work-life balance is ABSOLUTE top priority for me. I just want a job to pay the bills (which keep rising, but at 30LPA CTC, it's fairly manageable).

But in the current environment, I'm truly afraid there's no room for the kind of career I'm looking for. I really don't think I can get back to the usual grind. Long commutes and mandatory office attendance are deal-breakers; Mumbai local trains have destroyed ny spirit.

What I really need is advice. This was my first job, so I've never done the job-hunt thing. How should I go about it? What should I look for?

I have been with my current company for sometime now and have been looking to switch for some time. I finally cracked an interview. However, the pre-condition before rolling out the offer letter was that I should be able to join within a month, which is not possible. While I can get leeway in terms of notice period, the leaving date still cannot be before the 1st week of October. While I was negotiating on the notice period till last week. This week has been complete radio silence. I really feel bad about it as, I doubt if I am gonna get any more such opportunities at this stage in my career.

Recent undergrad from a T1 college, non-tech. Joined a big 4 firm through campus few months back.

Training was around 5 weeks. I could understand the concepts and complete the assignments, but I found the actual work quite non-stimulating. The team was entirely WFH, with trainers, managers and peers scattered across cities, so there was very little team interaction + no in-person orientation. Coming straight from college, I found the remote transition difficult.

The issue came during the final assignments. There were time limits and a permitted failure threshold. I became overwhelmed under the constraints and failed more than allowed. Management subsequently decided I shouldn't continue in that department.

The silver lining

My manager has said twice they don't view it as an effort issue and believe I genuinely tried (backed by the trainer in a separate conversation).

Instead of putting me on a PIP or exiting me (did explicitly say in that conversation that this isn't the end for you), he reviewed my original CV and felt I may simply be a poor fit for highly process guided work. He also highlighted positive feedback I'd received from a director during the hiring process and had originally been shortlisted.

He's since been actively trying to find me an internal role that might suit - I've spoken to managers from another vertical and completed assessments for a potential role there.

Problem

I'm currently in limbo. I've had essentially no substantive work for 2 weeks while these discussions happen. I'm staying logged in and available, and my manager has continued setting up meetings and trying to move things forward, but I don't have a confirmed role yet.... the uncertainty is pretty demotivating.

For people who've worked at Big 4 professional-services firms:

1. How common is it for freshers who don't clear final assignments to be internally repositioned
2. Does management actively trying to find another role generally indicate they still see potential, or can this happen before eventual push to quit myself.
3. At what point would you stop waiting, and should I start looking for other opportunities in parallel?

TLDR: Fresh grad at a Big 6, I couldn't clear the final training assignment for my role and was moved out of the department, which has left me disturbed and uncertain.
My manager doesn't see it as a willingness issue and is actively trying to find me a better-fit internal role, but I've been sitting idle for over a week with no confirmed outcome.
Am I genuinely in trouble, or is this a normal-ish internal redeployment situation and should I start looking externally while I wait?

Hi everyone,

I’m a bit confused about whether I should make this move and would really appreciate some advice.

My experience so far:

1st company: 2.5 years, including internship

2nd company: 1.5 years

3rd company: 6 months so far, currently SDE3

I have an opportunity to move to another company as Software Engineer 2. I had actually received the offer from them earlier, but couldn’t join at the time.

The role is more aligned with the kind of software engineering work I want to do long term, but the compensation is slightly lower than my current company and the title would technically be a level below my current SDE3 role.

Would making this move look bad on my resume? Would recruiters/HR see it as a red flag, especially since I’d be moving after only 6 months in my current company and this would be my 4th company?

I’m more concerned about the long-term career impact than the immediate compensation.

Would really appreciate perspectives from people who have been in a similar situation.

