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People Share Red Flags In Job Interviews That Say “Working Here Would Suck” (30 Answers)
Just as the employer gathers information about an applicant during a job interview, the applicant themself gathers information about the employer. And some details just scream trouble.
Interested in finding out what people look out for, Reddit user pbourree submitted a question to r/AskReddit, "What are subtle red flags at a job interview that say 'Working here would suck?'" Everyone immediately started sharing their insights—in just a few days, the post has received over 22,000 comments. Below are some of the most popular ones.
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I once showed up for an interview and the manager wasn't there that day. No one called me to let me know.
The assistant manager was not apologetic for the scheduling issue at all. She was literally just like "oh, she's not here today" in a tone that suggested I should somehow already know that. She said they would call me to reschedule some time the next week. I told her I was currently unavailable M-W but could come in any time Th-F. She said if I couldn't make time for the interview, I probably wouldn't be a good fit. I said okay, and went on to my other interviews and ending up working elsewhere.
You'd think that would be the end of it, but both the manager and the assistant manager badmouthed me to a few other people in the industry, including one of my friends.
Hello? I made time for an interview. You disrespected me by not calling me to let me know it was canceled. I gave you the times I was available to reschedule, and that was disrespectful somehow?
Preview of what working there would been like. You lucked out and dodged a bullet with that one.
"The interview process is a two-way street," Amy Hoover, president of Talent Zoo, a site for marketing, advertising, and digital professionals, told Forbes. "Not only are you being evaluated, but you should be evaluating the company and its people. It's absolutely your duty as an interviewee to observe the culture of the company and its employees. If you're not offered a tour, be sure to request one so you can get a sense of the environment and its vibe. If possible, you should also request to meet some potential co-workers. It's as much your responsibility as the candidate to determine if you're a good fit for the company as it is your interviewer's, so don't be shy."
Once an interviewer straight up asked me if I had any trouble working for free on weekends... I told them my free time is more valuable than anything and that the only way that I would work a weekend is if they are paying me and if I felt like working a weekend. She got really mad at me and ended the interview right away.
Biggest red flag I’ve ever seen because they didn’t even try to hide it.
Dr. Katharine Brooks, executive director of the office of personal and career development at Wake Forest University and author of You Majored in What? Mapping Your Path from Chaos to Career, shares this sentiment. She acknowledges that it's hard to relax and remember to observe when you're stressed about an interview, but thinks that it's very important to make a plan to stop for a minute and assess the office or setting. "Just take thirty seconds to look around and see how formal the setting is," she said. "Do people have personal items on their desks? Is there informal and casual conversation in the hallways? Is the feeling relaxed or tense? Does everyone seem like they are on an urgent mission? These are easily made observations despite personal nervousness."
"Well, the overtime isn't mandatory, but most folks stick around after hours most days."
Spoilers: The overtime is mandatory.
Here are some questions you can ask yourself when going to your next job interview: What does the parking lot look like? How was I greeted upon arrival? How do employees interact with one another? Do the employees look happy? How do employees answer the phone? What does their body language say? How committed is the employer is to health and wellness? Is it a fast-paced work environment? Is it an organized place? What is the physical office environment like? Is everyone busy?
If they’re always hiring. Constant staff turnover means people quit a lot, so it must be bad
They are. And the few longtime employees are usually real miserable assholes too. Toxic.
When they tell you "what I'm paying you stays between you and me, don't discuss pay with anyone else" usually means they are trying to pay you less than your coworkers who do the same job and don't want you to know.
They don’t realize we find out anyway. I mean duh; we talk to each other in private, off the clock, and off property.
"We only want the best of the best" Me: "how much are you paying?" "Minimum wage"
Then you’re going to get exactly what you pay for. And that’s not me.
I didn't know it at the time, but "you'll be wearing many hats" was a sign that they were going to give me the work of four positions and the wage of one. I didn't last a year there before I left and now I won't even finish reading job ads that include that line.
When you ask, “what do you like about working here” and the interviewer talks about the location of the job (“it’s a great place to live!”) instead of the actual job.
This actually happened to me:
Interviewer: Do you have any questions for us?
Me: what is a challenge this department has recently faced?
Interviewer: Job security
“We work hard and we play hard.”
