At a time when many are looking for work, it’s understandable that videos and posts about job interviews have sparked considerable discussion in recent months.
One of the more intriguing areas of this conversation concerns companies deceiving potential employees during their interviews. For example, a company may post a job listing and begin interviewing people for the position, then never actually hire anyone—a practice that some have called “ghost job” posting.
In other cases, a company will make a listing for a specific job, only for the applicant to learn upon arrival that they are interviewing for a different job entirely. Several internet users have claimed they experienced this phenomenon with marketing jobs.
Now, a user on TikTok has sparked a flurry of comments and views after revealing her own experience with a deceptive interview.
In a clip with over 639,000 views, TikTok user MJ (@broomstick88) says she, for the first time in her entire life, “left an interview without completing it.”
“I signed up for an interview for a marketing company that was looking for a business development consultant for a specific brand, of which I used to work for and be a manager for,” she says. “I was like, this is perfect. It’s exactly what I do.”
After applying, she was invited to an interview. This is where things took a turn for the worse.
“I was in a panel interview with a whole bunch of 19-year-old guys, and they were letting me in on a ‘great new business opportunity,’” the TikToker recalls. “And I stopped them and said, ‘Hey, am I in the right interview? Because I applied for this.’”
“They said, ‘We have a hard time getting people to take interviews for our sales positions. So we post for other positions and then we let you in on the great opportunity that’s available to you,’” MJ continues. “And I said, ‘No, thank you. You lied.’”
Sales job masks as Verizon gig
In a follow-up video, MJ reveals that the “specific brand” in question was Verizon, though the company with whom she interviewed was not Verizon.
@broomstick88 What the actual… #interview #jobhunting #openforhire #smallbusinesscoach #jobsearching #laidoff #fyp ♬ original sound – MJ sparkles
Commenters said that experiences like these were distressingly common.
“this happened to me about 8 months ago. it turned to literally be door-to-door vacuum sales!” recounted a user.
“This happened to me. They called it a marketing management position,” added another. “We were selling Dish subscriptions in Costco.”
“this happened to me during my last job hint,” offered a third. “I made sure to make an announcement in the waiting area so others wouldn’t waste time.”
We’ve reached out to Verizon via email and MJ via Instagram DM.