A woman named Maysun Valles recently went viral for her very relatable rant after experiencing a terrible job interview.
She shared the experience on TikTok, and her video has been viewed over 2 million times. In the video, she says, "Listen. I need these companies and these hiring managers to grow up and get a grip on reality. OK? I applied to a job where they didn't list the pay. That was MY fault. That was MY bad. I should know, red flag. And I can make a whole separate video about that — about how that should be illegal at this point. List the fucking pay... IT'S A JOB."
"Anyway, I go through the interview, yadda, yadda, yadda. I get to the end of the interview, and he tells me the pay. It's low. It's low. We know this; we shoulda known this. And so he asks me how I'm feeling, and I'm like, 'Frankly, the pay is low, and I can't work for that. I gotta be honest.' And I brought up that the pay wasn't listed on the job listing," she continues.
"He was like, 'Yeah, you know, here's the thing...there's a lot more here to gain than just money, and we are looking for people who are motivated by more than just money.' OK. This is what I mean when I say they need to grow up. I don't know what fantasy world you're living in where people are letting you pay them in gold star stickers or whatever the fuck, but I live in the real world where people need money to survive."
"I did not choose this. I don't want this. I don't fucking want this. I don't want to have to need money, but we both know what it is. We both know the world we live in. How the fuck are you going to make me seem like the bad guy for needing fucking money? Grow up; get a grip..." she concludes in her TikTok.
Bravo. Well said. Clearly, lots of people related...
They flooded the comments with so many valid points.
They pointed out things like how companies will often offer pizza parties and perks to get people to ignore the fact that they are being underpaid.
And that listing the pay is beneficial to both parties — no one's time gets wasted.
BuzzFeed spoke to Maysun, who has worked in customer service for the past few years. She said this interview was for a receptionist position.
"It was frustrating to hear the hiring manager say these things because it's so far removed from the way that life actually works. Maybe money shouldn't be the only thing that motivates someone to take a particular job, but we live in a world where we need money to survive," she said.
Maysun wishes hiring managers would understand that people have real lives and real bills that cost money. "People are not trying to be rude when asking about the pay for a job; people are trying to survive and make ends meet. The best way to let employees know that you value them and understand the value of the work they do is to pay them a fair and livable wage (at least that's a good start)."
In addition to keeping pay secretive, companies "play games" when it comes to salaries in many different ways. We are hearing more and more people speak out about companies who do things like try to lowball the pay when people are coming in with loads of experience. People are over it.