Translation: “You will work 60+ hours a week. You will be expected to work late nights and early mornings. People will treat this job like their whole life. We’ll also underpay you. It may look like a decent salary but when you back it out to hourly it’s not even remotely competitive with industry standard. But we have kegs and a ping pong table.”
Also, if everyone that interviews you has been there less than two years, it’s a sign that they can’t retain good employees.
Been there. Quit that job. More than once (some are really good at hiding it during interviews). They usually also don’t train new employees, but expect you to “just know” how to do everything. Then they work them til they drop. If employees who have stuck it out long enough for a couple pay raises don’t quit from exhaustion, management fills their personnel files with bogus warnings and fake bad reviews to use as justification to fire them. Then they hire a whole new crew at less money, and start working them to death too.
"We don't like 'clockwatchers' here. We expect everyone to be committed." Expecting more work for no extra pay. Getting mad at you when you leave at 5 even though your stated work hours end a 5
Always ask the interviewer about the last person who worked the position you are interviewing for, how long they worked, and why they left. Their answers can be very telling of the work environment.
When you are signing all the forms they give you and you are taking your time to read over every document so that you can fully understand what you are getting into and people come in and start telling you that you don't need to read this and that just sign here and so on.
"You are required to wear clothing that has the company logo. You must purchase it yourself. From the company."
Last job I worked.
"Yea, everyone here is new, but it's totally because of covid"
"The boss doesn't like people going out to get lunch because they're afraid you'll never come back, so being your own lunch"
"You'll get weird looks if you leave on time". It was a chinese owned company with heavy chinese work culture influence so you were expected to stay overtime all week.
Also "the people here are nice but it's pretty stressful".
Eta: also was told by my trainer "you want to know the best advice I can give you? Find another job". This was like...my 2nd week in.
I was once part of a group onboarding for an IT job. They handed us all the one-page new hire "contract" and everyone except me signed immediately. When I read the paperwork, I discovered we were signing a mystery document. Clauses included "I agree to abide by the personal search and seizure security policy (attached)." Without other pages, there was no way to determine what I was agreeing to. I kept requesting more and more pages until the HR drone said "ok, I guess [me] is just determined to hold everyone up. We will handle you separately if you're struggling so much."
After I walked out and drove home, I called the hiring manager to apologize for not taking the job. He informed me that HR reported I had walked out after refusing to be drug tested
Too much shady s**t to hide, so they try to load you down with thick manuals, then rush you through signing the back pages of them.
"You not going to have kids anytime soon, are you?".
"What are your childcare arrangements?".
Are both things my wife has been on the recieving end of. You'd assume you wouldn't apply if it was an issue, right? Funnily enough, I'm a man and I've never been asked.
It’s also illegal to ask questions like that. Report them to your local Labor Board.
I once turned down a job offer because they mentioned that the previous person in the position had quit after a few months, and most of the people I interviewed with seemed stressed out.
When you can see the people interviewing you are unhappy, thats the biggest of signs!
My favorite is 'there's alot of people waiting in line to work here, count yourself lucky. Huge red flag
Had an online interview with a company a few years ago.
Was interviewed by the regional manager, seemed like a normal interview.
Halfway through, he let slip that there were six other people from his company watching and listening in, but the software was set up so I could not see or hear them.
And he actually got a kick out of telling me this.
It was like being on a first date with someone, and finding out later she had a hidden camera on her and her parents and six other family members were watching the whole time.
I'm like, yeah. No. F**k that noise.
I came in for a job interview at 7:30 PM. The entire staff was still in the office. Should have known right then that 9 to 5 was not ever going to happen. One day I worked until 2:30 AM to finish up a big project, and my boss said to me I could come in an hour later the next morning. Gee thanks bro, with my public transport/travel time that gives me a solid 2 hours of sleep instead of just the one.
I think the law state there has to be a minimum on 10 or 12 hours between shifts, so you have enough time to go home, wind down, eat, sleep, get ready in the morning, and commute back in the next day. Can’t be done in less time—-before that law, I used to have a 6 to 8 hour down time between some scheduled shifts. What with driving home, eating, doing necessary chores or prepping for the next day, trying to relax, making sure I had clean clothes/uniform for work, etc, I would get maybe 3 to 4 hours of bad sleep, so worried about oversleeping I’d wake up to check the time more than I would sleep. Sleep deprived is no way to work—-or live.
