Is it ethical to apply for jobs you know you wont take just for interview practice?
I've been feeling really rusty on my interview skills lately. My current role is pretty comfortable but I know I'll want to move on in the next year or so. I saw a few postings for jobs I'm qualified for but they aren't really what I want long-term. Is it bad to apply and go through the interview process just to get some practice without serious intentions of accepting an offer? I don't want to waste anyone's time but I also want to be prepared when the right opportunity comes along.
Jobadvisor
The Trade-Offs
- The Impact on Employers: Hiring managers spend hours reviewing portfolios, prepping questions, and sitting in multi-stage interviews. When a candidate has zero intention of accepting an offer, those hours represent direct lost productivity for the team.
- The Impact on Other Candidates: Every interview slot allocated to a practice candidate is a slot denied to someone actively seeking a job or trying to pay their bills.
- The Reality of Hiring Processes: Companies rescind offers, change remote work policies, or post mismatched compensation ranges late in the process. Candidates often withdraw late for various legitimate reasons, meaning recruiters build a buffer for non-acceptances into their hiring planning.
- The Potential Advantage to You: Real interviews uncover market trends, show you what compensation levels are currently expected, and help you evaluate your market value far better than mock interviews can.
Principles for Practicing Ethically
- Keep an Open Mind: Only apply to roles where there is at least a 5% to 10% chance you would accept if the terms, team, or offer turned out to be unexpectedly exceptional. Never apply to a job you would refuse under all circumstances.
- Cap the Process Early: Stop after the initial phone screen or the first formal round. Do not proceed to full-day panel interviews, take-home assignments, or final stages if you know you won't take the offer.
- Be Selective About Company Size: Large corporations have dedicated recruitment budgets built to handle candidate drop-off. Early-stage startups or small businesses rely on founders and core engineers who lose critical operational hours during interviews.
- Bow Out Gracefully: If you receive an invitation to an advanced stage, politely withdraw by stating that you've re-evaluated your timeline and determined it's not the right moment to make a career transition.
Alternative Practice Methods
- Peer-to-Peer Mock Interviews: Use platforms like Pramp or Interviewing.io for real-time, peer-evaluated practice with actual industry questions.
- Recruiter Screen Chats: Connect with agency recruiters on LinkedIn. They actively seek introductory calls to build their networks, giving you low-stakes conversational practice.
- Internal Informational Interviews: Set up informal chats with leaders or cross-functional peers at your current company to practice talking about your accomplishments clearly.
Why do companies claim there is "zero budget" for a $5k raise, but suddenly find $25k the second you hand in your resignation?
Three months ago during my annual review, I brought a twelve-page binder showing I exceeded every single team KPI and saved our department over $140,000 in software redundancy. I asked for a modest $5,000 raise. My director looked me in the eye and gave me the classic corperate speech about economic headwinds, budget freezes, and how "we all need to make sacrifices right now."
i stopped working late that exact evening. I spent my weekends polishing my resume and quietly interviewing with competitors. Last Thursday I signed an offer letter for a remote role paying $20k more with better benefits.
On Monday morning I dropped my standard two-week notice on my manager’s desk. Within forty-five minutes HR and the department VP scheduled an emergency meeting offering an immediatly effective $25,000 pay bump and a senior title if I stayed to lead the upcoming fall migration.
It proved everything I already knew. The money is always there; they just gamble that you’re too scared or exhausted to look elsewhere. I smiled, said no, and walked out of the conference room.
Why do they only value you after you have one foot out the door?
Jobadvisor
1. Retention Budget vs. Merit Budget
- The Merit/Annual Pool: This is a fixed, tightly capped bucket (often 2% to 4% across the entire department) managed by HR and Finance. Managers are given virtually zero flexibility to pull money from anywhere else for merit raises, regardless of individual performance or ROI.
- The Emergency/Off-Cycle Retention Pool: This bucket only unlocks when there is an active threat to operations. It doesn't come out of the regular salary budget—it often comes out of contingency funds, executive discretionary funds, or the budget set aside to hire a replacement.
2. The Asymmetry of Perceived Risk
- Before resignation: The manager assesses the risk of denying your $5k request as low ("They might be disappointed, but they're comfortable and won't leave immediately").
