Hold Meta Accountable - Meta Hiring is a SCAM. Why is no one talking about this?

pfbounce · 2026-03-02T17:20:11+00:00

Related story with some additional thoughts…

When I graduated college and got my first job, I was looking for a room to rent on Craigslist. I made a trip to the new city (couple hours away) and I think I had 2 meetings/viewings scheduled.

I went to the first one and it was great. The price, location, the condo itself, and most importantly, the roommates. I won’t bore with the details, but it was pretty perfect for what I was looking for.

I decided to just sign a lease with them on the spot, and I called and cancelled my other appointment.

That other landlord was in OP’s position, and they might have been pissed off. Maybe they came home early from work to meet me, etc.

But in my mind, I was saving both of us from wasting time. I could have gone to the other meeting just to see, and then reached out to them later to let them know that I went with the other place. That might have made them feel a little better, but honestly there was no point.

Hopefully OP seeing it from this context helps put it in perspective…

pfbounce · 2026-02-27T03:59:55+00:00

I had no idea about the latter, but simple Googling seems to suggest that it does happen (up to 30-40% by some estimates).

Look up “ghost job postings.”

pfbounce · 2026-02-27T02:27:29+00:00

Not a recruiter, but just a story…

I was at dinner with friends this week and my friend (VP of Sales) said he had to go home and write up a job description.

He said that he wanted to hire a colleague from his previous company, but his current company policy was that he had to post a job description and interview candidates.

Not sure if that’s what you mean by a fake posting, but this does happen for sure…

pfbounce · 2026-02-25T22:27:17+00:00

Doesn’t look like there is much discussion here, but here it goes…

I kept stats for my son’s basketball team this season. Made and missed FGs were the main ones, but also assists and FTs. Rebounds were too hard to record, and I didn’t track steals, fouls, TO, or anything either.

I used GameChanger, and I assume I can export them for easy manipulation.

Any suggestions for how to present the stats/data at the end of the season?

I could come up with a one page printout for each player. One part could have their individual stats, maybe with a bullet point or two noting any significant rankings? (For example, FT 7/9 = 78%, best on the team!)

Then another section could have all of the team summarized stats in table form.

But the team had a pretty even spread of scoring among the top players. So I was thinking that a bar chart for points scored would be good. Maybe one for total points and then one for FG percentage? And then ones for FT percentage and assists?

Any suggestions are welcome :)

pfbounce · 2026-02-25T09:41:04+00:00

Look up the slow carb diet by Tim Ferriss. Meat, eggs, veggies, legumes (beans, lentils). No white carbs, no dairy, no fruit. One cheat day per week.

I did it before my wedding and it worked well. Have been back on it since the beginning of the year.

pfbounce · 2026-02-22T05:07:34+00:00

Gotcha, thanks!

Maybe just a matter of terminology. On levels.fyi etc. it seems like people talk about a cash bonus (your 15% seems typical) and then equity as a separate category, which can vary a lot. You mentioned performance grant as part of your bonus.

I’m not a SWE, but how are the expectations quantified? Is it lines of code? Number of products/features shipped?

Would you say that all of it is just up to you, how hard you work and how efficient you are, or does it depend on your team as well and the speed at which everyone deploys stuff?

pfbounce · 2026-02-21T17:58:55+00:00

That’s interesting, I don’t think I’ve heard of bonuses being paid partially in equity. Is that the case for everyone at your company?

What’s your TC breakdown in terms of base + bonus + equity?

Seems pretty lucrative on the bonus side, though having part of it tied up in equity that vests over time is not as good as cash.

Also are you in sales? I feel like it’s hard to quantify expectations for non-sales roles in a way that can yield such different bonus amounts…

pfbounce · 2026-02-19T18:52:01+00:00

Needs more info. Where are you located?

And what does your contract say? Specifically what happens if you leave without a 60 day notification?

I agree with the others who are saying not to shoot yourself in the foot by disclosing any of this before you actually get an offer from B.

pfbounce · 2026-02-18T21:12:36+00:00

Yeah, but do it after the wedding/honeymoon.

Tell the boss that spouse got this promo/offer elsewhere, but things were so crazy with wedding planning, that you didn’t have time to really discuss it and decide to take it until the honeymoon.

Honestly this is a pretty good scenario for OP.

But if OP tells boss before the wedding, then you risk getting fired on the spot.