I always ask about training and learning curves. Every job I’ve had that went wrong- I notice that when that question came up they stumbled. The current job I have, when I asked the question they had sparks in their eyes as they explained the whole process from day 1 of shadowing to the transition to working solo. And even when covid hit they managed to continue without skipping a beat.
Good training is the difference between success or failure for a new employee
You'll get full-time hours but wont be "full time" aka we'll do everything in our power to avoid giving you benefits even though we have you working more than 40 hours in a week.
Worse if you’re on salary. You think you’re going to be able to leave early once in a while. You find out quickly that never happens. Ever. And you’re actually making less per hour than when you were an hourly employee—-and you won’t get paid time and a half for all those extra hours either!
"We're a family" is code for working long hours, lots of overtime and they don't care about their employees.
I was once told “Sometimes the hourly workers go on strike and they lock us in to keep the production line running, but management brings us steaks and we have an informal agreement with the unions so you can cross the picket lines once a week to visit your wife.”
When they get the interview time wrong and then gaslight you about it. I’ve had a couple interviews where that happened and the person told me it was me who made the mistake. I did not feel bad missing the opportunity.
Preview of working there: Management throws you under the bus when they f**k up.
The one question every job applicant must ask is: "Why is this position open?", and watch the faces of everyone in the room before they answer. If they tell you the company's growing and it's a new position, great! If smiling Mary says it was her job but she was just promoted, terrific! If they tell you that the last couple of people they tried in the position just didn't work out, thank them and leave.
In personal experience, this one isn't quite fair. I was brought into an IT job once, and on day one, I was quietly informed that one of my co-workers was the guy I was replacing. A little shady, YES. But I worked next to this guy for two weeks, and I observed that he was indeed a total dipsh*t.
Lots of people standing at colleagues desks chatting. Either you'll be expected to be present at all times without a sufficient workload, or you'll be picking up the slack for co-workers.
Also, I've had lots of interviews where they told me they didn't expect me to have a 9-to-5 mentality; I tend to throw back a "sure, if the work is done by 3, I'd be okay with leaving early" and consider anybody who seriously objects to that not worth working for.
Or similarly, you see loads of people standing outside smoking. You just know you'll be covering for those lazy buggers.
"We're looking for rockstars."
"We're looking for people who will tolerate our sh***y pay, hours, and treatment of employees."
Oddly, all of it is bullshit that real rock starts would NEVER tolerate!
Great! I love drinking so much I puke and snorting coke off of women's boobs!
Yup... $5000 worth of gear driven to a gig in a $500 car to get $50 - A Rockstar!
Hahaha...that's what my last job said at Australian Red Cross Lifeblood. Management were the worst!
I hate and detest job ads that use that kind of hyped-up language. It usually signals that the place is run by an ADHD twenty-something with a copy of 'Machiavelli's Guide to Management' and 'How to Turn a Passion into Profit' and you'll be a part-time nursemaid and part-time cleaner as well as everything else. Because you're, you know, 'passionate' about changing the world.
When they ask out of no where what clients can you bring with you.
If I wanted to bring clients or customers to you, I'd have my own business.
If you ask what the oppurtunities for promotion are and they don’t give you an answer
hahahah, this one made me laugh. Have heard some interviewers gossiping after interview: "she asked about career opportunities?! what a nerve! She should be happy that we invited her to talk about this position" Knowing that same people asking "what are your plans for next 5 year?" , probably the answer expected "staying in junior position for minimum wage because it's such an amazing opportunity!" wow... just wow... :)))) though, there are so many tools in this world from both sides I think
The ad for the job has been running continuously for 10+ years.
Oh oh, i have amazing example on this: In my hometown, in Newspaper theres a constant Ad, different contact overtime, but description is always same: "Worker for Warehouse".. I went once, it was actually to sell vacuum cleaners.. Interviewer couldnt convince ME about the 100001 functions of it, so i just thanked his time and left
At my current job, after my interview the manager said ‘just don’t get involved in the staff drama and you’ll be fine’. It has not been fine.
I learned the hard way a long time ago to stay out of gossip, coworkers’ drama, and office politics. You will get burned every single time if you get sucked into it. Just duck your head, close your ears, do your work, then go home and have an actual life. You will be so much better off—-and still employed (not fired for playing those games)—-for it.
When they ask you illegal interview questions under the guise of polite chitchat before or after the formal interview.
Keep your wits about you and don’t let yourself get sucked in to revealing too much personal information. It’s nine of their damn business—-still wouldn’t be, even if I ended up working there.
