Someone Asked People To Share Red Flags From Employers That Potential Workers Might Not Immediately Spot, 30 Deliver
The Great Resignation is alive and well — nearly 4.3 million people quit their jobs in January trying to run away from toxic culture, entitled bosses, and burnout. Although it’s a difficult time for businesses, some workers also feel quite stressed while looking for better opportunities, fearing ending up in the "same company, different name" kind of situation.
Luckily, the internet is here to lend a helping hand. User taylortaylortaylorrr decided to ease the pressure for people on their job hunting journey. They asked members of Ask Reddit to share the signs from an employer that people might not immediately recognize as a red flag. Two months later, more than 18.4K people voiced their precious knowledge.
From asking "Do you plan to have children?" to saying "Nobody works here for the money", Bored Panda wrapped up some of the things people should be on the lookout for before signing on the dotted line. Scroll down to read these pieces of advice, upvote your favorites, and share your own experiences with us in the comments!
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Interview question someone actually asked me: "What would you do if I told you at 3 PM on a Friday that I really needed something done by Monday morning that would take 36 hours of coding?"
I told him "I would tell you to find someone who works weekends and walk out the door."
A couple old senior partners, lots of young employees and nothing in between.
That means there’s no opportunity to move up, they can’t get people to stay, and can’t get lateral transfers. They work young folks for as long as they can, and the young folks leave once they figure out the company sucks.
The phrase “we all wear a lot of hats” it’s corporate speak for we are cheap bastards that make you do things outside your job description
This is the reason, “other tasks as necessary“ is the last line on most job descriptions.
And you will be doing the entire jobs that go with all those hats——all at the same time most days—-but only for the same money we pay for ONE job.
Oh god, my first job out of graduate school was like this. I was doing the work of three different people and getting paid table-scraps. Companies like these prey on recent graduates who are eager to prove themselves and get a foot in the door for their career field. They could care less about the mental health of their employees. Their mantra is: "If you're not constantly doing something, you must be doing your job wrong". Needless to say burnout is a very real reality when working for companies like this.
Heard this one at my interview for the Mad Hatter's quality control department.
While that may be the case for some jobs, I’d say that I actively seek out companies that encourage cross-training and require people to be fluid in their roles. Startups are especially prone to having too many 15 hr/week roles that require some regular attention, but won’t be enough work as to require a full time employee for months or even years down the road. Not all employers are looking to take advantage of people, it’s entirely possible that they are looking to find the self-starter type of candidate who can legitimately take on a multitude of challenges.
It's means you are working with narcissistic cheapskates who will treat you like s**t under their shoe heel every, single day you work at their wretched company.
I worked at the front desk of a motel in a busy resort town 6 floors, and 104 rooms. I worked 4pm to midnight alone for almost four months an we ran at around 85% occupancy. An not only did I have to check-in anywhere from 50 to 70 rooms a night. I also had to launder pool towels,and fold them because we always ran out. I also had to act as maintenance and plunge toilets,fix TV's simple issue like that. Act as security when needed; which was usually at least once A-day. And be on site manager during my shift; because the property manager and her sister who worked the 8am to 4pm. I was paid the highly competitive wage (owners words) not mine of $8.25 an hour. This was in Pigeon Forge TN. In the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. It's the most visited national park on the planet. Seriously Google it. The manager hired her brother to help out who turns out is A opioid addicted thief that kept nodding off. So July 4th weekend after wearing 4 different hats for months. I quit my job there.
Started as Accounts Payable and did jobs as a boss while he was away. Did not get any extra money but lots of praise. Anytime I applied for a better job as I was not an accountant and any fool can do AP I got knocked back. Complained the money was ridiculous but told that is what they pay outside as well. Ask did they include reception, AR and boss job? The answer, yes.
Probably, in a lot of cases. Except. I love that. I had being stuck only doing X. I like to mix it up and have different types of things to work on. So "lots of hats" is a selling point to some people. Like me
Not always true. In my company we were lots of hats, all those hats are listed in the job description. We are a start up so everyone pitches in
Yes. One company I worked for actually had in their contract, "other duties as deemed necessary." They tried to use it to get me to go do training at another site for my normal wage. I told them no, if they want me to do trainings they need to pay me trainer fees, not my normal wage.
