I had a job interview at an audio warehouse yesterday and the interviewer began the interview with a story.
He said, “I started at this company 10 years ago, back when try-before-you-buy was a thing. I started my first day at 6am and didn’t get home until 9am the next day. I was paid $100 for the work and was happy to get it. A lot of people now don’t have the integrity to prove themselves like that, so we have to pay hourly.”
I really didn’t know what to say to this story. He said all this before even introducing himself. I immediately got the feeling like this is one of those jobs that’s going to overwork and underpay you. He explained a laundry list of duties and said I had to buy a black suit, which I really don’t have the money for. He didn’t mention pay so I asked him and he said $15.50, which in Southern California is nothing. He said with the mandatory overtime the pay is “more than generous”. His overall attitude was pretty negative.
An old coworker of mine, who works at this company, put in a word for me so I feel bad that I don’t want the job, even though he was very vague on details to begin with. I just don’t understand how companies can pay so little but expect so much?