There Has To Be Someone You Can Report This To

I went for a job interview with a warehouse that offered a retail shopping service.

I was buzzed through the gate after a wait. The main door opened, but the reception area was dark. I wandered through empty open-plan offices until a man appeared and directed me to a small area. That was a warning sign. It was a busy weekday, and the office was seemingly closed.

There, I learned that it wasn’t a one-to-one interview. It was a group interview. After a few questions, the other six applicants and I were led into the warehouse where the interviewer told us we would need to do a two-hour “trial” on the floor, packing up orders. That seemed fishy to me; unpaid trials are not normal here.

I asked a few questions and was proudly told that the other people currently working in the warehouse were earlier applicants. It was a small business, and I have a background in shipping, so after asking, I learned that they had a reasonable quantity of orders per week, which could easily be packed by one or two groups of people on “trial shifts”… without ever needing to actually hire staff.

That was the only interview I have ever walked out of.