This isn't a bad thing as long as you're getting paid appropriately and aren't expected to work extra hours to get too many hats done at once. It can be a great way to get experience doing a lot of different things.
Most Companies do not care about employees! You are a number do not forget it.
I worked in an attorneys office that told me that once. I laughed and asked, "so what extra hats do you wear?" My job was for marketing. What a stupid question. Yeah, I'm not doing double duty as reception (no offense, not my job tho).
If you're applying to a small business (especially a startup) you should expect this, in which case I don't see their honesty as a red flag.
Nonprofits (particularly Christian, as in churches)aren't much better. You'll find out in a year or two, the lengths to which people will go to avoid doing their own work. Oh yes, if there's a BIG (read: EXPENSIVE) project on the horizon, you WILL get screwed over with regards to raises and cost-of-living increases. Yet, you WILL be expected to take on more and more tasks, smile, and be a "team player," aka beast of burden.
If this isn't retail or nonprofit, I don't know what is. I've worked for both, and been OVERworked as well. In retail, the management spends more time watching the employees than the known shoplifters who enter the store on a regular basis. In spite of being in school, they don't give a s--t about your schedule. They expect 40 hours' worth of work for 15-20 hours' worth of pay. There's nothing like dealing with the aforementioned situation, and watching a new (AND lazy) retail clerk, within SIX MONTHS of being hired, get 40 hours a week, with weekends and holidays off.
I apologize for the long read in my other post here, but it felt good to get all that off my mind. The Great Smoky Mountain National Park is a wonderful place to explore, and enjoy. An the land was donated by a few families with the express written stipulation that the park service can never charge for people to enter the park. But with that being said. Not all of the business owners are Greedy, Stingy, and Corrupt! Just most of them. Awesome place to visit but you don't wanna live there.
My job says this all the time and actually does a really good job of providing diverse skills to employees. We'll even let employees change careers within the company if they'd like to try something new. So, not always a red flag.
Is money the only reason you work??????
Yes. Yes it is.
No, most people don’t work for the money, they just work because it’s so much fun.
Had an interview somewhere they offered 20-23 starting. Being new in this field, when they asked how much I was expecting to be paid I said "well you guys are offering 20-23 starting and being new in the field I think 20 would be good."
Their response was "oh....well that's kind of a red flag for us....usually when someone starts with us they'll say 'I'll take 17 dollars until I can prove to you that I'm worth the $20' so you'll see why we're hesitant."
My response "then why would you offer $20 at your low end?"
I didn't get a call back.
"Competitive pay" but they wont tell you what the pay actually is in the posting or even the interview
It’s certainly not competitive if they’re unwilling to reveal it. Just a Big Red Flag!
“The company doesn’t pay for coffee, employees chip in if they want it in the office”… yeah if you are too cheap to provide coffee, I will never get a raise.
Anything that the manager says in the interview that doesn’t line up with the job description..
“yea we posted it’s a manager level position, but this is actually a coordinator role”.
“yea the description says travel is 25% but it might be closer to 50 it just depends”.
“We did post it as a remote job, but we prefer people to be in the office X days a week”
“Yea we phrase it that way in the job description because corporate says we have to”
All of those are red flags. ANYTHING a company is vague about should be a red flag.
Amazon does this a lot. They always have positions open starting at 17 an hour but when you get there it's always 'that position has been filled but we still have starting positions open'...yet mysteriously the ad remains open for months. It's so misleading.
Asking if you are somebody who's "willing to put in the time to make sure deadlines are met/work is done" or if you're "the type of person who leaves when the 'workday' is finished?".
This is generally corporate speak for "we will be forcing you to work unpaid overtime".
I would have told them I’d be willing to stay, but I would definitely be expecting 1-1/2 pay for my time after the legal eight hours.
When you don’t get a review until you ask for a raise. Then, all of a sudden, you work is being questioned and you’re being berated.
'Nobody works here for the money.'
Why should they work there, then?
Whenever an ad says "Flexible schedule", it never ever means that you can work when you want. It always means that they can schedule you any time week to week without giving you any consistency.