If you can see the floor before the interview, you can sometimes get a vibe about the place. I once went to interview for a sales position. Aside from the interviewer being 30 mins late, it did allow me to sit and observe the situation. I realized pretty quickly this was not going to be the place for me. Very quiet except a handful of people on the phones cold calling. Many reps trying to push for contacts on the other end, just painful to listen to. And when they’d hang up there wasn’t really any interaction with co workers. Just quiet, and then another call. It all seemed very tense. I noped out of their real quick after the five minutes the interview took. Dodged a bullet.
I had interviewed for a call center job at another place that’s as a complete 180 from that. Yes it’s a call center job so it is what it is, but there was laughter on the floor, people talking to floor managers, just a completely different vibe that was more inviting.
Working at call centers is stressful enough, without management making it worse by being miserable assholes making everyone else miserable too. Glad they tried to make it more enjoyable at the other place.
If they seem too relieved that someone actually showed up for the interview.
They dodge questions on pay, meaning they don't pay enough for what they expect of you.
The word "Family" in reference to the employees. Means they want you to work lots of unpaid overtime.
EDIT: Also forgot, but if they keep talking about the "experience" you'll gain, that's also code for "We know we're going to be underpaying you."
Your salary is completely commission based and you won't get paid for two months: every solar panel sales job.
I was interviewing at a local business that had recently been acquired by a well known corp.
I asked the interviewers a question that I've found invaluable: "What do you personally find are the most challenging parts of this job?"
And I watched the light leave their eyes. They both sighed wryly and said "it's really busy". And that was all I needed to hear to know that working there would be a nightmare. I emailed afterward to remove myself from consideration, and I am confident I did the right thing.
I hate it when large corporations buy out smaller companies. It is NEVER an improvement.
Not getting to speak with who your direct manager will be.
A game room or ping pong table is advertised as a perk.
The blatant overuse of buzzwords about your profession, clearly written by someone with no clue.
People seem tired.
Employees are either new hires or have been there for 15+ years with no in between. There is rno room for improvement - it's better to leave for advancement
And the old timers are usually really miserable f***s, but they’re so baked in, management lets them get away with murder—-while the revolving door of rookies do all the work.
At my last place of work, the person interviewing me had a printed cartoon on their wall of someone who looked like a bomb had blown up in their face, with the caption "I spoke with 'boss' name' about it.. I guess we're still doing it".
That wasn't subtle at all, but I ignored it. The boss was an absolute tyrant who wouldn't listen to her staff, consider changing her mind about anything, or let people do the work they were best suited to do. She wouldn't show up for weeks at a time. The job itself was decent, but she was the worst boss I've ever had.
I went into an interview for a low-level admin position, and they made my put my cell phone in a bucket up front, stating "no phones are allowed in the back. it reduces productivity." Big NOPE for me.
On the other end of the scale, I HATE it when companies expect you to use your personal phone for company business. Oh I HAVE to download this app? But I have no space on my phone for new apps. I should just delete something to make space? No thanks. (The app wasn't even necessary for the job, it was just an employee portal to read corporate newsletters on.)
Jobs where the expectations of the position aren't clear. The person hiring you should be able to give a clear idea of your responsibilities are day to day in a practical way. It shows that the company understands what it wants out of the position.
I've worked a couple positions that had a really hard time figuring out who was supposed to do what that lead to a lot of confusion and both of them had this in the interviews. If the company you're working for can't define what success in that position looks like you won't be able to either.
And if the contract says "and other duties as required" and they aren't more specific RUN. Unfortunately, this is pretty much every teaching contract I've ever seen and it means that in addition to lesson planning, teaching, contacting parents, etc. You'll be required to take on the sponsorship of at least one student club, coach/manage at least one sport, sell tickets or work concessions for multiple student games, set up/take down & clean up events like prom and graduation, and help make decorations for them as well. And sell items to raise funds for the school.
My current boss gave me a great tip on the last interview I had. He said "Ask them if you can pick an employee to chat with about how they like the position you're applying for. They'll give a better impression of the place than management".
I got the job I was interviewing for. I turned it down because the above is the kind of management I want to keep in my life. Also the place undercut my pay offer I found out which is certainly also a red flag.
