r/InterviewVip

When faced with questions about why you left a previous role, and the reason is because you were laid off, is it bad to just transparently share you were laid off? What if you’ve been laid off more than once? If it’s bad to say you were laid off, what is a better response?

I see pros and cons. Perhaps saying it openly demonstrates honesty as a professionally relevant trait, and I’ve been told layoffs are one thing that is traceable in any background check that includes contacting the previous employer about an employee’s status when they separated/ reason for separation (please correct me if I’m misguided on that.)

On the other hand, I could see where a layoff could make you seem like your skills and role type are becoming less relevant over time- even if the hiring party is specifically looking to hire you into that same role or job type.

If it helps- I’m in b2b sales. a job type that usually is the last to go in my experience, since it’s a revenue generator. but since I’ve been laid off more than once, I’m paranoid it’ll reflect poorly on me.

Guys, I'm really torn about a career decision right now and I need all your opinions and experiences. A little over a year ago, I chased a bigger salary, and it completely destroyed my mental health.

About 15 months ago, an opportunity came my way without me even looking. I wasn't searching for a job at all, but the offer was very tempting - a salary increase of about 30%. I was happy where I was, but who would refuse such an amount? Apparently, I should have. This new company turned out to be a nightmare, primarily due to an incredibly stressful and toxic work environment.

Now for the surprise. My old job recently contacted me, asking if I'd consider returning to my previous position. They're offering me a salary about 11% less than what I'm currently earning. The idea is very appealing because I truly loved that job - my manager was great, my colleagues were supportive, and the work itself was enjoyable and engaging. Plus, they've evolved a bit, meaning there will still be new challenges and learning opportunities.

So the big question is: Do I accept a lower salary to return to a healthy and supportive job, or do I endure this soul-crushing place for the money? Has anyone here done something similar, sacrificing money for mental peace?

To clarify the numbers further, my current salary is around 105k, and the old company's offer is around 93k. The difference in money is obviously clear. But this morning, my wife got great news - a 6k raise at her job, which she loves very much. This significantly reduces the difference and makes the decision less daunting financially.

When I started this job a little over a year ago, I was quickly thrown into a terrible work environment. It wasn't just 'difficult' - it was destructive. After about 14 months here, I transformed from a usually happy and active father and husband into someone diagnosed with severe depression and anxiety due to these circumstances. I hit rock bottom a few months ago, genuinely struggling with dark thoughts, and gained about 60 pounds. Looking back, I think I was in denial, hoping things would improve, but anyone who has suffered from depression understands how insidious and deceptive it can be. Your past discussions and advice in this community have been very helpful, and I genuinely hope to hear more opinions as I navigate this situation.

I'm an Account Manager and I work with major enterprise accounts. About a month ago, I was told we'd be going to a client's office for a business review. No one explained how the flight or hotel would be handled, and no one asked me about travel plans, so I assumed the company would book it or pay directly. Most people I know who travel for work either have a corporate card or the company handles the booking.

A couple of days ago, my manager sent me the hotel details. When I asked what the booking process was, they told me to contact finance. I emailed them on Wednesday, followed up the next morning, and then today they told me I need to create a Concur account, pay for the flight and hotel on my own credit card, and then submit everything for reimbursement.

I'm still trying to get back on my feet financially after a period of job instability and debt, and honestly, I don't have enough room on my card/the cash flow to cover this without missing other bills. Because of the timing, I don't know what to do without either putting myself in a bad financial position or coming across at work as difficult or unprepared. Has anyone dealt with a situation like this in a professional way?

My manager also didn't follow up with me on anything related to travel logistics until this week, and no one had told me before that I would be responsible for booking everything myself. Maybe this is normal and I'm just new to this setup, but it feels a bit disorganized. If I had known earlier, I could have tried to move money around or planned better, but finding out right before booking is hard:\

TLDR; My company wants me to pay for work travel expenses upfront and then get reimbursed, but I can't cover the amount temporarily. Is this standard, and do I have any options other than falling behind on bills?

update: will talk to the manager tomorrow, but I'm very very stressed and afraid I can't speak confidently in front of him. This post inspired me with some tips to be calm during the meeting, will try to apply all of them. wish me luck.

I was talking with an acquaintance a few nights ago, and her opinion on salary negotiation left me completely confused, and honestly, a bit sad for her.

I was telling her about another friend whose financial situation is difficult and who truly needs a job with a better salary. This friend applied somewhere, and when asked about her salary expectations, she gave a range, for example, from $18 to $22 an hour. After a few interviews, they offered her $21. She responded politely, expressed her enthusiasm for the position, and gently asked if there was any room for them to reach the higher end of the range she mentioned, $22 an hour. What was their response? They lowered their offer to $20.50 an hour.

The acquaintance I was talking to that night completely sided with the employer, insisting that my other friend was wrong and impolite. Throughout our conversation, she kept saying that one shouldn't ask for more money if a range has already been given. She said that the company offered within that range, so my friend should have just accepted, and that this situation proves that 'nobody wants to work anymore.' The strangest thing she said was that companies don't know how much they can pay someone, which is why they ask candidates for their desired range... I mean, what kind of logic is that?

I was genuinely shocked and felt concerned for her and her situation. She is a single mother with teenage children, barely making ends meet in modest housing, and has previously mentioned that her family often helps her pay bills. With all the difficulties she faces, why would anyone defend an employer who is clearly toying with a person's potential earnings? And why would one think they are obligated to accept whatever is put on the table? I tried to explain to her that I've successfully negotiated my salary in every professional job I've had, except for my very first job when I was still learning the ropes. She dismissed my point, saying I was an exception and that such behaviour is generally unacceptable. Perhaps it's a generation gap - I'm about ten years younger than her - but now I can't stop thinking about all the financial opportunities she might be missing out on because she's not willing to speak up for herself.

