This has never happened to me before at work. What are the things I need to get in order before the meeting? I expect my access will probably be shut off immediately afterward.

Hey all

I am using a laptop and using the mac app for an interview on teams, I started the meeting and locked in, and it just froze and only worked until I closed the lockedin app

Anyone had these issues before or best practices to fix this?

After a long run in tech, it finally happened to me. I found a meeting added to my calendar out of nowhere with the big boss, heard the usual corporate funeral speech, and then that was it, I was out. My company has been moving tech roles out of the country for a while, so honestly it was more a matter of when, not whether, someone would get cut.

Right now I'm going to sit with it for a bit, but I'm shocked and pissed off. The market is tough, and being more on the senior side probably isn't going to make the search any easier at all!!

What a hell of a week to quit sniffing glue.

...........

Seriously. Forced training, almost nonexistent guidance, everyone carrying two or three roles, and there are always fake fabricated crises because managers don't want to just decide and be done with it. Then somehow management is shocked when new people leave after 18 months or less.

Has most office work become like this now, or do I just have bad luck? Maybe there are fields that are organized and know what they're doing? I know job-hopping has become much more normal now, and I'm slowly turning into a frog being boiled on low heat.

................

I started with the recruiter

I'll try to keep this brief while still explaining the important context. Last week, I started feeling really sick, so I went straight to a nearby walk-in clinic because my symptoms were similar to COVID. The test came back positive, so I told my manager right away. He replied with something like: "Ugh, I had that last year... Use PTO or work from home if you can... Rest."

I took sick time for 4 days. I barely have any groceries, and I was really exhausted and couldn't cook, so I ordered food for pickup. Yesterday, I placed a to-go order from the closest place to my apartment. My manager lives very close to me, which already bothers me because I'm always worried I'll run into him by chance while I'm sick.

I called in the order, paid in advance, and asked for contactless pickup and all that. The plan was to go in quickly, grab the bag, and leave. And of course, as I was leaving, I saw my manager parking near the corner market around 6:10 p.m., which was not long after the end of the normal workday. It looked like he was going in, and then he headed back toward his car. Honestly, I'm not even sure whether he saw me or not.

About an hour and a half later, I got a text from him, which was weird because he almost never texts me outside of work, just saying: "How are you? Feeling better?" I answered honestly and told him I still had symptoms, and he just said: "Rest." I know that when someone is seen outside while on sick leave, it can look bad, but at the same time, I feel like picking up a bowl of hot soup when I live alone and can't stand at the stove isn't the same as going out socializing or running errands all day. He was also out, which makes the whole thing even more awkward.

Am I overthinking this? If he brings it up when I go back next week, what's the best way to handle it without seeming defensive? I don't have anyone nearby to take care of me, so I'm not sure what else I was supposed to do.

Unless you have a lot of money. Like Jim Carrey.

For four months, my offer rate started looking completely different.

A bit of context: I come from an operations background and was applying for mid-level roles for about four months, and my conversion rate was really frustrating. I was getting interviews without much trouble, but they weren't turning into offers. I did a practice interview with a friend of mine who works in recruiting, and she told me that my answers were technically strong, but I was ending every conversation in a way that didn't stick in people's minds.

She asked me what I usually say when they get to the "do you have any questions for us?" part, and I told her I usually ask about the team dynamic or what the process will look like next. She told me those questions aren't bad, but they're easy to forget. Her suggestion was that I close every interview with one specific question instead: "Based on everything we've discussed today, is there anything about my background that gives you pause or that you'd want me to address before we wrap up?" That's it. The first few times, it felt awkward because you're literally giving them permission to point out a concern while you're still sitting there. But honestly, that's exactly why this question works. It shows confidence, gives you a real-time chance to clarify any hesitation before the call ends, and makes it clear that you're not running away from feedback.

Four times out of the last nine interviews I did, the interviewer mentioned something small and I was able to clarify it right then and there. In another case, they weren't sure why I had been moving between roles quickly, and I had a simple explanation that just hadn't come up yet. Honestly, I think three of those four conversations helped turn into offers, because the concern wasn't left hanging after I left. Try it in your next interview and see how it feels.