Stay with the good boss as long as you can—-though any change in management or ownership can f**k that up quick. And playing bait and switch on pay offers can’t be legal. What I hate are the ones that force you to name a salary range, thereby robbing you of any negotiating power. And, if you name a high figure and tell them it’s merely a negotiation staring point, giving themselves a reason to not hire you.
As someone that's worked in an office environment, stay away from an office environment. I’m not talking about a family business with a few employees, I’m talking about large companies, that employ hundreds and thousands; where each individual has their own agenda and where the company doesn’t care about one ant in the formicary. Office politics will affect you; you’ll be part of a bigger picture that Bob Ross has not painted for you.
I currently work for a company that is international. They treat their employees like they are the best thing they've ever seen. We do work hard (because of the line of business we are in) but we have our down time too. But they make the downtime fun, they pay handsome bonuses and the management puts themselves on the same level with the new employees...no one acts superior or better than the person next to them. It took a lot of bad jobs to get to the one I was really really wanting.
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Living in the Netherlands I once applied with an American company. The interviewer kept going on about what I could do for the company, how I would have to commit to the company and what an asset I would be for the company. As soon as I asked him: "Ok. and what will the company do for me?" the interview was over.
And people from other countries wonder why we have so much hate. Our employers treat us like crap and then they spend millions of dollars lobbying politicians so they can treat us worse.
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to prepare them for the real world, I tell young people: "all jobs suck; find one that sucks less"
I look at the furnishings, and more important, how consistent it is throughout the building. I think it gives some indication of how management cares for their staff. I interviewed for an engineering position years ago. The front office was beautiful. Plush carpeting, nice wallpaper, paintings on the walls, big potted plants. We walked through the sales department where there were cozy offices with big wooden desks and high-back leather chairs. Then we arrived at the engineering department. One big room with no windows, whitewashed cinder block walls, worn out coffee-stained carpet, water-stained ceiling tiles, a hodgepodge of old metal desks and file cabinets. It looked so depressing I wanted to just turn and leave right then.
Very good indicator that they treat the staff like crap. At my office we don't even have a break room. Very telling.
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It's far easier to be confident in an interview if you already have a job. You've got more power to walk away from these red flags. But a lot of people are at an interview as they need a job and are honestly a bit desperate.
The problem is, most companies know that there is at least one person out there desperate enough to fill the job.
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As a software engineer, one of my biggest red flags is an interviewer who does not have any technical knowledge about the skills that are required for the job and that acts a little bit 'hyped up'. Sure, I get it Brenda: you want to free-ride on the tech hype, but if I ask you what kind of applications your company makes and you can only give me a vague answer or if you want to see some of my work although you have clearly no idea what I am showing you, that will be a big no for me then.
When I was 19 and just starting out I interviewed for Woodforest Bank. I was applying for a teller job and got asked where I see myself in 10 years. I was young and ambtsious and also wanted to run my own company so that's what I said. Never heard back. 3 months later I applied for another position at a different branch. First question they asked me was if I told the RM if I wanted to run my own business. I said yes and that was the whole interview. Never work for anyone that doesn't want you to pursue your dreams, even if it's not with them.
Hire the best people, pay them well, let them do what they are good at, give them what they need to do the job, don't piss them off, keep them as long as you can, let them go.
Load More Replies... Turn-offs: 1) Job ads that trumpet unimportant benefits like 'great snacks!' - sure sign of an underpaying overworking position. 2) Job ads that say things like 'rock-star wanted!'. Yeah - you want us to be superhuman. No thanks. 3) Job ads that say 'young dynamic atmosphere!'. Underpaid job and ageism as well. 4) Jobs that make you re-enter your entire CV into an online database. Plus answer a bunch of other detailed questions. Takes close to an hour and you never hear back anyway.
Tip from my brother: Photocopy your letter with the date and time of your interview appointment and highlight the date and time. Take it with you but don't let on that you have it. He was accused of getting the time and date wrong for a couple of interviews because the boss wasn't there to do the interviews, and he pulls out the letter and hands it to the person who has received him... and he walks out
There are so many more. 2 years ago, I was asked why I'm not to be found on facebook. There are several reasons I won't join that site, but after I finished explaining, he asked again: "No, the REAL reasons! I wanna know what you are trying to hide!" - I didn't leave immediately, but more because of politeness than anything else...
What?! Wow thats unbelievable. Why is it their business?