When they refuse to tell you what your starting salary would be or when they just avoid the question all together. Like I didn’t apply to the job to be apart of some “family” work culture, I came here to get a job and be paid.
Say, "I need to know what you will be paying me to compare it my other job offers."
"We're a family here"
No. We're co-workers. I don't love you. I wouldn't do anything for you. We have boundaries.
Asking if I planned to have children in the interview (I was 19)
Old Machinists: Why doesn't anyone want to work, we can never keep any of these lazy millennials!
Also old machinists: I'm not gonna teach you anything, you little s**t, you're just gonna leave in a month anyway
Young new hire: Wow, this is a terrible place to work, buhbye
I always ask the question "why is this role open? Is it a new role, or am I replacing someone? Why did that person leave?" This really helps you seeing their reaction and if they look nervous it's because the person who left did it because they were not happy.
I also like asking how "senior" my team members are, if there's noone there more than 2 years I would also be concerned.
Final question, as I work in sales, I always ask "what's the KPIs and how many are actually hitting their quarterly and annual target?" This also reveals if they set their targets too high and you can expect to enter a grim working culture where you're never "good enough" and can always "do better".
Last one, I like asking about how they are working to establish a team culture as well, since this will tell you a lot if people at work are "friends" or just there to do their job
I'm 16 and looking for a job. I was reading through this to help me find the "red flags" but I was just wondering what KPI's are
Overall poor ratings from bad employee reviews on Glassdoor. Seriously - that site exists to give employees a place to review their employer anonymously. Use that info.
I worked at the same law firm twice…I told them when they hired me he first time that I would be moving abroad when I turned 50, so after 3-1/2 years I left, and then a year or so later I moved back to San Francisco and ended up working for them a second time. The corporate culture was good, and I liked nearly everything about my job. During this second stretch I came to realize that the company’s founder was an inveterate liar. She told both little and big lies, and I finally posted this anonymously on the firm’s Glassdoor page, but many, many months after my leaving there.
"Sorry no money for your annual raise due to the pandemic"
It's a lie.
There's a misery wall when walking into work. When you pass a certain point in the building the feeling changes significantly. If you know, you know.
I work for myself, from home, so have joyfully left this b******t behind. But I do remember that misery wall materializing the minute I walked out my own door, sometimes even before. I have worked places where I literally threw up from the stress of working in such a toxic work environment, while I was just getting ready to go into that same toxic work environment. Those were jobs I quit the millisecond I was offered another. I. Do. NOT. Miss. That.
MULTIPLE MANAGERS TO REPORT TO*
If you’re being interviewed/hired and they tell you have/will have multiple managers to report to. Basically if there is not a clear chain of command. What’ll happen is eventually one manager’s directions, goals or instructions will conflict with the other’s, and you’ll get caught in the middle of it. And one or both will use it against you in performance reviews.
The quality of the Toilet paper in the bathroom. There are minimal if any cost savings to 1 ply and it just shows they couldn't care about you at all.
Exception to this is in rural areas where plumbing and buildings can be 60+ years old and still working fine. Old pipes don't always handle the fancier TP. Also anything above 2ply is horrible for septic systems and the plumbing.
I know people (rightfully) like to hate on HR, but if a company brags about "not having an HR department to deal with," expect them to be very disorganized at a minimum.
If the job description has a nondescriptively massive salary range
($25,000-$100,000)
"So, how many are working for $25,000 and how many for $100,000?"
Listing something like "fast-paced environment" as a benefit
Or to put it another way, you'll drop with exhaustion at the end of every shift.
The job title says they’re looking to hire “rock stars.”
Worst job I ever had had this in the description when we were hiring newbies. I cringed when I read it.
Additional s***ty law firm red flags:
The firm gives you a free dinner from a nice restaurant if you have to stay after 7
gym in the office
free daycare services
You need to keep an extra suit in the office.
Free laundry service
unlimited time off
Translation: you will never leave the office.
They claim that overtime isn't mandatory and workers stay longer by choice.
Once someone’s in the sixth grade, they’re going to see through that!
Two or three really nice cars in the parking lot, and the rest are beaters.
Everybody is very young in a very old company.
Note: this post originally had 62 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.
