25 Red Flags To Know Before Accepting A Job
4.
"If it's a private/family company, do a Google search for '[company name] defendant' and '[company name] plaintiff.' If the company has been sued, or is in the habit of suing others, that can be a red flag - although sometimes there are legit reasons for either. But it's something worth paying attention to."
5.
"If the company brings alcohol into the office for 'end of week' sessions on a regular basis. I know they can be fun but it's a stupendously bad idea for all kinds of reasons and if leadership hasn't figured that out then I'd think twice before joining."
6.
"Open interviews. It tells me that people leave faster than you can bring them in, and with good reason."
7.
"If when you're visiting the company for the first time and you pass someone in a hallway, do they smile and acknowledge your presence with a nod or maybe a hello, or do they ignore you? It's a small thing but very telling about the workplace culture. Similarly, do people seem 'healthy and energized' or 'grey-faced and tired'?"
8.
"To me it was a, "we will start you low and will give you a ton of money later." They never do. Never happens."
10.
"Interviewed with a regional vp of a billion dollar company for a sales role. When I asked if the position was a backfill or open due to growth, he stated a backfill. I asked if the person was promoted or moved to a new role, and his response was, “we have had more people quit in 2021 than ever, and it’s because they can’t handle the pressure.” Needless to say, I declined the next step in the hiring process."
11.
"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."
12.
"Anything that the manager says in the interview that doesn’t line up with the job description."
13.
"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."
15.
"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."
16.
"The “sink or swim” technique. It was my first day as a cashier. I got a couple of hours of training, then I was by myself and we were dead. All of a sudden this rush came in and I was asking for help. The manager goes “sink or swim, we’re busy back here, figure it out.”
17.
"If when you are asked to come in for an interview, you are not treated with total respect for your time. For example, if you find yourself waiting for extended periods for an interview because 'so and so is in a really important meeting.' Similarly, if you are not offered at least water and/or coffee if you're in for several interviews. I once interviewed at a place for seven straight hours with no break, no food, not even a glass of water. Fortunately I wasn't offered the job as it was at Michael Milken's firm... before he went to prison."
19.
"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."
20.
"When an employee quits or gets fired from the job and the company doesn't hire anyone new to replace them. It can be hard to tell as a red flag at first, but the temporary workload they added to your own, on top of what was left after the person quit, slowly becomes your new permanent workload, without any changes to your pay or benefits to compensate for the additional tasks. The further out it goes without the position being filled, the larger and more obvious the red flag becomes."
22.
"Competitive pay," but they wont tell you what the pay actually is in the posting or even the interview."
24.
"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?"
25.
"I interviewed once at a very huge organization that had a site in the town I was living in, and these guys were so proud of the new top of the line facilities. When they took me on a tour they pointed out the lovely zen garden area that was made for employees to go “unwind and clear their heads”. The problem with it was this area was positioned directly across from all the higher ups offices. Yeah… no."
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