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If the pay is below average but "we have a great incentive plan", RUN. Their "incentive plan" will be horribly sabotaged to the detriment of 90 to 99% of employees. Especially nasty when it's "team-based" or "tier-based" incentives. Post-interview, be very wary of a new manager that makes everyone re-sign code of conduct agreements; read those documents before you sign, there's more than a few managers that make subtle changes to the grand detriment of their employees. And if they ask if you will be able to "fulfill all the duties of the job", make sure you have them specify that they mean the duties listed in the job description; otherwise they can potentially use that as an out to get rid of you later by adding a job duty they have learned you cannot perform and using that statement as leverage against you.
ask them how many people have held this position the last year? five years? ten years? If they won't discuss that, there is a turnover problem. Oh boy, you get to be next. Turnover problems are always the company's fault: bad management at several levels; unsafe workplace; endless free overtime without compensation or consideration; grossly unfair pay for the market norms.... RUN WHILE YOU CAN!
And the flip side. People that state their availability times to work but after they are hired suddenly want to tell you all the times they can't work. Constantly showing up late and blaming transportation or childcare issues. Show up late but damn if they don't want to leave exactly on time. Clocking in as they roll in the door but then spend 15 min getting ready to work. Excessive smoke breaks. I love the idea I heard about non-smokers getting extra vacation days to make up for all the extra time off smokers take off during the work day.
We get this a lot. Once I had someone tell me they had to go home for the rest of the day because their kitchen cabinets fell off the wall. I knew they were single and lived alone so I asked how they knew they fell...they turned really red and couldn't give me an answer. Was fired for not showing up not long after that.
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My "favorite" red flags for it jobs are: "needs to be able to work in highly stressful environment" (no thanks, I value my health, and don't like heart attacks), "we need kick-ass developer..." (they will want to you be genius for low pay), "we have a dynamic team of young people" (want only young developers so they can pay them less and make them work overtime), unrealistic lists of requirements and what you need to be expert for and have at leas 5 years of experience, but still be young (no one is that smart to know all those unrelated things, and if someone young is that smart he will not work FOR YOU), "salary is very small, I know but we have lazy bags, tv-s, kitchen, ping-pong table, darts etc, it's fun, people stay here all day (I am not here to play or watch tv, and stay until 9pm, I am here to work and go freaking home), "you get to travel with me and stay in hotels wink-wink" (boss in there, I was younger then, no way, dude), employees that look like scared bunnies etc...
"Looking for a highly motivated person to join our fast-paced, dynamic company." (Someone desperate enough to put up with a disorganized company that is always behind schedule.)
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Unfortunately EVERY job has these office politics and tactics. I've worked in schools in the UK as a teachers assistant and its exactly the same, low pay, long hours, expect you to always go above and beyond and rubbish training opportunities.
Mine should have been when the manager did not have a spot available in the position I wanted, but if I gave her two weeks, she might have a spot for me. In the mean time, she said, I could work this other position. I was a fry cook for three months before I got to be a driver and the first two weeks as a driver all I did was wash dishes because corporate couldn't get my driving status sorted out even though they were given all the information about my car, my insurance, and my driver's license.
Financial service field here. I'm not senior but work with C suites mostly due to the nature of the roles I've held, and thus I usually get interviewed by CEOs, MDs or GMs, and a lot of egos there. But I've never had to deal with any unprofessionalism exhibited in the thread
If I walk through an open office plan on the way to the interview, I'll immediately ask if that is where I'll be working. I have very few deal breakers (mostly because I don't have a life) but I just can't open office.
I once worked as a warehouse clerk for a large European sports goods manufacturer ... but my direct employer, was a temporary employment agency. My contract stipulated that work clothing such as safety shoes would be provided by my employer. They were then deducted from the second pay slip ... listed at the very bottom ... and printed extra small. As if I wouldn't read the pay slip so closely anyway. We, I read it ... and got my money back, after I complained. In addition to me, 39 other people were hired by the temporary employment agency at the same time ... and all of them needed safety shoes. I also brought this to the attention of my colleagues, who worked with me at the same manufacture. They all got their money back. My bosses weren't exactly my biggest fans after that ... but I did a good job, so my manager at the manufacture liked me. But I quit after 7 months anyway, because the thing with the safety shoes wasn't the only deviation from the promises, made in the interview.
In the US, if they pay you well, then you will stay there at all costs. work overtime, work weekends, that's just how it is here. my dad hasn't had a vacation without working during it since i was 6.