I can give you some red flags before you even have an interview and save you some trouble: 1. The ad says, fast-paced environment. 2. The ad says, Looking for a self-starter with 2 years of experience that knows (follows with a list of 50 different software apps, programming languages, and skills that have nothing to do with the job). 3. The ad says, We work hard and play hard. Unless the ad is for a game development company, this is complete BS. They just work hard and way more hours a week than should be allowed. 4. The ad says, We are looking for someone who lives and breathes [insert skill here]. This means they expect you to be available even on weekends. 5. The ad says, You will wear a lot of hats in this company.
"We work hard and play hard" = you can expect 60+ hour weeks but there's beer and Xbox on Friday evenings.
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Another red flag is when the title sounds more important than the job, and sounds like something beyond your experience. For instance, being hired for an "Account Executive" job when your only previous experience was in customer service. Then, it turns out to be a door-to-door sales job.
I used too much "truth in advertising". I told candidates "you will be working in an office with several middle aged women who WILL ask you where your coat is, bring you chicken soup if you're sick, and ask what happened to that nice boy/girl you were dating. If you have an issue working with a bunch of Moms, think carefully before taking this job.". (Most recent hire has been here 6 years)
...where is this? Are you hiring? I'm interested.n
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Other red flags... NDAs, and rules against disclosing your salary to other employees...
In the US there are old, old labor laws that make it illegal for companies to discourage conversations about compensation unless an NDA was signed. It's the most broken law in US history lol. Most people don't even know it exists.
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Welp, I worked for a company that used to make about all of the software for every point-of-sale terminal at every fast-food joint. They had me fill out a proficiency exam to make sure I knew what I was doing. The second side of the exam turned out to be black, and the interviewer just waved it off. But, they were offering a very good salary and said they needed me immediately, so I gave notice at my old job and started work. Tried to start work. They didn't have a computer available for me and didn't manage to dig one up until the next day, when they gave me a machine that was so old that it couldn't be connected to the network, and I had to beg coworkers to copy the files onto floppy disks. This was a problem, because no one could identify the files I needed. When they found them, I figured they screwed up, because the compiler put out pages of warning errors. The manager assured me that this was normal... it got worse...
Anyway, I finally walked out when I'd gotten back from lunch (nice Mexican place, and I really needed that margarita) and the company turned out to be having another mandatory meeting to... keep up morale, of course. Never mind that we wanted to actually be working.
Load More Replies... Can we ban posters like Daisey662? They are trying to con people. There seem to have been a lot of them lately. Maybe we could have a "report" button?
If on mobile, slide the menu at the top all the way to the left until you see "More" with a down arrow. Scroll down that list to "Contact" near the bottom. There's a Report Post button there.
Load More Replies...
Another red flag for me is if a company is coy to the point of secrecy about where it's based.
Have to reenter the job hunt because the job I applied to and got an offer at, they bungled my paperwork, then called me and got mad at ME for them not having it despite me doing everything on my end... I went in, redid the entire process, they bungled it AGAIN and then just never contacted me back. Absolutely ridiculous. I'm upset that I didn't get that job but also I wouldn't want to work somewhere with such a disorganized and awful hiring process, huge red flag for the job itself.
I’m in search of a new job and at an interview recently with 5 people in an accounts receivable department -They were unable to tell me how much their average monthly receivables were. They also kept saying they were “locally owned” - which at one time they were. But the owner now lives in Washington state and they make items for Disney and several other high profile clients… while wanting to pay a CFO $45K/year. It was hard not to laugh and walk out.
I was interviewed at a place that asked how I felt about overtime. I said I was open to it. I accepted a job and 3 days into it had someone ask if I was informed of the mandatory overtime. The schedule was officially 9-6 but unofficially you were required to come in 2-3 hours early most days and stay until ALL the work was done. So really some days it'd be 8-8. I quit after a week but they were used to that. As a brand new hire they didn't require me to do the overtime but I hated the job enough doing the regular schedule I knew I couldn't handle that much OT.
The dress code can tell you a lot. How strict is it? Do they follow it? Whether it covers tattoos, piercings, facial hair, hair color, etc. Gives you an idea of how controlling the management is and how good/bad morale is.