- After resignation: The risk instantly spikes to critical operational failure.
3. The True Cost of Replacing You
- Recruiting & Agency Fees: Typically 15% to 25% of the first-year salary ($15k–$25k upfront).
- Onboarding & Lost Productivity: 3 to 6 months of reduced output while a new hire gets up to speed.
- Knowledge Loss: The undocumented, institutional knowledge you carried (like saving $140k on software redundancies) that a new hire won't have for years.
4. Incentives Favor Squeezing loyal Employees
Why Walking Away Was the Right Call
- Broken Trust: You now know they willingly underpaid you and lied about "economic headwinds" until forced into a corner.
- The Target on Your Back: Once you threaten to leave, management knows you are disloyal to the "family." They may use the counteroffer to buy time to document your role and find your replacement on their own schedule.
- Future Growth is Dead: You will likely be excluded from future raise cycles for years because "we just gave you a $25,000 bump."
How do I leave a job 3 months in after promising to stay for at least a year?
After months of struggling with unemployment and jobhunting, I finally took a part-time position at a retail pharmacy so I could start making some money.
During the interview, the manager specifically said he wasn't interested in training someone who planned to leave after a few months for a better opportunity. I was desperate for the job at the time, so I told him he could count on me and that I intended to stay for at least a year.
Now, 3 months later, a colleague on the team is going on maternity leave in about a month. During this time, they've been training me extensively so that I can take over many of her responsibilities while she's away.
The problem is that I've now received an amazing offer from a company I've always wanted to work for. It's a dream opportunity for me, and I really want to accept it.
I feel guilty because I know I told my manager I would stay for at least a year, and I feel like I've let him down after they've invested so much time in training me. I didn't expect my job search to turn around so quickly.
I'm not sure how to handle the situation well. Do I need to give notice, and if so, how much? I'm also thinking about whether I would need to list this manager as a reference for the new job, and if leaving after only 3 months could affect that.
Jobadvisor
You're not a bad person for taking this. You made that promise while unemployed and under pressure, and you meant it at the time. A part-time retail job that was a bridge, against a dream opportunity you didn't expect this soon, is a situation where most reasonable people would understand you moving on. The guilt is a sign you care about doing right by people, which is exactly why you should handle the exit well.
Notice
Two weeks is the standard for a part-time retail role, and it's what almost every employer expects. Check your offer letter or any paperwork you signed in case it specifies something different, but a longer notice period is unlikely. The maternity leave timing makes it worth offering a bit more if you can: if your new start date allows, three weeks gives them more time to adjust, but you aren't obligated to. Don't sacrifice the new job's start date to over-accommodate.
How to tell your manager
Do it in person or by phone if you can, rather than by email alone, and do it soon after you've accepted the new offer in writing. Don't tell him before the new offer is firm. Something like:
"I need to talk to you about something difficult. I received an offer for a role at a company I've wanted to work for a long time, and I've decided to accept it. I know I told you in the interview that I planned to stay for a year, and I meant it when I said it. I didn't expect this to come together so fast, and I'm sorry for the timing, especially with [colleague] going on leave. My last day would be [date], and I'd like to do whatever I can to make the transition easier."
Own the commitment you made, apologize once without grovelling, and then offer something concrete: documenting what you've learned, finishing the training handoff, or sharing your notes on the tasks you were being prepared to cover. That's what he'll remember more than the early departure.
References
You don't need to list him. Most new employers will accept references from earlier jobs, volunteer work, professors, or colleagues, and no one expects a reference from a three-month part-time job when you've just accepted a new offer. If the new company asks for one, you can offer someone else.
If you do handle the departure gracefully, though, he may still be willing to say positive things about your work. Your colleague who trained you could be a good reference too. You can also ask him directly at the end of the conversation whether he'd be comfortable serving as a reference, and if he hesitates, that tells you what you need to know.
What to expect
He may be disappointed or even a little cold, which is a normal reaction and isn't a verdict on your character. Don't over-explain or try to make him feel better about it. Say it clearly, be professional through your last day, and let the rest go. Retail and pharmacy turnover is high, and he's dealt with people leaving before, even if he doesn't enjoy it.