As someone that's worked in an office environment, stay away from an office environment. I’m not talking about a family business with a few employees, I’m talking about large companies, that employ hundreds and thousands; where each individual has their own agenda and where the company doesn’t care about one ant in the formicary. Office politics will affect you; you’ll be part of a bigger picture that Bob Ross has not painted for you.
I currently work for a company that is international. They treat their employees like they are the best thing they've ever seen. We do work hard (because of the line of business we are in) but we have our down time too. But they make the downtime fun, they pay handsome bonuses and the management puts themselves on the same level with the new employees...no one acts superior or better than the person next to them. It took a lot of bad jobs to get to the one I was really really wanting.
Load More Replies... Living in the Netherlands I once applied with an American company. The interviewer kept going on about what I could do for the company, how I would have to commit to the company and what an asset I would be for the company. As soon as I asked him: "Ok. and what will the company do for me?" the interview was over.
And people from other countries wonder why we have so much hate. Our employers treat us like crap and then they spend millions of dollars lobbying politicians so they can treat us worse.
Load More Replies... to prepare them for the real world, I tell young people: "all jobs suck; find one that sucks less"
I look at the furnishings, and more important, how consistent it is throughout the building. I think it gives some indication of how management cares for their staff. I interviewed for an engineering position years ago. The front office was beautiful. Plush carpeting, nice wallpaper, paintings on the walls, big potted plants. We walked through the sales department where there were cozy offices with big wooden desks and high-back leather chairs. Then we arrived at the engineering department. One big room with no windows, whitewashed cinder block walls, worn out coffee-stained carpet, water-stained ceiling tiles, a hodgepodge of old metal desks and file cabinets. It looked so depressing I wanted to just turn and leave right then.
Very good indicator that they treat the staff like crap. At my office we don't even have a break room. Very telling.
Load More Replies... It's far easier to be confident in an interview if you already have a job. You've got more power to walk away from these red flags. But a lot of people are at an interview as they need a job and are honestly a bit desperate.
The problem is, most companies know that there is at least one person out there desperate enough to fill the job.
Load More Replies... As a software engineer, one of my biggest red flags is an interviewer who does not have any technical knowledge about the skills that are required for the job and that acts a little bit 'hyped up'. Sure, I get it Brenda: you want to free-ride on the tech hype, but if I ask you what kind of applications your company makes and you can only give me a vague answer or if you want to see some of my work although you have clearly no idea what I am showing you, that will be a big no for me then.
When I was 19 and just starting out I interviewed for Woodforest Bank. I was applying for a teller job and got asked where I see myself in 10 years. I was young and ambtsious and also wanted to run my own company so that's what I said. Never heard back. 3 months later I applied for another position at a different branch. First question they asked me was if I told the RM if I wanted to run my own business. I said yes and that was the whole interview. Never work for anyone that doesn't want you to pursue your dreams, even if it's not with them.
Hire the best people, pay them well, let them do what they are good at, give them what they need to do the job, don't piss them off, keep them as long as you can, let them go.
Load More Replies... Turn-offs: 1) Job ads that trumpet unimportant benefits like 'great snacks!' - sure sign of an underpaying overworking position. 2) Job ads that say things like 'rock-star wanted!'. Yeah - you want us to be superhuman. No thanks. 3) Job ads that say 'young dynamic atmosphere!'. Underpaid job and ageism as well. 4) Jobs that make you re-enter your entire CV into an online database. Plus answer a bunch of other detailed questions. Takes close to an hour and you never hear back anyway.
Tip from my brother: Photocopy your letter with the date and time of your interview appointment and highlight the date and time. Take it with you but don't let on that you have it. He was accused of getting the time and date wrong for a couple of interviews because the boss wasn't there to do the interviews, and he pulls out the letter and hands it to the person who has received him... and he walks out
There are so many more. 2 years ago, I was asked why I'm not to be found on facebook. There are several reasons I won't join that site, but after I finished explaining, he asked again: "No, the REAL reasons! I wanna know what you are trying to hide!" - I didn't leave immediately, but more because of politeness than anything else...
What?! Wow thats unbelievable. Why is it their business?
