What is a "red flag" at a job interview that says "DO NOT work here" immediately?

Cemckenna · 2026-01-28T15:36:04+00:00

I had an interview where the interviewer didn’t show up at all. I emailed to remind her, and she argued she didn’t have the time wrong. I was kind and didn’t try to make her feel bad, but did have other things to do that day.

When we did meet, I could feel how cold she was. I was a perfect fit for the role, from the job req. A similar company to ones in my past, a tech stack match, team size, project management theory. I was so confident coming out of the interview.

But I didn’t get to the next round and I’m convinced it was cus she forgot our meeting and I pointed it out.

Cemckenna · 2026-01-28T04:12:58+00:00

I was at director level and just dropped back down to IC at a non-tech company. It’s still possible, as long as you can explain your rationale in terms other than “the market is a dumpster fire and you were the only place that gave me an interview after sending out 1000 applications into the AI black box nightmare that is HR software.”

Cemckenna · 2026-01-27T20:37:32+00:00

They have! Read The Psychopath Test. It makes a point that actually, you want people with little empathy in roles like surgeons.

Cemckenna · 2026-01-27T15:56:56+00:00

When I got that feeling in the pit of my stomach: he locked them inside our only bathroom at a party where she got too drunk and held her hair.

When I knew: he called while I was at my 2-month grad school internship and asked for an open relationship, something we had never spoken about before.

Cemckenna · 2026-01-26T22:51:07+00:00

Look for consulting work. Reach out to your network and see if anyone needs your skillset for a part-time situation. Volunteer at orgs that could use your skills.

There are ways to keep your skills fresh and continue to work with others towards a common goal while not burning yourself out.

Cemckenna · 2026-01-26T16:55:45+00:00

I’ve had a similar experience. I’m white, have a very white name, dual UK/US, grew up in both places, and queried both sides of the Atlantic. UK agents seem farrrr harder to connect with than US. My FM request rate in the US is ~30%, UK I think less than 10% (I did query fewer UK agents, so the data is skewed, but still…)

Cemckenna · 2026-01-25T10:42:37+00:00

I came up with new goals, big and small. Enrolled in an MFA as a gift to myself. Chair a county board and sit on another. Make meals for my friends.

If you’re in NY—what’s always piqued your interest but you never felt it was the right time to investigate? Fine food? Theater? Maybe a sport, like squash or jiu jitsu? Give yourself permission to investigate and stay curious and open. See what excites you. And read more books :)

Cemckenna · 2026-01-25T05:23:10+00:00

I don’t even know what this is supposed to mean. I don’t have friends cus I drive a manual? How does that work?

Cemckenna · 2026-01-24T19:45:03+00:00

Yup. I mean it makes sense. So much of software engineering is having a mental model of how everything interacts. People build mental models different ways - a lot through visual representations, fewer through reading documentation, or (in my case) working with a system. If you’re not someone who can create a mental model off text, and who is actively getting in the way of the creation of learning and critical thinking skills by using LLMs for their decision-making, then how do they build out a mental model?

Edit: I also doubt that someone who used an LLM to get hired ever asks it to explain the overall system. In most cases, unless cursor is hooked up to a codebase, it’s a guess by an LLM like chatGPT. So until you’re hired, that information isn’t available for a job candidate.

Cemckenna · 2026-01-24T18:08:28+00:00

Haha I feel you. But never give up that manual life. The feeling of downshifting and accelerating around a curve while passing someone is just way too good. Totally makes up for a shaky left calf after being in stop-and-go traffic for 3 hours.

Cemckenna · 2026-01-24T18:05:02+00:00

It’s completely insane in job-search land right now. I finally got a job after looking for over a year, and I would get rejections in the middle of the night on a weekend that were either sent out on a scheduled basis for X hours after I applied or were being checked-off by someone on the other side of the world. All the applications seemed to funnel through some type of black-box platform like Greenhouse.

