If you’re looking for work and an employer tells you they can’t offer you a contract or won’t commit to paying you properly, that’s not just a red flag—it’s a giant neon sign telling you to walk away. Let me be clear about something that should be obvious but somehow gets lost in today’s gig economy hustle culture: legitimate employers give you contracts and pay you wages. If they won’t do both of those things, they’re not a legitimate employer, and you should absolutely work for someone else.
A contract doesn’t have to be a hundred-page legal document written in incomprehensible jargon. It can be a simple written agreement that outlines what you’ll be doing, how much you’ll be paid, when you’ll be paid, and what the expectations are on both sides. The format matters less than the fact that it exists. When an employer puts things in writing, they’re showing you respect and acknowledging that your time and labor have value. They’re also protecting themselves, sure, but that’s fine because a good contract protects both parties.The resistance some employers show to contracts should tell you everything you need to know. When someone says they prefer to keep things informal or that they work on trust, what they’re really saying is that they want to maintain all the power in the relationship. Without a contract, they can change your responsibilities, cut your pay, or let you go without any accountability. You have no recourse because there’s nothing to point to that says what was actually agreed upon. That’s not trust—that’s exploitation dressed up in friendly language.
The same principle applies to wages. A legitimate employer pays you for your work, period. They pay you regularly, predictably, and in accordance with what was agreed upon. They don’t pay you in exposure or experience or the promise of future opportunities. They don’t ask you to work for free now with vague assurances about payment later. They certainly don’t structure things so that your payment is entirely dependent on sales or recruitment or other metrics that shift all the risk onto you while they take none.
Now, commission-based work exists, and it can be legitimate, but even then there should be clarity about the structure, and often there’s a base salary involved. Real sales jobs come with contracts that spell out exactly how commissions work. What’s not legitimate is when someone asks you to invest your time, energy, and possibly money into something with no guaranteed compensation and complete ambiguity about whether you’ll ever see a dime.
Some people worry that asking for a contract or clarity about wages makes them seem difficult or uncommitted. This is exactly backward. Professionals ask for contracts. People who value their own work ask to be paid fairly. If an employer interprets these basic requests as problems, they’ve just told you who they are. They want someone they can take advantage of, and that someone shouldn’t be you.The job market can be tough, and I understand the desperation that comes with needing income. When you’ve been searching for a while and someone finally seems interested, it’s tempting to overlook warning signs or convince yourself that maybe this situation is different. But working without a contract or proper wages doesn’t just hurt you in the moment—it can derail your career, waste months or years of your life, and leave you with nothing to show for it except stress and resentment.There are real employers out there who do things properly. They exist across every industry and at every level. They understand that their employees are the foundation of their business, and they treat them accordingly. These employers know that contracts and fair wages aren’t burdens—they’re how professional relationships work. When you hold out for one of these employers instead of settling for someone who won’t commit to basic standards, you’re not being picky or entitled. You’re being smart.
Your labor has value. Your time has value. You deserve to work for someone who acknowledges this in concrete ways, not just in the vague positive language they use during the interview. If an employer won’t give you a contract and won’t commit to paying you properly, they’re showing you they don’t actually value you. Believe them, thank them for their time, and keep looking. The right opportunity, with an employer who respects you enough to do things properly, is out there. Don’t settle for less.
