This Interview Question was a Dealbreaker
Working to live, not living to work
I was already reconsidering the job when the video interview started off twenty minutes late. I had left work early for the interview, and I knew the company would write me off if I had been twenty minutes late. The interviewer asked a couple of normal questions, then inquired: “Are you planning to take any time off in the next six months?”
The question caught me off guard. I wasn’t exactly planning a month-long cruise, but I had just graduated from a challenging grad program. I would need a day off here and there for doctor’s appointments and family events. And yes, before six months was up, I might want to take a vacation.
The interviewer went on to say that the company’s priority was to “make money,” so it was important that everyone work hard and not take too much time off.
I was stunned that they said the “soft part loud.” I know that companies need to make money; it goes without saying. People need to be paid, and the lights need to stay on. But usually, companies will at least pretend that they have a higher mission in mind: that they want to improve people’s lives with their technology or healthcare, or something to that effect.
