A junior dodges a massive bullet after facing 9 interview rounds, a wife-and-husband C-suite duo, and 50-hour workweeks for entry-level pay.
Just grabbed that shiny new degree and thought the job market would roll out the red carpet? Welcome to reality, where family-run businesses throw massive red flags right in your face. Let's talk about a junior who almost became a corporate sweatshop slave and thankfully noped out at the last second.
So, an Econ grad from UC gets scouted from their retail job for an entry-level "Data Entry" role. Sounds like a decent break, right? Buckle up, because the bullshit goes zero to a hundred real quick:
The reality check hit hard when OP walked out, saw a clone candidate waiting, and heard the interviewer drop the exact same "we love your energy" script. Feeling utterly replaceable, OP declined the offer. Even a chill broker inside the company whispered to run away because 65k is absolute garbage for that workload.
r/recruitinghell had a field day with this one, and the community immediately split into factions:
From a senior dev's perspective, OP dodged a massive tactical nuke. I don’t care if you're writing code, configuring a VPS, or crunching numbers—if an entry-level job requires 9 interviews, their internal processes are garbage. Add a husband-wife leadership duo to the mix, and you've got a toxic micromanagement stew waiting to boil over.
Junior devs, listen up: The market is brutal right now, and the temptation to accept the first offer is huge. But don't sell your soul to a company that views you as a cheap, 50-hour-a-week cog. If it smells like a sweatshop, it probably is. Hard pass.