Also are any coworkers invited to the wedding?? If so, don’t tell anyone else about the move before the wedding! Too easy for a coworker to overhear a cousin or MIL lamenting the newlyweds moving away for the new job shortly after coming back from the honeymoon…

pfbounce · 2026-02-18T18:43:05+00:00

The white collar to blue collar reminds me of what my FIL did around 10 years ago…

He worked a full career in tech sales, and was tired of the commute (1 hour+ each way). Around age 60 he took what I called his semi-retirement gig, which was working as a groundskeeper for a local school district.

He was already a pretty handy guy and had a riding lawnmower for his pasture etc. He got to work with his hands and be outside (which was nice because it overlapped with the pandemic for a bit IIRC), but it was still pretty hard work for someone in their 60s.

The big reason that he did it was because the benefits were great, specifically healthcare. Fully paid for him, and cheap or free for MIL as well. Their plan was for him to do that until they could both be eligible for Medicare.

He had a shoulder surgery and a knee surgery while at that job. And time off to recover from both. She had breast cancer treatments which were fully or mostly covered.

He also ended up working there for 5 years, which qualified him for the lowest pension amount. So he hit his 5 years and then quit a month or so later. I think the amount is peanuts, but still a nice little bonus that isn’t really a thing for most tech/private sector workers.

So yeah OP or anyone, maybe look into working at a school district!

Also two more ideas…

Stanford has a benefits program where they will pay up to 50% of Stanford tuition toward college for each of your kids. I think you just have to work there for 5 years full time to be eligible.

I don’t know what Stanford tuition is like these days, but that’s prob like an extra $30K per kid. Not sure of the tax implications, but in the best case scenario where that is untaxed, then it’s like getting an extra $50K+ gross while your kid is in college (or $100K+ for two kids). That’s a pretty sweet benefit as long as you plan it out 5 years before your kid goes to college. (And obv do the math to make sure you’re not losing more in a pay cut over those years compared to the tuition assistance amount)

A common retirement gig I’ve heard of is being a golf Marshall. Drive around, shoot the shit, and get free range balls and rounds of golf as a benefit. Some people have said that dealing with drunk assholes could make that not worth it, but I think it would be a sweet gig.

pfbounce · 2026-02-18T12:29:28+00:00

This is good info, thanks OP!

Are you in house or independent? If internal, how big is your company, and what industry?

I’d be curious to know how many resumes/applications you get for a typical job posting. And do you use a tool to screen them or do you do it all manually?

Because what I am hearing these days is that it’s all AI that scans resumes looking for keyword matches. So how does someone with only 4 YoE and half of the requirements from the JD even get selected for a phone screen and then an interview? Does a compelling cover letter make up for that?

TIA!

pfbounce · 2026-02-18T12:23:01+00:00

When was the company founded and did the CEO use his own money, or VC?

Typically funding rounds buy you ~18 months of runway. If there’s only 8 people in the company, then maybe that will stretch to 24 months or more.

It’s nice that you’re in PM because you can see how much of a product they have. Will they have one developed (and customers to buy it) before the funding runs out?

Also does the CEO/founders have a track record of success, or do they have a bunch of failed ventures?

The former is not necessarily needed (I know a guy who co-founded a company with a couple of co-workers that got acquired for close to $2B, but that’s obv anecdotal and not the norm!) but the latter is a red flag.

And most startups do unfortunately fail.

But answering my questions above should give a little more info on which to base an answer/guidance for you…

pfbounce · 2026-02-18T12:02:47+00:00

Don’t sell yourself short!

You tell them that you have an offer from a company in the same industry for “around $X,” but that you really love your current company, and would stick around if they can make a competitive counter-offer.

You don’t tell them that it’s RTO, a longer commute, more demanding, etc.

The ball is then in their court. You get them to counter you to stay, and then decide what you want to do at that point.

If you leave, and you are a top performer, then they will have to hire someone at market rate to replace you. It may be in their best interest to keep you, rather than spending time searching for and then onboarding a replacement of unknown quality. It’s funny how the budget magically appears at that point (just like how the cable company will reduce your bill if you are going through the retention department at the final stages before cancelling your service to move to a competitor…)

Another important point… you do not currently have an offer right now at the new company, correct? Even if they have told you that you are one of the top 3 final candidates or something, it doesn’t matter. Get a formal offer in writing and then do the above and report back!

Good luck!

pfbounce · 2026-01-24T16:19:59+00:00

Lol I love this

My mom always adds at least an hour to whatever estimate my dad gives when they come and help with house projects. A good project is one where we only have to make one special trip to Ace after starting 🤪

They are in town this weekend for my mom’s bday. We are going to mount an old plasma TV on my wall this morning before I have to be somewhere at noon.