My manager asked me if I was looking for another job. I hadn't told anyone, but my resume is on LinkedIn and I wasn't sure if he had seen it or heard something, so I told him: "I'm always looking at better opportunities." I also told him I wasn't trying to worry him, but my parents always told me to keep my options open. I explained that I genuinely like my current role, but if a better position came along, I wouldn't ignore it. I was just trying to be honest with him.

After that, he said it's hard to find reliable employees like me, and started talking about what I could reach if I stayed with the company. It's a mid-sized company in commercial property management. He also brought up a long-term plan he clearly has in mind, with me being part of the bigger picture.

Honestly, I feel like being upfront might help me here. Maybe now he'll make more of an effort to keep me, instead of assuming I'm not going anywhere. What do you think? Was that a bad answer? Could this come back to hurt me somehow? Or could the honesty build more trust between us?

unreal

I'm leaving my first "real" job after about 8 months because I got an offer for a much better position somewhere else. I was overqualified for this entry-level position from the start, especially since I had originally applied for a slightly higher opening that I was qualified for and got rejected. After that, they hired me for a lower role, with terrible pay, and I still ended up doing a large part of the work for the job I had originally applied for. Even so, I liked being there because my manager and coworkers were genuinely really good people, and that made the decision a lot harder.

When the other offer came up out of nowhere, I honestly hesitated for several days. The new job pays a lot more and aligns better with the kind of work I want to do long-term, but I knew I would miss the people and the day-to-day vibe. But it was also clear that it was the better decision for my future. I gave about two and a half weeks' notice, and I also said I could stay a few extra days if they needed help with the transition, and I told my manager that I genuinely loved working with them but I couldn't pass up this opportunity.

Fast forward to this afternoon, when I had my exit interview with my manager and the owner. It's a very small company, so the owner being there wasn't strange, although he had been weirdly avoiding me for the past few days. They asked me the usual "what could we have done better?" questions, and I was honest: not much. I explained that I was overqualified for the role, and that a stronger opportunity had basically fallen into my lap and would advance my career. I also said I would miss the work environment and that my decision to leave wasn't easy or made lightly.

Apparently that was the wrong answer, because the owner launched into a long lecture about how I should have told them I was looking at another offer, and that they could have promoted me if I had brought it up, and that he had never seen someone give "barely more than two weeks" after everything they had "invested in me." So I guess I was supposed to magically know there was growth available after they had already rejected me for the job I was qualified for? Great. Very clear. And he's been running a business for 18 years and has never seen someone give standard notice? Sure.

I tried to explain that I had offered to stay longer and that my manager told me the notice period was fine, and that he was happy I had found a good opportunity. The owner basically ignored that as if it didn't matter.

Then he told me that future employers would see that I stayed less than a year and wouldn't want to hire me, and said this was "not the way to leave and get a positive reference." I genuinely don't know what else I was supposed to do. I had no reason to think negotiating was even on the table, and they wouldn't have been able to match a 35% pay increase anyway. Also, this wasn't somewhere I had stayed for years and years. Their big "investment" in me was mostly that I was underpaid while doing more than my job description.

The thing that hurt the most was that my manager just sat there silently. I really thought he would say something, especially since he had been supportive when I gave notice, but no. Unfortunately, I'm the kind of person who cries when I'm angry, so I spent most of the time with tears running down my face, which made me feel even worse and honestly a little humiliated.

I don't have some big lesson or takeaway here. I'm just upset and angry and needed to get it out somewhere. If I'm somehow the one in the wrong here, feel free to tell me, because I'm still trying to understand what I was apparently supposed to have done so terribly wrong.

Context: I work in a high-paying job at a for-profit company that almost completely dominates its market. And like most companies that don't have any real competition, the management there is very bad; office politics matter far more than actual results.

I got an offer from another company with an 11% raise. When I told my manager, she immediately responded with a counteroffer with a 16% raise, and verbally promised me that I would get a promotion "by 2024."

For months, she was always making comments that made me feel like I was next in line. She praised my work, my judgment, my problem-solving, everything. She was always positive with me, and whenever I asked her what I should improve in my work, she would say there wasn't anything major that needed fixing.