10 yoe Working in a tier one city. Literally done with the current job. Got asked why I took sick leave last week - 1st in 6 months btw. Manager questioned my work, skills, proactiveness, leadership. I countered where I was not wrong and didnt hold back, but it made me realise it was all for nothing, just petty office politics. I built confidence (atleast I thought so) on the clients, management - only to find out it was all a hoax. Felt so betrayed and disappointed last week - slept on the thought multiple times. Sleep schedule affected badly. I am seriously considering packing up all my stuff and quitting my job. Go to my home and do something there - this trade off of mental peace is not worth it at all. I see others face the same thing in my company - sometimes I hold myself back from taking the step and sometimes It infuriates me more when I think about it. I am asking myself if it is an impulsive decision or something which is good for me.

I am 31 years old. From past 10 months, I was actively preparing for a career switch side by side - I cook really good and started a kitchen in my society as an experiment. Got great reviews - currently non operational due to flat Owner. I know if I go back home - I can continue this and earn decent - not in the figures I am earning here.

Feel at crossroads as to how should I approach this? I am really done with the current job, because of package no other companies giving a call back for interview (saying its over budget for them). I can stay longer in this company and role but I know mentally I would be fucked. This role needs me to be in office 5x a week, with shift work applicable as well.

Any suggestions - you can be brutally honest/critical too.

Hello guys,

I was working as an AI engineer at a marketing agency and resigned about 3 months back without an offer and I have been unemployed since, I worked there for an year and before that at an Fintech AI startup for about 6 months after my graduation , the corporate scene is so bad these days , none of the companies have any kind of work life balance and they treat you and expect you to be their slaves while also paying you peanuts. My mental and physical health have improved a lot since then and My relationship with everyone else in my life have also improved a lot , I just started applying to jobs again even though I do not want to , I feel like all that hassle is not worth it , Now my problem is just with corporates , I have been working on personal projects , participating in hackathons these 3 months and I have learnt way more by doing this than by doing those shitty useless corporate projects.

I feel like indian corporates have crossed a line and more and more GEN Z are looking to start their own businesses , I'm one of them too.

I have started applying to jobs again and I almost completely forgot how to code without AI , and I attended some interviews , Most of them did not ask me anything related to coding and i actually did well in those interviews , But there was this one interview where I was asked to code , and I refused saying I cannot code without AI.

I Def believe coding is an obsolete skill since most of the stuff can be handled by claude and I do not want to spend time re learning an obsolete thing

New to this job thing. Been working for only a month. I need some help.

1. How do I stop thinking about work all the time?

Basically - my job is something that is very dumb work - involves talking to a lot of people - doesn't require you to be creative or anything. It has no growth potential, no increment potential and no promotion potential. It is also mostly remote - I have gone to office twice so far. But I am told the frequency may increase rapidly in Q3. My work timings are 4pm to 12am.

I have not switched because I have been here only for a month or so.

Prior to this - I have done two internships - where I was putting in 16 hours a day. They required me to use my brain. They paid double of what I get here.

My problem is - If there's something I'm thinking about at work - how do I postpone that thought until I start working. I get curious. I sometimes end up staying late or starting early because I am too curious to figure it out.

Even if I physically restrict myself - how do I stop thinking about the work all the time? I want to not think about work so that I can learn something else and upskill.

2. How do I upskill in something I don't like?

Let's say there's a skill which is really boring to learn. but once I have it, I know I will make good money. I have done that before. Studied and learned stuff purely because of money. But earlier - I was too broke. Failure was not really an option. However now, I feel a little comfortable. This feels like a swamp that is slowly sucking me in. Maybe like a frog in hot water. I know that not upskilling has consequences. But things wouldn't be as bad as they have once been.

Another angle is - this is the first time I am trying to do job + upskill where I get bored with it all. I am not pursuing my interest. That's because my interest doesn't pay, unfortunately.

I'm trying to get some answers, find someone who is in the same boat, or has been.

Thanks for reading till here.