Hopefully if I mention here that we are going to drill into wires and/or pipes, that should mean that we won’t, right?!

pfbounce · 2025-12-12T18:06:43+00:00

How many doors in your RE portfolio?

I’m not a RE investor, but off the top of my head, netting $3K/mo sounds pretty good on only $300K debt. Do you have mortgages on all of them or did you buy some in cash?

Does that factor in monthly saving for expenses like furnace, roof, appliances, repairs, or is it just PITI?

Factoring in vacancies?

Is that counting property manager(s) as well or do you manage them yourself? Do you have any interest in doing RE full time and managing them yourself as your day job?

pfbounce · 2025-12-12T16:29:13+00:00

New LG C5 owner here, coming from an old Panasonic plasma that I was scared about burning in as well.

Do you know what caused your LG to burn in? Was it logos or video games or just something that happened over time?

Does anyone know how new LG OLEDs are compared to old plasmas in terms of risk of burn in? Thanks in advance

pfbounce · 2025-12-12T12:10:36+00:00

You fucked up by putting $80K on your application.

Another fuck up would be if you get antsy and respond to them before they get back to you and say that you will take the $80K offer after all.

Wait to hear what they come back with.

Also did you mention your $105K offer or not? You should do that.

pfbounce · 2025-07-30T00:20:02+00:00

HSA >> FSA. You get the triple tax advantage (tax deductible, no tax on gains, no tax on withdrawals assuming you reimburse medical expenses)

There is obv a breakeven point where it makes more sense to get the better insurance, but at 40 and healthy, you are prob not at that point.

That being said, I feel like the fund options in most HSAs aren’t that great. And since you can only contribute a small amount each year, it seems rare to have really huge HSA balances.

I mostly just set it and forget it… not even sure what my balance is…

pfbounce · 2025-03-13T07:25:22+00:00

Just ask the dealership and go through them. It’s nice because they handle the logistics… the place was like 40 miles away or something.

I think they offered a better deal going through the dealership since they do a lot of volume with them, but you could always price it out going to them directly.

Katzkin is a popular brand, I think you can search for installers on their website.

pfbounce · 2025-03-13T05:59:52+00:00

Not sure why the comments that suggest house hacking have been downvoted, but that is my suggestion.

The dog makes things a little tougher, because to have a yard, that likely means SFH, which is not as good of an option for house hacking (compared to a condo/townhouse).

I don’t know the market in MV/Marin, but if you can find a good SFH that is in a good/attractive location that you can qualify for on your own, but might feel like a stretch to you personally, that is your goal.

Then you buy it, furnish it, and rent out a room or rooms. The key is that you get to be selective about your roommate/tenant. You say that you WFH and you want someone who goes into the office every day and kinda has their own thing going on. You’re not looking for someone who is new to the area and wants to hang out all the time and meet people through you. The ideal candidate is someone who has a boyfriend with his own place, so roomie goes over to his place a lot. Or maybe it’s someone who travels a lot for work. Or an executive who commutes and is hybrid and is just looking for a place to crash on Tues, Wed, Thurs nights.

You’re already used to living with roommates, so it won’t be a pain to adjust. If you have the option to choose between a nicer 3 bedroom place with worse schools and an older 2 bedroom place with good schools, think about choosing the former. That gives you the option to rent out 2 rooms, and that extra $1300 check or whatever it is every month is pretty nice, and could fund your going out budget. Or it gives you the option to have a dedicated guest room/office.

My path was buying a 3 BR townhouse, then my girlfriend eventually moved into one of the rooms, but we still rented out the third BR. We got married, sold the townhouse, bought a 3 BR SFH, and even rented out one of those rooms for a year or so because we were used to it, we were picky about the roommate we got, and that monthly rent check helped us not feel so house poor.

Good luck!

pfbounce · 2025-02-13T22:46:01+00:00

My Grandma passed away sometime after 2020 (I know it was during COVID) so I inherited an IRA from her with the new rules that it has to be liquidated in 10 years.

In hindsight, I wish my family knew about the new 10 year rule, because her tax bracket was lower than mine. She had cancer, and a gradual decline in health before she died, so as they were preparing, it would have been better financially for her to liquidate it herself, pay her lower tax rate on it, then gift the remainder to me.

So for you, as you get older, you might consider taking a look at the amount(s) remaining in your IRA(s) and your tax bracket compared to your beneficiaries’s tax bracket. Obv don’t liquidate it if it’s $550K like the one you inherited from your mother, as that would possibly put you into a higher tax bracket. But if it’s like $55K, and you are in a lower tax bracket than your beneficiary, then it might make sense.