I've been working at my organization for 6 years, and the salary is good. The benefits are honestly very respectable. But there have been some big issues for a while that have been draining me.

A few years ago, I was asked if I'd be willing to step in as a scrum master at work after the person who had been in that role moved into a program manager position. I agreed because it felt like a good opportunity to grow and develop. The problem is that I was going to do scrum master duties part time while still keeping the same role I'd been doing for years.

At first it was exhausting, and that was expected, but even now I'm still doing my old job almost full-time. I'm getting more work done than colleagues who have the same title as me and don't have scrum master responsibilities on top of their work. I told my manager that I felt I'd done excellent work and that I deserved a promotion, because my salary is still tied to my original title... Which pays less than a scrum master. And for 3 review cycles now, my raise has either been the same as my colleague who only has one role or lower than his. He also started here a few years after me, and our salaries are almost the same.

Promotions were announced over the last few weeks, and I didn't get one. People I know are barely getting by at work got promoted, and I'm still sitting in the same place with the same base salary and no meaningful increase.

On top of all that, I've been covering for other coworkers. We work in tech, and my manager hired someone he clearly feels comfortable with personally. The problem is that this person is genuinely bad at the job sometimes. I tried to bring it up with my manager, but he brushed it off and seemed annoyed that I had even said anything. Now I'm carrying parts of that person's responsibilities because he can't handle his workload, and my manager knows it. He knows customers have complained about him and refused to work with him, so I find myself dealing with his customers alongside my own.

My manager and I were talking on a call at the beginning of this month, and I told him I was committed to the role, that I love the company, and that I wanted to stay. I even told him I could see myself working here for another 8 years.

And then I saw the list of promotions and honestly cried. I've been getting truly excellent reviews for years, but people who constantly get complained about were promoted before me. People have literally asked me, "Wait, how long has it been since you got a promotion?"

I updated my resume almost immediately after seeing the list, and now I've found a job posting I want to apply for.

My concern is that I just told my manager one thing, and now I'm basically doing the opposite. I feel like they don't see me as important, and "advocating for myself" clearly hasn't made much of a difference.

Will I look bad to anyone other than my manager if I leave? Especially after telling him I wanted to stay and then changing my mind?

I work for a large retail chain (no need to hide its name, it's been mentioned in other related forums), and I am primarily responsible for their express pickup service,ء Z bg which is, in simple terms, curbside or car pickup.

Recently, our senior operations manager, Mark, informed the pickup team that we needed to reduce our delivery time. We have about 150 seconds to get orders out to customers. To achieve this goal, it was clear we needed more people, and Mark was happy to give them.

At my location, these pickup orders come in waves. So, we often have a period where we stand waiting for orders, followed by a crazy rush when several cars arrive at the same time.

The problem arises when other team leads pass by us during these quiet times and get annoyed when they see us not actively working. They pull many employees from the pickup point and send them to the front cashiers, which leaves us severely understaffed when the inevitable wave of orders arrives shortly after.

Mark and I have no issue with the team taking a breather between orders, as long as delivery times remain accurate. However, a particular shift manager, Diane, cannot understand why she shouldn't take from my team when they appear not to be very busy.

This led to a very frustrating conversation (I've changed internal terminology to make it clearer):

Me: I need at least three people at the pickup point at all times.

Diane: Understood, but if your group isn't actively working, I'm moving someone to the cashiers.

Me: Even if it's quiet now, we could get swamped at any moment. I can't waste time retrieving my team from the cashiers when that happens. They need to be ready.

Diane [giving me an uncomprehending look]: I hear you. But if you're standing around doing nothing, I'm moving someone.

Me: No, I really need at least three individuals present here.

Diane: Then you need to keep working constantly. Find something to clean.

Me: All cleaning tasks are already done for today.

Diane: Then find something else. You must appear busy at all times.

Me: But why?

Diane: Because at work, you simply must be busy all the time! [She repeated this exact sentence several times.]

Me: Really, why?

Diane: That's just how it is.

Me: But I genuinely don't understand the reason. I'm not convinced that staying busy all the time is either useful or necessary.

Diane: Then I will remove employees from the pickup point.

Believe it or not, that's the gist of the situation. We continued to converse for about ten more minutes. I was pressing her to give me a real reason why we must appear busy all the time, and she kept repeating the same meaningless answer until I eventually changed the subject. Thankfully, I managed to keep my team.3WW2Q1j vhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhn

Does anyone else hate the question: “What are your weaknesses?”

I seriously don’t know how to answer this without going full Homer Simpson, lol. (There’s a Simpsons episode with this question)

Anyone else? How do you answer it?

After more than 18 years in the same tech role, it's become painfully clear now (lol) that this job isn't going anywhere. I told my manager, after I finished yet another huge office buildout basically by myself - which had me working over 70 hours a week for about 4 months - that I've reached my limit and I'm leaving.

I've asked for more staff maybe 25 times over the last 10 years. The request always gets denied because of "budget." Their alternative solution, for some reason, is to let me bring in outside vendors at about 2.5x the cost instead.

When I told my manager I was leaving immediately, he asked me not to resign and to give him 10 days so he could come back with some kind of answer.

I don't know if giving him that time is a smart decision or not. I have serious concerns about my health and my marriage, and on top of that, my salary has effectively gone backward over the last 6 years, while my retirement plan has been stuck in place.

With everything I've been asking for to be able to run this department properly for almost 19 years, I don't see them suddenly fixing all of it. My concern is that my manager will go fight for me again and come back with some small "solution," and when I say that still isn't enough, I'll have burned a bridge I would have been better off not burning.

What's the right move here?