Hi guys,
So basically I am from a tier 1 college and working as an analyst since more than 1 year at this fintech . Side by side I am also applying for jobs and preparing for CAT 2026. Now the thing is the work that I am doing here isn’t helping me grow much . It’s like some routine analysis and stupid dashboarding . Also I am have been placed under someone who has equal experience as me and mind you these managers who have made this arrangement haven’t even worked with me and she is their favourite.
Anyways so every morning I am supposed to send some files at around 9 because some other team needs it but no one acknowledges it but the day things go south my complaint is raised .
Every other morning I receive calls from people who work for the other team because their working hours are 9 to 6 whereas mine are 10:30-7:30. Now what do I do
I just can’t work here , I am getting so annoyed every single day . My work isn’t getting acknowledged and I am getting only leftovers and futile tasks.
I feel like quitting and going back home but my mother is saying not to make a mistake like this and try switching while working here , but it’s so damn exhausting.
Can anyone please help me ? Please
I am just so done with this .

Hi folks, i recently gave my 1st phone screen at JS, it has been 2 weeks since the interview and I followed up with recruiter and they mentioned "they are still discussing internally" what is avg turn around time in JS ? I feel like I am on hold or leading to soft rejection.

Started on a new project since 7 months. Our team lead never took interest in understanding the work and would just assign tasks to us and do nothing whole day. This project was earlier with another company and people from that company have also joined us including a person X. This Saturday during a emergency issue X had to support from hospital. Client lead (Y) found out about this today and fired our team lead like anything. Y found out today that our lead is completely clueless about what is going on in the project. Y said they are gonna escalate this and most probably lead will be removed from the project. 45 year old got scolded like a school boy. Very satisfying day! 😁

My 2 cents on salary progression posts. A lot of people who post it here began their careers in India but moved abroad (good for them). But posting their salaries in INR seems so misleading.

You don't earn in INR and don't spend in INR. Then why the F, you say you earn in lakhs & crores. It is so misleading for young people. It sets unrealistic expectations and gives people a sense they are stuck in a swamp.

Tell us how much you earn in their currency. If you want to be really honest, tell us the average income for your role/experience which would tell us the whole truth. Until people start doing this, it's nothing but karma farming.

Looking for a reality check.

I work in the MIS/Data Analytics domain with ~4 years of experience. My core skills are Advanced Excel, Power BI, reporting/automation, and I'm currently improving my SQL skills.

Being from a Tier-2 city, opportunities in this field are more limited compared to the major metro cities unless I relocate or find a remote opportunity.

I've been jobless since August start and currently have around 7–8 months of financial runway. I also have applications under process, one company has waitlisted me, and a few consultancies are actively looking for opportunities on my behalf.

Recently, I received an MIS offer supporting a well-known telecom company. Initially, I was willing to accept some trade-offs because I believed the company's brand name would be a strong addition to my resume and future job prospects.

However, after speaking with HR, I found out that the role is completely off-roll through a staffing company. That means the staffing company, not the telecom company, would be my actual employer on paper. My offer letter, payroll, PF records, notice period, background verification, and employment history would all reflect the staffing company.

That significantly changed how I viewed the opportunity because a large part of the trade-off I was willing to make was based on the assumption that I would be directly associated with the telecom company's brand. Once I learned that wasn't the case, the value proposition became much less clear.

The bigger concern is the work culture.

Both HR and the reporting manager confirmed that:

• 1–2 hours of unpaid overtime is normal on most days

• Working beyond official hours is generally expected

• Sunday availability is regularly required whenever reports or operational work come up (not every Sunday, but often enough that it's considered part of the role)

What makes this difficult is that I was originally willing to accept some compromises because I thought I would be directly associated with the telecom company's brand. The expectation was that if I was going to give up additional personal time through regular unpaid overtime, a 6-day work week, and frequent Sunday availability, at least the long-term career value would justify the trade-off.
What changed things for me was finding out only after the interview process that the role is actually off-roll through a staffing company. This was never disclosed during the interview rounds. Learning that my legal employer, payroll records, PF records, employment history, and future background verification would all be tied to a different company made me question whether the trade-off is still worth it. Giving up additional personal time is one thing; giving up that time unpaid while also not being directly employed by the brand I thought I was joining is what has made me reconsider the offer.

Had this been disclosed at the beginning, I would have evaluated the opportunity very differently from the start.