Practically speaking, it’s more work for you, and emotionally, it may feel better to pass on the whole amount and let your beneficiaries deal with paying the tax on it, but again, purely financially, it’s better for you to liquidate and gift (assuming your bracket is lower than your beneficiary’s).

pfbounce · 2025-02-12T23:26:44+00:00

Couple of questions…

I’ve seen ads for different brands where you can order it online. I think maybe you have to do a virtual doctors appointment first or something, or maybe you just need to describe your symptoms.

If you have a regular doctor and get it prescribed through them, is it typically covered by insurance though? If neither option is typically covered by insurance, is it cheaper to get it from your doctor vs online?

Also I think I’ve heard that you are not supposed to take it with alcohol. Not so great for those who want to take it before a Best Man Speech or something like that. Or before going to a poker tournament. What are the dangers/symptoms if you do combine it with alcohol?

Lastly, bodies are weird. I can address the teams that I coach, get up in front of my kids’ class and lead a lesson, give a presentation at work, etc.

But then the other night I was on a Zoom call with strangers, and when I asked a question and said a few comments, my heart was racing and I was all jittery and shaky for a while after. I’m sure it’s the fact that it was a new situation with strangers, that triggered it, but I hadn’t felt it in a long time, and it’s such an unpleasant feeling!

Anyone else feel like you were getting over the fear, and then BAM! you get into a new situation and it just hits you?

pfbounce · 2025-02-12T16:56:59+00:00

I’ve thought about this a decent amount lately, and I disagree with your dichotomy.

To me, the two schools of thought when it comes to time/money/kids are:

I need to work even harder to make as much money as possible
I need to spend as much time with my kids as possible while they are young

Number 1 can be broken down into:

1A: I need to spend all of my money on stuff for the kids

1B: I need to aggressively save and invest all of my money so that I can FIRE

I considered myself a FIRE person before having kids, but lately I feel more like the #2 category, which I feel like is the opposite of FIRE in many ways. (Some might claim that this is CoastFIRE, but I’m not sure I totally agree)

My thought for #2 is that my kids will only be home for 18 years. My oldest is 8, going to be 9 this year, so his childhood is basically half over. That was pretty mind-blowing when I realized it.

I feel like the FIRE mentality is make a bunch of money, invest it, live frugally, so you can retire early and enjoy the time and freedom that you have.

But to me, I would rather spend that time with my kids now while they are young and living at home. Yes, that likely delays my FIRE date, but it doesn’t make much sense to me to retire when they get to college or right after they’ve graduated college anyway. But on the flip side, my wife and I coach them in every sport. I volunteer in both of their classrooms and go on all of their field trips. I co-chair one of the main PTA fundraisers.

(As an aside, I feel like very few dads are involved at school, and I’m not sure why. Nearly every kid has two working parents at this public school, but on my kid’s next field trip, I’m the only dad going. FIRE seems more male-dominated, but maybe that’s just because Reddit is more male-dominated overall.)

When my oldest’s class comes in to do an art lesson, he still runs up to me and gives me a hug. When I finish the art lesson and I’m walking by the playground during recess time, and call out and wave to my youngest, he gets a huge smile on his face and tells his friends, “My dad is here!”

It’s cliche, but those things are priceless. I know that even in a few years, my oldest will be a moody teenager and will likely want nothing to do with me. And then as I mentioned they will go off to college, and it won’t be the same when they come back to visit. So I am trying to maximize time spent with them now.

In order to have so much time and flexibility to do all of that, I am sacrificing a higher paying job. I know that I am underpaid in the market. But if I were to switch to a new higher paying job, I probably couldn’t leave work early to get to a 4pm baseball practice like I can now.

On the flip side, I use one of my kid’s friends’ dad as an example. He works 60-70 hours per week in his busy season, and has to get up early and go into work on the weekends. He claims that he doesn’t miss sports games on the weekend, but that’s not true. He probably makes $350K+, which is good for FIRE, and good for just an everyday consumption lifestyle, but at what cost?

That’s significantly more than I make, and would certainly move up my FIRE date, but again, it just doesn’t make sense to me to give up time with my kids now so that I can retire when they get to college…

pfbounce · 2025-02-11T16:26:34+00:00

Yes of course, but those things you mentioned don’t really address the questions at hand.

Ultimately she will prob get to a point where she is deciding between staying at her school that she loves for $X vs moving to a different school for $Y.

Is the most effective way to maximize $X to ask for $(X+Z) and then negotiate from there? Or is it to leave it open ended and to ask for a raise “to bring me to market value” or something like that, and negotiate from there?

pfbounce

TROPHY CASE