Some twenty years ago, I was a second-year university student looking for a summer job. I had a couple of years of previous experience working at a home for the elderly before going to university, and decided to try to find summer employment in such a place. I got an interview, it went well, and I got an offer the very next day. 

I agreed to work for a total of five weeks, thirty hours per week, and be paid seventy-five Swedish kronor per hour plus additional holiday pay. I specifically mentioned the holiday pay in that conversation to make sure that, since I would get paid by the hour, and not monthly, that I would get an extra 12 % on top of my hourly wage (as is the law in Sweden). They said it was all fine and that they really wanted to hire me.

Some weeks later, I went there for an hour of (unpaid) introduction together with a group of a dozen or so other new summer workers. At the end of the introduction, they took us, one by one, to separate rooms to sign our contracts. And there I saw that my contract said, ”seventy-five kronor hourly, INCLUDING holiday pay.”

No. Just no. 

I politely told the lady that there must have been some mistake, that the other lady I had interviewed with and who had offered me the job had been very clear it was to be seventy-five kronor PLUS holiday pay. And then fun stuff happened.

Lady: *In a condescending tone of voice.* “Well, now, dear, you must have misunderstood my colleague; this is a normal contract and a normal wage for someone like you with no experience.”

Me: *Slightly angry but still polite.* “Well, actually, I do have experience, but that’s beside the point. I am very sure that we agreed on seventy-five kronor PLUS holiday pay of 12%.”

Lady: *Even more condescending.* “Oh, you’re young, maybe you’ve been misinformed. What are those 12% you’re talking about? Such a thing doesn’t exist. Just sign the contract now, and I’ll bring you your work schedule.”

Me: *Barely polite now.* “Excuse me, but I’m not misinformed. If you want me to sign that contract, it has to be changed first.”

Lady: *Now getting annoyed.* “I don’t understand why you argue! Just sign!”

Me: *Not even wanting the d*** job anymore.* “Right. If you had read my application, you’d realise that I’m currently studying HR management and labour laws. What you’re doing right now is illegal. So… yeah. I’m leaving now.”

As I stood up, the lady suddenly seemed very nervous. She mumbled something about not knowing my field of study (as if that mattered) and that she would talk to her boss about getting my contract changed. I declined and again said I was leaving now, and then I did just that.

Later that day, I got a call from the lady I had interviewed with, also saying that there had been a mistake, that they wouldn’t dream of breaking the law, and could I please come and work for them since they had already put me on the schedule and had already turned down the other applicants. I declined, and happily found another job where they didn’t try to lie to me.

I’m being hired for a position at a supermarket. Interviews went well, conversations have been pleasant, and I’m all set to sign the employment contract, so I grab the document and sit back in the chair to read it. 

The manager who is hiring me gives me a look.

Manager: “What are you doing?”

Me: *Confused.* “I’m reading the contract.”

Manager: “Why would you do that?”

Me: *Concerned.* “…Because signing a contract is a legally-binding statement that I agree to the terms and conditions outlined in that contract.”

Manager: “So?”

Me: *Now thinking I don’t want to work here.* “…SO, I’m making myself aware of the terms and conditions before I agree to them.”

Manager: “That’s stupid. Why the f*** do you need to do that?”

Me: *Absolutely sure I don’t want to work here anymore.* “Because I’m not an idiot. If I don’t like the conditions, I’m not going to sign the contract.”

Manager: “Well, if you don’t sign the contract, then you’re not hired.”

Me: “Yes, that’s kind of what I was getting at. If I don’t like the conditions, I don’t want to be hired here.”

Manager: “You’re a f****** moron. Are you telling me you read the terms and conditions for every piece of computer hardware and software you own?”

Me: *Setting the contract aside.* “The fact that you seriously think the answer is “no” tells me everything I need to hear. Good day.”

I could not get out of that building fast enough.

I was interviewing for a position as a fry chef with the manager in her office. The manager’s office had windows that overlooked the kitchen.

Through the windows I saw… well, I wasn’t 100% sure what I saw, but it looked a lot like someone had just accidentally been too close to an open flame for too long and now had a smoldering sleeve.

Me: “Um…”

I said, glancing out the window. The guy was waving around the smoldering bit of shirt. This is a bad idea, because it puts more oxygen on the fabric. Chef’s clothing is largely self-extinguishing if you don’t do something stupid, but this was something stupid.

Manager: “Please pay attention to me during the interview.”

The manager said, reaching behind herself to adjust the blinds without looking.