I can give you some red flags before you even have an interview and save you some trouble: 1. The ad says, fast-paced environment. 2. The ad says, Looking for a self-starter with 2 years of experience that knows (follows with a list of 50 different software apps, programming languages, and skills that have nothing to do with the job). 3. The ad says, We work hard and play hard. Unless the ad is for a game development company, this is complete BS. They just work hard and way more hours a week than should be allowed. 4. The ad says, We are looking for someone who lives and breathes [insert skill here]. This means they expect you to be available even on weekends. 5. The ad says, You will wear a lot of hats in this company.
"We work hard and play hard" = you can expect 60+ hour weeks but there's beer and Xbox on Friday evenings.
Load More Replies... Another red flag is when the title sounds more important than the job, and sounds like something beyond your experience. For instance, being hired for an "Account Executive" job when your only previous experience was in customer service. Then, it turns out to be a door-to-door sales job.
I used too much "truth in advertising". I told candidates "you will be working in an office with several middle aged women who WILL ask you where your coat is, bring you chicken soup if you're sick, and ask what happened to that nice boy/girl you were dating. If you have an issue working with a bunch of Moms, think carefully before taking this job.". (Most recent hire has been here 6 years)
...where is this? Are you hiring? I'm interested.n
Load More Replies... Other red flags... NDAs, and rules against disclosing your salary to other employees...
In the US there are old, old labor laws that make it illegal for companies to discourage conversations about compensation unless an NDA was signed. It's the most broken law in US history lol. Most people don't even know it exists.
Load More Replies... Welp, I worked for a company that used to make about all of the software for every point-of-sale terminal at every fast-food joint. They had me fill out a proficiency exam to make sure I knew what I was doing. The second side of the exam turned out to be black, and the interviewer just waved it off. But, they were offering a very good salary and said they needed me immediately, so I gave notice at my old job and started work. Tried to start work. They didn't have a computer available for me and didn't manage to dig one up until the next day, when they gave me a machine that was so old that it couldn't be connected to the network, and I had to beg coworkers to copy the files onto floppy disks. This was a problem, because no one could identify the files I needed. When they found them, I figured they screwed up, because the compiler put out pages of warning errors. The manager assured me that this was normal... it got worse...
Anyway, I finally walked out when I'd gotten back from lunch (nice Mexican place, and I really needed that margarita) and the company turned out to be having another mandatory meeting to... keep up morale, of course. Never mind that we wanted to actually be working.
Load More Replies... Can we ban posters like Daisey662? They are trying to con people. There seem to have been a lot of them lately. Maybe we could have a "report" button?
If on mobile, slide the menu at the top all the way to the left until you see "More" with a down arrow. Scroll down that list to "Contact" near the bottom. There's a Report Post button there.
Load More Replies... Another red flag for me is if a company is coy to the point of secrecy about where it's based.
Have to reenter the job hunt because the job I applied to and got an offer at, they bungled my paperwork, then called me and got mad at ME for them not having it despite me doing everything on my end... I went in, redid the entire process, they bungled it AGAIN and then just never contacted me back. Absolutely ridiculous. I'm upset that I didn't get that job but also I wouldn't want to work somewhere with such a disorganized and awful hiring process, huge red flag for the job itself.
I’m in search of a new job and at an interview recently with 5 people in an accounts receivable department -They were unable to tell me how much their average monthly receivables were. They also kept saying they were “locally owned” - which at one time they were. But the owner now lives in Washington state and they make items for Disney and several other high profile clients… while wanting to pay a CFO $45K/year. It was hard not to laugh and walk out.
I was interviewed at a place that asked how I felt about overtime. I said I was open to it. I accepted a job and 3 days into it had someone ask if I was informed of the mandatory overtime. The schedule was officially 9-6 but unofficially you were required to come in 2-3 hours early most days and stay until ALL the work was done. So really some days it'd be 8-8. I quit after a week but they were used to that. As a brand new hire they didn't require me to do the overtime but I hated the job enough doing the regular schedule I knew I couldn't handle that much OT.
The dress code can tell you a lot. How strict is it? Do they follow it? Whether it covers tattoos, piercings, facial hair, hair color, etc. Gives you an idea of how controlling the management is and how good/bad morale is.
