We all know how nervous interviews can make us. Don’t just focus on saying the right things; pay attention to the interviewer’s behavior. The first interview tells you a lot about a company.
As talented people, we must be proud of what we offer and the skills we can bring to new teams. That’s why you shouldn’t be looking for any job but the right one— where your skills can shine the most. And believe me, the right job is out there waiting for you to take it!
Be selective with job offers; not all companies are what they seem. Companies will try to sugarcoat and hide their problems during the interview, but some details will always stand out. These are the 8 Biggest Red Flags you can see during an interview. Please pay close attention to them so you can get to know companies much better with only the first interview.
1. Constant rescheduling and poor planning
Inconveniences can happen, either to you or to your interviewer. A few scheduling changes are understandable, but excessive rescheduling might indicate a problem. However, when it happens multiple times, you notice something is wrong.
Time is valuable, and rescheduling a meeting or an interview more than two times is too much. If the company reschedules without a good reason, it shows they don’t value your time. If a company doesn’t respect your time, it’s not worth working for. Employers should respond promptly, communicate clearly, and treat candidates like employees. Otherwise, the candidates will go somewhere else.
Remember that if they show this kind of disorganization, they don’t prioritize the people or the placement. Avoid companies with poor communication and scheduling.
2. Lack Of Clarity
Good questions can reveal company culture and help you decide if it fits well.
Questions like,
- What are the key responsibilities of this position?
- How does this position fit into the company?
- Can you describe a typical work day or week for this job?
- Is this a new position? If not, what kind of position has the previous employee moved on to?
- How would you describe their management style?
- How is success measured in this company?
- How would you describe the culture of this organization?
It will be helpful for your following interviews, so make sure to write them down!
Ask questions to gauge the company’s culture and how it treats employees. This information will surely help you decide whether to choose the company or not. We must pay attention to how the interviewer answers these kinds of questions. Expect clear answers. Vague responses might indicate a red flag.
In these cases, I’d advise you to ask follow-up questions until you feel you’ve received the specificity you need.
3. Inappropriate Questions Or Comments
Don’t be surprised if interviewers ask inappropriate questions. Ageist, sexist, racist, or equally offensive comments are obvious red flags, and it’s something that you shouldn’t bear with. Don’t work for a company that tolerates offensive behavior.
4. Disrespecting Others
Every organization has some natural tension and rivalry between different departments. With a good company culture and fun events, these kinds of rivalries can be a rewarding and productive experience. Unfortunately, not every company is like this.
If you can meet employees from different departments, notice how employees behave with each other to understand the company atmosphere.
Is there healthy competition, or are the employees just disrespectful to one another? If it’s the latter, that is a red flag, and it may indicate that the organization has low psychological safety.
A stressed employee is a bad employee; you can notice an employee’s stress levels through communication and body language.
5. Sudden Role Changes
Don’t accept a job that’s vastly different from what was advertised. Avoid companies that don’t communicate changes. They show that the company doesn’t communicate or manage change well internally and externally.
A company that frequently changes job descriptions might not know what it wants. And it’s totally understandable if the change in the role makes the job less interesting to you. If you’re clear about your value, avoid companies that overwork employees.
6. Don’t Have An Improvement Mindset
When a position opens, mostly in newly developed companies, the organization needs someone to improve the current situation. E.g., Build better products, create operational efficiencies, attract new clients, improve performance, and such.
Implementing these improvements often requires the company to change its ways, and if the person in charge is unwilling to support change and modernize the company, they are hindering your work.
Everyone is entitled to have an opinion, but the boss is ultimately the person who decides whether a change happens.
However, if you are hired to “improve a function” in a company and you feel like your boss is not your ally but your enemy, do you think they wanted to make changes in the first place?
Many managers, CEOs, and business owners don’t have an improvement mindset. They just want to keep the company running the same way it has been for the past years while ignoring any improved methods that might be offered to them.
This “if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it” may seem like it works. Businesses need to adapt and improve to stay competitive. Avoid companies that aren’t open to growth and development..
7. Drawn-out Interview
The interview process should be efficiently planned and optimized to offer the best candidate assessments and results possible. In most cases, it is common for interview processes to have more than one milestone. However, too many milestones can be considered a big red flag.
A long interview process with many assessments and a “practical interview” might be a red flag. Don’t let companies exploit you with lengthy interview processes.
Companies are actively looking to shorten drawn-out interview processes to be more competitive in the war for talent. When looking for a new job, sometimes you can’t wait more than one month to continue the interview. That’s why companies should be as clear and as efficient as possible when dealing with new candidates.
8. Exploding Offers
An exploding offer is a job offer with a firm and tight deadline that expires after the deadline. Even though these kinds of offers are rare, they still occur from time to time, and the pressure that a tight deadline can inflict on a person may cause some people to accept a job offer that they didn’t really want to accept.
This ultimately will backfire for the company because it means that workers will most likely quit their jobs after a few months of working there when they find a job they genuinely like and enjoy.
These exploding offers are ultimatums, which don’t show respect for a person who deserves to make a thoughtful career decision and weigh their options that will affect their career and livelihood for years.
Would you join a company because you are pressured into doing so or because you really want to join? People (and organizations) usually show their true colors in the little details, and companies that issue exploding offers to put pressure on candidates are not likely to respect your wants and needs once you’re on the job and are likely to be inflexible, bullying, and autocratic.
Look For A Connection
Remember that a good interview is a two-way conversation that leaves both you and your interviewers feeling energized and excited about the possibility of working together.
If there is a lack of connection and you feel like the interviewer is just robotically asking questions as if following a script and not really trying to get to know you, it means that they are not interested in your profile, and that’s not a good sign.
In these situations, there’s a considerable chance they have already found the candidate they were looking for, but they still have to go through the rest of the meetings.
Still, no one can perfectly predict how a new job will turn out, so my advice is to look for a connection, a gut feeling that tells you, “I have to do it,” without forgetting to stay alert to the potential red flags that I mentioned above.
Being observant in your interviews, asking good follow-up questions, and knowing how the process is managed will help you lower the chances of making a bad decision and working for the wrong company.
Stay alert, and good luck in your next interview!
See more articles by Ender Cárdenas.