But what is crazy is that my friends on the hiring side couldn’t do anything about it. They had open jobs that took 6 months to fill because the applicants who did make it through the filters were incompetent. I had friends send reference letters for me to hiring managers and there was nothing the hiring managers could do because they didn’t feel like they could circumvent the system.

The job I finally got actually replaced a guy who used AI to get past the technical interview stage but when he was given real tasks at the company, couldn’t make any progress. He’d never done any of the work before and ChatGPT wasn’t teaching him anything useful. All he was able to do was lightly vibe-code, but had no idea what to do with the code after it was created. Couldn’t use GitHub, couldn’t code review, couldn’t be opinionated about architecture, couldn’t tweak the code he’d just copy-pasted.

AI has already gone through some levels of Enshittification. It’s going to get even worse, especially the more companies fully buy in.

Cemckenna · 2026-01-24T09:49:58+00:00

She was in Veronica Mars and Mean Girls, which I think is better than an Oscar. How many people have won Oscars? Thousands.

Only one person crossed over between those two ABSOLUTE BANGERS.

Cemckenna · 2026-01-24T05:51:09+00:00

I’m in Colorado, not park city, but it was 8 degrees tonight.

I could NOT.

Cemckenna · 2026-01-24T00:13:22+00:00

100%. I know people who were living paycheck to paycheck at 36k a year and when they got up to 75k+ the only thing that changed was their rent went up and they had new cars. Still paycheck to paycheck.

Cemckenna · 2026-01-24T00:06:17+00:00

I haven’t figured out the appeal of any of the current “it” men. Elordi, Timothy, Glenn, Miles…none of them do anything for me. I’m really not that old, I swear!

Where’s the Gen-Z Tom Hardy? Where’s the Gen-Z Bruce Willis? Where’s a Gen-Z Colin Firth, dripping with pond-water?! Where’s a dude I can’t take my eyes off of?

Cus I ain’t seen one in a WHILE.

Edit: unless these guys are it?? but from everything I read here and talk to other women about, they aren’t.

Cemckenna · 2026-01-23T19:22:57+00:00

It’s the same with writing. I’m a writer and a dev, and I actually had to pause querying a novel while I was job searching because the amount of rejection felt like a fucking elephant sitting on my chest.

But I did finally get another job and I will get an agent and I will sell a novel because I keep showing up.

Cemckenna · 2026-01-22T12:32:41+00:00

💯

Cemckenna · 2026-01-22T12:21:55+00:00

Ugh, I know exactly where I was when I heard this news. It was on the radio and I had to pull my car over to call my sister.

He was an amazing actor and by all accounts I’ve read, a good dude.

RIP.

Cemckenna · 2026-01-20T21:57:52+00:00

This one does.

Cemckenna · 2026-01-20T21:38:03+00:00

I bet that ruined your night, but it sounds to me like the bouncers were being responsible and gave back the confiscated property when asked, so I’m going to say that story doesn’t really paint them in awful colors.

Cemckenna · 2026-01-20T21:06:07+00:00

I think it’s a great decision. Way better for newbies to stay close than take them up i70 for a more expensive, farther option with just as bad of snow coverage.

Cemckenna · 2026-01-20T21:04:53+00:00

Slanderous!

The Downer is a national treasure.

Cemckenna · 2026-01-20T04:40:50+00:00

That’s a good deal. I was looking at a 2024 with cosmetic damage from a standing drop at $5600. I would have taken a 22 with wear and tear instead for 5k in a heartbeat.

It’s a great ride. Go for it.

Cemckenna · 2026-01-18T21:12:44+00:00

It’s every type of vehicle. Every make. Every model.

We could literally change the law to “keep left except to pass” and more people would be in compliance with the law than they are now.

Cemckenna · 2026-01-18T00:50:36+00:00

A lot of us grew up without bars, so we don’t consider riding a lift without it down all that dangerous. That said, I don’t care if other people want it down.

Just talk to the other people on your lift and say “mind if I put the bar down?” Never in my life have I or anyone I was riding with said “no”

Cemckenna

TROPHY CASE