One practical point: don't mention the new job to coworkers until you've told him, so he hears it from you first.
My job is punishing me for good work. How do I move forward?
I started at my job a few months ago as a junior case manager at a big non-profit. My time in terms of performance could not have gone better. I consistently exceed my case completion targets by at least 50%, sometimes double, and I have gotten the praises of my manager and the Director. They told me what I have done is unprecedented.
The issue is this: I was working fast and my senior was underperforming. It got to a point where my manager would reassign my senior’s cases to me. A couple of days ago, my senior was fired. My manager took me aside today and told me that, since the caseload is now under 100–and that was under the max I could manage under my job description—that they were not going to hire another full-time person. My manager kept saying it used to be a one-person job, and that they would hire someone to help me part-time. I feel like I am doing a two-person job for the price of one (cause I am).
So essentially, I am being punished for hard work. No discussion over pay or title. I am inheriting all 60 of my coworkers cases (I only had 30). I believe I should talk to my manager about inheriting the senior title and associated pay. Would this be ok, and how should I pitch myself?
Jobadvisor
Yes, it's completely okay to ask, and now is the best time. You've taken over a role that just became vacant, you have documented results, and your leadership has called your performance unprecedented. The risk is in how you ask, not whether you do.
Reframe it first
Don't pitch this as "I'm being punished." That may be true, but it puts your manager on the defensive. Pitch it as: "I'm already doing the senior's work, so let's make the role match the reality." That's a business case, not a grievance.
Prepare before you talk
- Your numbers. Case completion rates against target by month, the percentage above target, and any quality indicators (case closures, client outcomes, error rates, feedback).
- The workload math. You went from about 30 cases to about 90, and the senior's cases are now yours. Note that you're near the 100-case ceiling in your job description, which means you have no capacity for anything else.
- The praise. Note when your manager and the Director called your work unprecedented, and quote it back to them. Follow up by email if there's no written record.
- Market data. Find what senior or lead case managers earn at comparable non-profits in your area. This keeps the ask grounded.
- Your ask. Decide on a specific title and salary range, plus a fallback (see below).
How to pitch it
Ask for a meeting with your manager rather than doing it ad hoc, and say it's about your role and compensation going forward. Then something like:
"I appreciate the confidence in giving me the caseload. Since the senior position was vacated and I'm now covering that work, I'd like to talk about formalizing it. For the last few months I've been consistently exceeding targets by 50 to 100%, and I'm now carrying roughly three times my original caseload. I'd like to be considered for the senior case manager title and the pay that goes with it. Can we talk about what that would take?"
Then stop talking and let them respond. Don't fill the silence by softening the ask.
Be ready for pushback
- "You've only been here a few months." Answer with output, not tenure: "I'm doing the work of the role, so the title and pay should reflect that."
- "There's no budget." Non-profits often have real constraints, but the senior's salary just came off the books. Ask: "The senior position was funded. Can some of that go toward this?"
- "We'll hire part-time help." Ask what that help covers and whether it actually reduces your load. Part-time support doesn't change the fact that you're doing senior-level work.
- "We'll revisit it later." Ask for a specific date and criteria in writing, such as "a review in 90 days, and if I maintain these numbers, I move to senior at X salary."
If they say no to the full ask
Don't treat it as all or nothing. Consider asking for:
- an interim title (Lead or Acting Senior) with a stipend or partial raise
- a written promotion timeline with clear criteria
- a firm cap on caseload, so you aren't absorbing more without compensation
- a commitment on the part-time hire, including start date and duties
Two cautions
- Consider whether you want to keep working at this pace. Exceeding targets by double teaches the organization that this is your baseline, and the 100 cap is there for a reason. If your pace drops once you've negotiated, they may see that as underperformance. Make sure your ask reflects a workload you can sustain.
- Don't threaten to leave unless you're prepared to follow through. It's fine to quietly start looking, though. A record like yours, unprecedented targets and a leadership endorsement, makes you very marketable, and that gives you real leverage even if you never mention it.
Your manager told you the truth, that this used to be a one-person job. That tells you the organization is used to getting that workload cheaply, which is why you need to make it a conversation about pay and not wait for them to offer.
