Fired on Day One for Going Home on Time [The Bad Hire Ep. 50]
She worked nine and a half hours on her first day. She got paid $28 for it. Then, at 7:30 that night, her phone rang.
Episode Recap
She worked nine and a half hours on her first day.
She got paid $28 for it.
Then, at 7:30 that night, her phone rang.
It was one of the partners, telling her to come back to the office.
There was no emergency. She had simply gone home at 6:30.
When she said she couldn’t make it back, he fired her on the spot.
And somehow, that’s only one of the stories in Episode 50.
This week on The Bad Hire, Ken, Morgan, and Trey react to another collection of unbelievable workplace stories involving first-day firings, a $50,000 exit demand, a security guard who never showed up, a promotion plan delivered on day two, and a LinkedIn post that cost someone the job before it started. Plus, Mackenzie, CEO of Sacramento Splash, shares two bad hire stories from the nonprofit world.
What's Covered in This Episode
- Fired on day one for leaving on time
- The guy who turned getting fired into a $50,000 business proposal
- The networking hire who kept disappearing
- The security guard who never technically started
- Two insults, one family business
- Three months of coffee and zero new donors
- A five-year promotion timeline on day two
- He timed his start date around a medical procedure
- She leaked the product roadmap on LinkedIn before day one
Key Takeaways
- Day one tells you a lot, on both sides of the table.
- Résumé gaps deserve verification, not just a good answer.
- Networking and fundraising roles need people who actually show up.
- Ambition lands better after you’ve earned some trust.
- Confidential only counts if you say it’s confidential.
Chapters
- 00:00 Cold open
- 00:34 Welcome to The Bad Hire
- 01:02 Episode 50 and Trey’s first show
- 01:28 Trey on joining Bchex fresh out of the University of Florida
- 03:52 Why we tell these stories
- 08:23 Morgan’s open call for energy drink sponsors
- 08:58 Fired on day one for leaving on time
- 10:02 The 7:30 p.m. phone call
- 10:45 Fired over the phone
- 11:58 Are unpaid internships worth it?
- 17:31 Sponsor: Bchex
- 18:26 The guy who turned getting fired into a business proposal
- 20:23 He demands $50,000
- 20:59 The board chair steps in
- 22:05 Serial suers
- 22:54 Meet Mackenzie of Sacramento Splash
- 24:24 The networking hire who kept disappearing
- 26:34 The security guard who never technically started
- 26:52 He shows up with a friend and asks for a Gatorade
- 27:12 He calls the whole company to say he can’t be fired
- 30:04 The new hire who insulted two people without realizing they were family
- 32:37 Three months of coffee and zero new donors
- 35:15 A five-year promotion timeline on day two
- 37:09 Why Ken loves this hire
- 39:12 He timed his start date around a medical procedure
- 39:49 “Mainly excited about the health insurance”
- 42:54 Should he have been let go?
- 43:54 She leaked the product roadmap on LinkedIn before day one
- 44:45 The offer gets rescinded
- 45:39 Ken takes the new hire’s side
- 49:20 Getting clipped out of context
- 50:47 Like, comment, and share
- 52:00 How to be a guest and show wrap up
Full Transcript
Ken is CEO of Bchex, where he leads a platform spanning background checks, continuous monitoring, visitor management and volunteer screening. He created the Screening Hero Masterclass, a free SHRM-certified course on building FCRA-compliant screening programs. After a career spent in screening, what still gets his attention is what good hiring builds: safer workplaces and stronger teams.
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