Me: “It’s just that…”

Manager: “The kitchen can be a distracting environment, and I need workers who can focus on the task at hand regardless of what’s going on around them. Can you please turn your attention back to our interview? You’ve been doing really well up until this point, and I would like to hire you.”

Me: “Okay.”

I turned my attention back to the interview. I figured whatever was happening in the kitchen would sort itself out. We started negotiating my compensation to the tune of increasingly loud chaos coming from the kitchen. Finally, the noises got to be too much.

Me: “I’m sorry, I just can’t.”

Manager: “You can’t what?”

I simply stood up and opened the door between the manager’s office and the kitchen, revealing about the worst wreck of a kitchen I’ve ever seen. In about ten minutes, the kitchen had gone from chaotic but not the worst place I worked, to something that looked like the aftermath of an attack by flying monkeys.

Me: “If I’m supposed to focus on my job, I really think you shouldn’t make such a pig’s ear of yours.”

It wasn’t the first, nor only, job interview I’ve walked out on, but that one felt particularly good to walk out on.

I’m interviewing for a new job at a supermarket; the role, I think, hardly matters. After we get through the formalities…

Interviewer: “So, what makes you want to work here?”

Me: *Lightly.* “Well, I need money to live, so…”

Yes, I’m a jokester. I always use this question to gauge how well a workplace reacts to me making light-hearted fun, and THEN I actually give a real answer about why I want to work at the specific workplace, as is the entire point of the question.

Interviewer: *Dead serious.* “Then RUN.”

Jokester.exe has crashed.

Me: “…What?”

Interviewer: “Our manager is an a**hole. We don’t use computerized clock-in; we write down our hours, and he WILL fudge it so you are not paid for all the hours you worked. And yes, you will be staying longer than your scheduled shift without getting paid overtime. Everyone currently working here is only still working here so we can collect proof of his b***s*** and report it to the higher-ups so we can get his a** fired. The only reason for you to work here is if you want to contribute to this effort. If you want to be paid for your work, DO NOT WORK HERE.”

Me: *Very small.* “…Thank you.”

Interviewer: *Shaking my hand.* “Nice speaking to you, [My Name].”

A month later, the supermarket was closed down, and I saw the interviewer working at another grocery store elsewhere in the city.

I used to have a traveling job, but my position was eliminated in favor of fully office-based work. I asked to work remotely from my home, but I was told that if I wanted to keep my job, I had to be in the office. So, my husband and I packed up our house, found a place near the main office several states away, and moved.

A few months in, another position in my department opened. A woman I worked with (another traveler who quit when the remote work stopped) applied for the job. I sat in on her virtual interview with (Manager) since we would be working together.

Manager: “So, you live in [another state], correct?”

Woman: “Yes, with my husband and our three children. I have a home office already set up, so I can work from here.”

Manager: “Oh, good! That’s great. Okay, so—”

Me: “I’m sorry, I’m going to jump in here. This position is still office-based, is it not?”

Manager: “Oh. Well, you and I can discuss this after the interview.”

I stayed quiet for the rest of the interview, but I heard a few things like “[My Name] will train you via video calls” and “you two will need to coordinate schedules across time zones.” I was p***ed. When it was done, [Manager] asked me to come to his office.

Manager: “So, I think we need to talk about your outburst in that interview.”

Me: “Okay.”

Manager: “It was not your job to comment on whether this position is office-based or remote.”

Me: “But—”

Manager: “It is supposed to be in the office, but [Woman] has a family to consider. I know you and your husband moved here, and that is great, but—”

Me: “Is being in the office required for this position or not?”

Manager: “Well, yes, but—”

Me: “So, she will need to work in the office to accept the position?”

Manager: “You’re not listening. It is not the norm, but—”

Me: “My husband quit his job and found a new one here. I sold my house. I moved almost 1,000 miles to keep my job because that was a requirement of the position.”

Manager: “Let’s table this conversation until you’ve calmed down.”

Me: “Here’s the bottom line: if you allow her to work remotely, I will quit, effective immediately.”

I walked out and began searching for jobs immediately. [Manager] later called [Woman] and told her the position would not be remote, and she withdrew her application. [Manager] decided that the most professional response to my “outburst” was to close the position and refuse to hire someone who was willing to work from the office. Whenever someone brought it up, [Manager] would comment that I was making it difficult to hire anyone because of my “outbursts” during interviews (which was one comment in one interview). 

I quit anyway.