Do you know why some people don't reply to an email?
I am in charge of ISO audits and other compliance audits. As part of my role, I frequently need information and evidence from my colleagues.
I have been working for this company for over a year, and, surprisingly, many people simply do not respond to my emails.
I'm honestly getting tired of dealing with this. Today, I called one of the colleagues who never seems to reply and asked him directly:
"Hey, by the way, do you have any issue with my emails? I'm asking because I haven't received any reply for any of my emails"
He became quite upset and said,
"For you, it's just a finger snap to send one email and then another reminder, but I already have too much work"
I then asked him whether it would be better for me to come by in person or call him instead of sending emails in the future. However, he did not answer that question. After the call ended, he finally replied to my email.
I can understand that this particular person is a manager and may be very busy. However, there are several other colleagues who also do not respond to my emails, and they do not appear to be that much busy.
In situations like this, what am I supposed to do? Am I expected to visit everyone individually? It is becoming extremely exhausting. Some people get irritated when I stop by their office, and I have even had people raise their voice on the phone and say things like,
"I don't have any information to provide you. I am not a person who is giving you an answer for your shitty presentation. I'm busy."
Of course, I have already discussed this issue with my direct manager. However, he does not seem particularly concerned about it. I think that, because he manages many people and has numerous responsibilities besides me, he probably views this as a relatively minor issue compared to his other priorities. As a result, I have not received much support in resolving the problem of colleagues not responding to audit-related requests.
Should I change my job? haha
Jobadvisor
Honestly, this is one of the most common problems in compliance work. Your role carries responsibility for the result but no authority over the people you depend on.
Why people don't reply
- Your email is a task for them, not an answer. "Send me evidence of X" can mean an hour of digging. People put that off, and it sinks under urgent work.
- There's no consequence for ignoring you. Their boss doesn't ask whether they replied to the auditor, but does ask about their own deliverables.
- They see it as your job, not theirs. The comment about your "presentation" suggests some people view audits as your paperwork rather than a company requirement they're part of.
- Reminders feel like pressure. From your side a follow-up is a nudge, but from theirs it's another demand on a full plate. That's what the manager meant by "finger snap."
Also, your call was probably well-meant, but "do you have any issue with my emails?" can come across as an accusation. That doesn't excuse the people who yelled at you, but it's worth knowing.
What tends to work
- Make the ask tiny. One email, one request, a specific deadline, and one sentence on why it matters ("needed for the surveillance audit on [date]; takes about 10 minutes"). Long emails with several requests get skipped.
- Do the legwork for them. Instead of "send me the evidence," draft what you think it is and ask "Can you confirm this is correct?" Or book 15 minutes, interview them, and write it up yourself. It's more work for you, but you get answers.
- Schedule it. For key people, set a recurring slot (monthly or quarterly) for audit items instead of ambushing them. A calendar invite is harder to ignore than an email.
- Ask people what they prefer. Some people live in Teams, some answer calls, some only respond in person. Asking once, in a neutral way, beats guessing. Don't visit everyone, just the chronic non-responders.
- Track it visibly. A simple shared tracker showing who owes what and by when creates quiet social pressure without confrontation.
The real fix is escalation through structure
Your manager isn't concerned because, as you framed it, it's just an annoyance. Reframe it as a risk. ISO standards require top management to demonstrate leadership and commitment, and unresponsive process owners can lead to nonconformities, a failed audit, or a threat to certification, which can cost the company business. Bring data: how many requests went unanswered, how late, which processes are exposed. Then ask for something specific:
- a line in the audit procedure setting a response deadline (say, five working days)
- unresponsiveness reported as a standing item in management review
- a senior sponsor (quality manager, director, or the audit committee) who can nudge people when needed
Once non-response is documented as an organizational risk, it stops being your problem alone.
Should you leave?
Probably not over this alone. It's a structural issue that follows compliance people everywhere, and it's fixable if you get leadership to own it. If you take the data to your manager and they still shrug while you keep taking the heat, that's useful information about whether the company really supports your role. And if someone yells at you again, that's worth documenting and raising separately. Frustration is one thing, but being shouted at isn't part of the job.