Red Flags to Look for during a Job Interview

Posted: 15 Apr 2014 08:20 AM PDT

 

During a job interview, the interviewer is trying to decide if you are the right fit for the job, but it is also your opportunity to determine if the job is the right fit for you. As a job seeker, it is always important to conduct due diligence, but the process of identifying red flags is that much easier if you prepare for the interview. There are some red flags that you can spot before the interview, and at that point you can decide if it is worth it to pursue the opportunity.

  • § Prior to the interview, conduct in-depth research on the company so that you can ask intelligent questions during the interview.
  • § Speak to former employees to find out about employee turnover and the work environment. This is much easier today because of social media and easier access to company information. The last thing you want to do is to work in a toxic environment, or for a company that has a bad reputation.
  • § If the job ad has limited information such as no contact or company name, or lacks any other information that would prevent you from doing thorough research on the organization, think twice.

Additionally, here are some red flags to look for during the interview.

  • § You ask a question such as “Can you give me some examples of the types of projects I may be working on?” and the hiring manager is either unable to respond, or provides a vague response. If the hiring manager is unable to clearly answer specific questions about the role, that’s a red flag because she is supposed to understand and know the requirements of the role.
  • § If the position appears too good to be true, it probably is. Proceed with caution and conduct more due diligence because you do not want to miss out on a genuine opportunity if everything is legitimate. Another related red flag is if the hiring manager is pitching or selling the position too much, you may want to stop and ask yourself, “why?”
  • The hiring manager offers you the job immediately after the interview. That would be lovely, except that’s not how the world operates these days. Companies are usually interviewing more than one person for any position, and there are often rounds of interviews for each job candidate. If this happens, it is time to probe and ask more questions.

There may be reasonable explanations for one or two things that appear to be red flags if they are looked at in isolation, but if you are seeing many little signs that something may not be right with the opportunity, pay attention. Organizations are not created equally, therefore the onus is on the job seeker to evaluate every employment opportunity.