Load More Replies... If the pay is below average but "we have a great incentive plan", RUN. Their "incentive plan" will be horribly sabotaged to the detriment of 90 to 99% of employees. Especially nasty when it's "team-based" or "tier-based" incentives. Post-interview, be very wary of a new manager that makes everyone re-sign code of conduct agreements; read those documents before you sign, there's more than a few managers that make subtle changes to the grand detriment of their employees. And if they ask if you will be able to "fulfill all the duties of the job", make sure you have them specify that they mean the duties listed in the job description; otherwise they can potentially use that as an out to get rid of you later by adding a job duty they have learned you cannot perform and using that statement as leverage against you.
ask them how many people have held this position the last year? five years? ten years? If they won't discuss that, there is a turnover problem. Oh boy, you get to be next. Turnover problems are always the company's fault: bad management at several levels; unsafe workplace; endless free overtime without compensation or consideration; grossly unfair pay for the market norms.... RUN WHILE YOU CAN!
And the flip side. People that state their availability times to work but after they are hired suddenly want to tell you all the times they can't work. Constantly showing up late and blaming transportation or childcare issues. Show up late but damn if they don't want to leave exactly on time. Clocking in as they roll in the door but then spend 15 min getting ready to work. Excessive smoke breaks. I love the idea I heard about non-smokers getting extra vacation days to make up for all the extra time off smokers take off during the work day.
We get this a lot. Once I had someone tell me they had to go home for the rest of the day because their kitchen cabinets fell off the wall. I knew they were single and lived alone so I asked how they knew they fell...they turned really red and couldn't give me an answer. Was fired for not showing up not long after that.
Load More Replies... My "favorite" red flags for it jobs are: "needs to be able to work in highly stressful environment" (no thanks, I value my health, and don't like heart attacks), "we need kick-ass developer..." (they will want to you be genius for low pay), "we have a dynamic team of young people" (want only young developers so they can pay them less and make them work overtime), unrealistic lists of requirements and what you need to be expert for and have at leas 5 years of experience, but still be young (no one is that smart to know all those unrelated things, and if someone young is that smart he will not work FOR YOU), "salary is very small, I know but we have lazy bags, tv-s, kitchen, ping-pong table, darts etc, it's fun, people stay here all day (I am not here to play or watch tv, and stay until 9pm, I am here to work and go freaking home), "you get to travel with me and stay in hotels wink-wink" (boss in there, I was younger then, no way, dude), employees that look like scared bunnies etc...
"Looking for a highly motivated person to join our fast-paced, dynamic company." (Someone desperate enough to put up with a disorganized company that is always behind schedule.)
Load More Replies... Unfortunately EVERY job has these office politics and tactics. I've worked in schools in the UK as a teachers assistant and its exactly the same, low pay, long hours, expect you to always go above and beyond and rubbish training opportunities.
Mine should have been when the manager did not have a spot available in the position I wanted, but if I gave her two weeks, she might have a spot for me. In the mean time, she said, I could work this other position. I was a fry cook for three months before I got to be a driver and the first two weeks as a driver all I did was wash dishes because corporate couldn't get my driving status sorted out even though they were given all the information about my car, my insurance, and my driver's license.
Financial service field here. I'm not senior but work with C suites mostly due to the nature of the roles I've held, and thus I usually get interviewed by CEOs, MDs or GMs, and a lot of egos there. But I've never had to deal with any unprofessionalism exhibited in the thread
If I walk through an open office plan on the way to the interview, I'll immediately ask if that is where I'll be working. I have very few deal breakers (mostly because I don't have a life) but I just can't open office.
I once worked as a warehouse clerk for a large European sports goods manufacturer ... but my direct employer, was a temporary employment agency. My contract stipulated that work clothing such as safety shoes would be provided by my employer. They were then deducted from the second pay slip ... listed at the very bottom ... and printed extra small. As if I wouldn't read the pay slip so closely anyway. We, I read it ... and got my money back, after I complained. In addition to me, 39 other people were hired by the temporary employment agency at the same time ... and all of them needed safety shoes. I also brought this to the attention of my colleagues, who worked with me at the same manufacture. They all got their money back. My bosses weren't exactly my biggest fans after that ... but I did a good job, so my manager at the manufacture liked me. But I quit after 7 months anyway, because the thing with the safety shoes wasn't the only deviation from the promises, made in the interview.
In the US, if they pay you well, then you will stay there at all costs. work overtime, work weekends, that's just how it is here. my dad hasn't had a vacation without working during it since i was 6.