TL;DR:

Unemployed for a few weeks, have 7–8 months of savings, received an off-roll MIS offer.

The role has confirmed daily unpaid overtime and frequent Sunday availability requirements.

I was willing to accept these working conditions for the perceived brand value, but finding out after the interviews that the role is actually off-roll has made me question whether the trade-off is worth it.

Would you take the job and keep searching, or reject it and continue looking for something that better aligns with your boundaries?

I had bariatric surgery about a year ago and was diagnosed with pre-cirrhosis liver. I had sleep apnea so insurance covered it. It's been 10 months, I’m doing very well now and have recovered.

I’m currently applying for new jobs. My previous company didn’t do a medical checkup; they only had me sign a form as a formality.

I’m worried whether a pre-employment medical check in this job could affect my hiring, or whether my previous surgery/medical history could cause problems with a new employer health-insurance policy. ( I don't have a insurance now )

I took this career break, to recover and rest. Some people have advised me not to mention health as the reason for the gap because employers might judge it and told me to say a different reason.

Did your surgery/medical history ever affect getting hired or getting employer health insurance? How did you handle explaining the career gap?

Im 24F, i worked 2 years as electronics product engineer in a reputed Valve and Positioner company

Long one, sorry, but I need advice.

I've been at this company (australia based GCC) for almost 6 years, last 3 as a vendor manager after getting. I used to consistently outperform my peers throughout with no contest and got great ratings and feedbacks initially.

We've gone through a few manager changes. Current skip-level is a corporate lawyer with zero background in this field. He basically only listens to the managers below him ( all late 40s/50s), and from what I can tell, kind of paranoid about their own jobs since this company's redundancy process is brutal. Ever since he came in, all the standing I built under my old managers has just been dismantled. Now I have to apparently invent work to look busy and get side-eyed if I don't.

My rating got tanked last year because my previous manager did not record the work in place and went on a nice long holiday, and my skip practically sweet talked me into not making this a big deal and was fairly compensated with a decent hike. Then again this year, all the tasks I did recieved exceptional feedback expect from my manager and skip, they just wanted to nitpick and not give me feedback on this either. This year I was 95% done with a big piece of work when I had to go on leave — my wife's pregnancy was high-risk and I was still working while she was in the hospital.

Company gives dads 16 weeks parental leave, which I took after the baby arrived. The manager nor the skip flagged the unfinished 5% before I left, neither did they mention anything on the lines of finishing my performance review before hand (I went on leaves 2 months before the review happens). Came back and got told it was on me to have sorted that out beforehand. Meanwhile my wife works at a Big 4 firm and they handled her hand off and review internally with no drama.

So I got back last week, I did not agree with the crap reasons they mentioned on my review so I pushed back on my rating with my manager and the skip-level. Instead of actually addressing it, they focused on the random bits of the year, did not acknowledge the appreciation recieved from my peers but said it's a 'mixture of all things' and I had failed in delivering it all and are now saying I should go on a PIP. IMMEDIATELY . No HR in the room, no feedback on what went wrong, nothing.

Is that even legal — PIP right after coming back from parental leave?

I'm desperate to quit but eventually but I've got a newborn now and can't afford to be jobless for months, especially since I need remote work. And yeah, it stings extra because there are people on this team doing basically nothing and they never get touched.

Any advice on the legal side or how to play the PIP conversation would help a lot right now.

TL;DR: Been at a non-Indian company 6 years, 3 as vendor manager, used to be a top performer. New skip-level manager (no relevant experience, listens only to insecure senior managers) has sidelined me. Got a bad rating two years running. This year I left a task 95% done to take paternity leave after my wife's high-risk pregnancy — nobody flagged it before I left, got blamed for it after. Challenged my rating on return, and instead of addressing it they're pushing me toward a PIP with no HR involved. Want to know if that's legal and how to handle it. Can't quit yet — new baby, need to find remote work first.

(I had to use claude to make it more refined because I'm raging, I've added few more details which were missing)