I work in a restaurant. My boss came to me with this new rule.

Boss: “I want you to refuse reservations from any Italians. They’re too loud.”

The worst experience I ever had with a boss was at my “student job”. The boss asked me to work for him full-time as a permanent worker. He was ready to name me the manager of one of the shops. I declined politely as I had something lined up abroad already. I only had four days left at the job.

Two days later, [Boss] and a branch manager came while I was working and accused me of stealing 2,000€.

Boss: “You need to reimburse us, or you need to keep working until your debt is fully paid.”

Me: “What?! No! I’ve never stolen anything in my life!”

They kept pressing me until they made me cry.

I left, and my boyfriend took me to the police station to make a report.

Obviously, I didn’t show up for work the next day. I received a threatening letter but didn’t care. I left.

Several months later, while I was working abroad, my parents called me. I had received a summons from the police. I took days off.

Right away, the police officer told me that he had received many complaints from former employees of my former boss, and he wanted to know if I wanted also to make a formal complaint.

Right after this, I moved very far away, and I never heard how that turned out, but I know that the boss rushed to sell and close all his shops.

I hadn’t started working at this store yet. I’d just done a practice run on the tills to see if I knew the register system, and the boss was telling me the “perks” of working for her store.

Boss: “The best perk is that we work out and pay our own income taxes each pay period. It’s great because you can fudge the numbers you worked and not lose welfare benefits!”

I noped the h*** out of there because I was nearly having an anxiety attack at the thought.

I work security in Texas, and I’ve been doing it for ten years now. In this state, you need a license to work in unarmed security and a separate license to work in armed security (with a gun). Each license requires different levels of certifications and training.

When I first start, I am unarmed. I get offered a job with this company to walk around this cluster of office buildings (like a business park) overnight to make sure nobody is getting up to any shenanigans in the parking lots. It sounds easy enough, so I accept the job.

While I’m working, one of the supervisors comes out to check on me.

Supervisor: “So, how’s the night been?”

Me: “It’s been good so far.”

He looks down.

Supervisor: “Where’s your gun?”

Me: “Uhhh… I don’t have one; I’m not licensed for it.”

Supervisor: “Well, we can’t have that. This is supposed to be an armed post. Hang on.”

He goes back to his car, retrieves a small black bag, and comes back over to me.

Supervisor: “Luckily, I always carry a backup.”

He unzips the bag, reaches in, and pulls out a pistol in a holster. He goes to hand it to me.

Supervisor: “Here, use this for the night. You can bring it back to the office in the morning.”

Me: “I can’t legally carry that, though.”

Supervisor: “It won’t matter for just one night. We’ll get you a different post tomorrow.”

In Texas, State Troopers can do random checks on security officers to make sure their security licenses are on them and are valid. If they’re not, you can be arrested. I have this running through my mind as the supervisor is talking to me.

Me: “Naw, man, I’m not taking that risk.”

Supervisor: “Look, either carry it or you’re fired!”

Without saying a word, I just turned and walked back to my car. The supervisor shouted an insult at my back. I just turned around, said, “Have a good night,” and then left.

I never contacted them again, and they never reached out to me after that night, either.

I’ve been spending a lot of time on job sites for the last few years due to a lot of raw luck, and most job listings are generally in the same few categories: “Vague”, “Dry-But-Straight-Forward”, “We’re-A-FUN-And-Quirky-Workplace”, “I have someone in mind but I had to write a job ad”, and maybe a few, “I’m not paying you more than minimum wage, but you’d better have seven years of experience.”

Here’s one I saw today that really stood out for an unreasonable ask. It was full of grammatical errors and random capitalization.

Job Listing: “Full Job Description: Experienced, effective graphic design EXPERT. Must have advertising background. In order to apply, you must submit a mock ad for our brand to my email, which can be found in the contact section of [Website].

“We are looking for an artist who can create poignant call-to-action ads that fit our company aesthetic. The ideal candidate can provide a portfolio of advertising design work. Must attach examples of AD work for women’s clothing, even if it’s just a mock-up, for this position. Please do not apply if you do not have an advertising graphic design background.

“Office location is inside a clothing boutique. Must be able to run store functions and ring up customer sales as needed. If you do not want to also be a sales associate, do not apply.”

So, they are asking for you to make an ad for free. Don’t ask designers to make demo designs; that’s a real design you’re asking for, and that’s what you need to pay for. Not to mention, that’s why people have portfolios. Artists, designers, etc. don’t do spec work. That’s how you get scammed and taken advantage of. Draw a hard line on free professional work.

And apparently, the super graphic designer “EXPERT” also has to run the store for them. Because experienced, established marketing designers love to jump back into retail just for funsies.

There wasn’t a pay scale listed, and I didn’t look too carefully after seeing “Send me a design first.” I only clicked back into the ad a second later when my brain went, “Wait, did they say you have to run the store, too?”