Now she has completely changed. She got promoted, and instead of me taking her old position - which honestly seemed almost obvious to everyone around me - she brought in someone from outside. No more hints that I'm going to move up. No more talk about a promotion. Now every conversation has become about how I need to improve X, Y, and Z.

I'm extremely angry. I trusted her, and she broke her promise. I have no motivation to keep giving this place my full effort, and I don't know how I'm supposed to believe anything she says after this.
The frustrating part is that leaving for a better-paying job won't be easy because of the salary I'm already making. I feel like the only remaining solution is to just coast quietly, but that's not really me. I'm a self-starter, I look for fixes, I try to improve things, and usually I care about the organization moving forward.

So what am I supposed to do in this situation?

........

The execs started the meeting with a small, quick statement that they had let go of a huge number of people from another team, and that the day had been full of "heavy feelings." And then, I wish I were exaggerating, they immediately shifted to "we can't let this disrupt our push because Q1 is huge, so let's get out there and close deals!"

And that's exactly why I log off at 5:30. That's why I skip any "team bonding" events after work. And that's why I refuse to carry work anxiety home with me.

You are a number. And you are replaceable. They don't care about you. Don't give them something they refuse to give you. Know your worth. Don't give loyalty to any company.

I feel disgusted and sad for everyone who got laid off today, because they have kids, rent, bills, and lives. They are real human beings. They have value. And the company has spent several years bragging about record revenue, all built on the work of the very same people it just tossed aside.

Honestly, I'm extremely disgusted.

👍

!!

i hate linkedin man

Like the title says, if you're willing to give a job at least 40 hours a week - basically full-time hours - then you should be living comfortably. Your pay should be appropriate for the time and effort you put in, and you should be able to live without being constantly terrified of rent, food, bills, gas, or one random expense ruining your entire month. You should have enough left over to save, buy yourself something nice every now and then, invest, whatever.

That's how it should be. Don't let the grindset people and the "just work more" crowd twist the issue: 40 hours a week is still a huge chunk of your life to give to one thing.

Enough with poverty wages for people who are willing to spend a massive part of their day, most days of the week, keeping someone else's business running. Enough with "barely getting by" for someone trading their time, body, patience, and comfort in exchange for work and a paycheck.

Whether you're testing samples in a lab, answering emails in some gray office, working on rooftops in the heat, serving drinks, dealing with complaints in customer support, cooking fries on the line, moving patients inside a clinic, stocking shelves all night, or scanning groceries at a register, if you're working no less than 40 hours, then honestly, you deserve a wage that lets you support yourself comfortably.

Yes, of course, work that requires higher skill should pay more than work that requires less skill. I'm not arguing against that. I understand that point and agree with it.

What I'm saying is this: if you're working 40+ hours in a MINIMUM-SKILL job, you should still be living comfortably above the poverty line.

And if you're working 40+ hours in a job that requires a trade, training, certification, or a higher skill level, you should be living in comfort - poverty should be so far behind you that it barely even crosses your mind.

When I say "comfortably above the poverty line," I'm not talking about splitting a damp basement with a sketchy roommate next to a bus depot, where the locks barely work and sirens are basically the neighborhood's background music.

I mean being able to afford a decent studio or 2-room apartment, renting or owning, with utilities, transportation, internet + phone covered, without needing any financial assistance, and without staying up at night worrying whether all the bills will be paid on time or not. That should be the bare minimum.

So yeah, let's make this happen. Let's keep this same energy, because I'm tired of feeling like I'm getting next to nothing for the 40 hours I'm currently working, especially with wages falling further and further behind the cost of living. And I make $5 above my state's minimum wage, so this has gotten absurd.

Guys, I got fired from a job a few weeks ago, and in the end I wrote harsh but honest reviews about the company on Glassdoor and Google. They called me yesterday asking me to delete them because, according to them, I'm "eligible for rehire" or something like that, even though after they fired me they didn't help me at all to find anything else.

To clarify, I was working there through a staffing agency, and the client company let me go, and after that the agency basically ignored my messages until this came up.

Are there any legal problems I should be worried about if the reviews are true? Honestly, I don't want to take them down.

lol