People Share Red Flags To Look Out For During A Job Interview

Finding a job can be a tricky situation these days.

It feels like everyone is searching high and low.

But even desperation and financial concern are not enough reasons to take just any old gig.

Some career opportunities are too good to be true or a complete disaster.

Can't you just feel the unease in the air when you enter into certain interviews?

That pit in your stomach, the gnawing in your gut, is your sixth sense telling you to run.

Listen to that feeling.

Not every job opportunity is an "opportunity."

Sometimes it's a trap.

Redditor photo_inbloom wanted everyone to expose the reasons they dipped fast from a job option, so they asked:

"What’s a red flag everyone should be aware of when attending a job interview?"

No Wallet required

"If you have to make any financial investment into the company in order to work there."

"I interviewed for a window installation company and did well on the test. They wanted me in sales and said I needed to pay for a laptop. They would cover it and take it out of my checks if I didn't have the cash to pay upfront."

- random5654

wallet GIF by Product HuntGiphy

Extra Hours

"Well, the overtime isn't mandatory, but most folks stick around after hours most days."

"Spoilers: The overtime is mandatory."

- babyjaybae

"Had this happen in an interview."

"My interview was scheduled from 10 am through 3 pm, with a lunch meeting, meeting the technical staff, and finishing up with the Director of PMO. I gelled well with the technical staff, got along well, and felt pretty good about it overall."

"Then the final interview window came up, and the HR rep said 'Oh so-and-so is running late, can we meet up in 30 minutes?' which, of course is not too bad. Then 35 minutes later (at 3:35pm), the HR rep finds me again and tells me he got stuck in meetings, and can meet me in an hour. I said sure (stupid me), and walked around outside (in 90 degree heat in a suit and tie), waiting for my turn."

"I returned to the office in time for the interview, and was sat in the interview room. It was well past 5pm when the Director of PMO showed up, and two questions in I requested to remove my jacket and tie (as I was sweltering; their AC wasn't working and RED FLAG IF FACILITIES AREN'T UPKEPT!). His response was... not stellar."

"I ended up not doing too well with that interview, as the interviewer was more interested in gotchas than achievements, things like 'You have 9 of 10 technical qualifications for this job, but why not 10/10?' Plus, he seemed irritated at having to do an interview in the first place. Later I found out some of my work buddies had worked there, and said that place was a sh*thole."

"So this is a double red flag, one for keeping people late (even if they're not paid), and another if the management can't organize a simple 30 minute interview, they won't be good to manage your interests, wellbeing, and future either."

- Oo__II__oO

They Look Messy

"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."

- _SweetSorbet

"Out of high school, I started working in construction, the first company I worked for told me they wanted someone who would stay longer than six months. I was like, yeah, I want to stay longer than six months. They kept demanding more and more work in worse and worse conditions and I started applying to other companies. So much better working with a company that didn't treat me so poorly. I see why so few made it past six months."

- Jdjdhdvhdjdkdusyavsj

Thanks Anyway

"I brought up a company’s awful Glassdoor reviews and they got so mad they ended the interview. Well. Guess I dodged that bullet."

- Adorable_xPrincess

"As soon as the interviewer asked if I had any questions, I asked why they were always advertising (admin job) and she yelled and said we are here to work and we get people that don't want to work. Told her that had I known who I was mailing my resume to, I wouldn't have (it was a blind newspaper ad). Had my rejection postcard in the mail the next day."

JUST OPENED UP

"If they tell you on arrival that the job you applied for is no longer available, but they have a VERY SIMILAR position that JUST OPENED UP - leave immediately."

"It's a bait-and-switch tactic coupled with the sunk cost fallacy. The 'new' position will be identical to the original one you applied for - except the salary is significantly lower. They're hoping that you'll play along because you showed up to be interviewed, are probably desperate for work, and will accept any job - no matter the wage."

"Furthermore, the position you applied for doesn't really exist - or at least not at the advertised wage."

- sheikhyerbouti

Just Sign Here

"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."

- Elegant-1Queen

Signing Under Contract GIFGiphy

Something is Fishy

"If they lied about the salary on the posting."

- Accurate_Screen_6012

"YES! I have had this happen THREE TIMES."

"The first time was in the fourth job interview (4 office visits!) I was confused as to why negotiations around stocks and PTO were going weirdly, and I finally asked if they were even willing to pay the salary stated in the job ad. They were not, and I politely thanked them for their time and wished them good luck finding someone experienced and knowledgeable to meet their needs at that price point."

"The second time turned out to be someone pretending to hire for one company but were really starting a competing business. And they were only willing to pay inequity - no salary."

"Third also only wanted to pay inequity but didn't have a clear business plan, just some patents. I'm done interviewing at very early stage startups."

- thesecretmarketer

Cast Your Vote

"They asked me my political opinion which I didn't think was right."

- cleverwall

"I've been asked what university my father went to... he was a farmer! And what kind of house I lived in as a child? What kind of clubs my mother belonged to (the local women had some kind of handicrafts-get-together; does that count?) and a variety of other questions clearly meant to make sure they only hired people from higher social strata."

"I gave some bullshit answers, then left."

I also had an interview at Microsoft a long time ago. They used to ask which of the seven dwarves was your favorite, and why. I answered 'Grumpy - we have so much in common!'! Ask stupid questions, get stupid answers."

- internet_commie

Handbook Please

"I’ve more than once left a job and they tell me about exit policies I’m supposed to know that were in the employee handbook. I explain I never received a copy of the handbook and they smugly go look for the form they think I signed when I started, but on starting I always just tell them I can’t sign a form saying I received the handbook if they haven’t given it to me and they just never bother giving it to me. HR always seems upset they can’t catch me in some gotcha moment."

- Razor1834

Expectations

"A red flag is when the interviewer doesn’t ask about your experience or skills in detail but focuses on your willingness to work long hours or handle excessive workloads. It could mean they expect you to overwork."

- itsjordanxx

"I have to throw this in here, but whenever the interviewer just doesn’t seem interested. I interviewed with Tom’s, the shoe company."

"The manager called me about 10 minutes late with only a few minutes to talk. And she interviewed me while she was huffing and puffing to her next meeting."

"All her questions and responses came across as annoyed and disconnected from the conversation. And I felt like I was wasting my time. She killed all interest I had in the job, the organization, and the product with one lame phone call."

- IllZookeepergame9841

No-Brainers

"One I never see people mention that I absolutely should have paid attention to..."

"Any implication that the role you're taking on is easy and/or not that important. Either this or any signs they may be underestimating the amount of work involved."

"Seems like a no-brainer, but this gets let slip at interviews a shocking amount."

- OhMyGodBearIsDriving

"I’d add to this if the position name is something not very standard for the duties involved. They’re either underpaying you because you can’t look up the standard rate for that job title or they’re underestimating how important your work is or both."

- ___sea___

No Hugs Here

"The biggest red flag I ever got was, 'We're looking to replace this woman who is dying of cancer. I'm trying to get her to quit but she won't. We'd have to put you in a small place in the basement but when she dies, you'd get her place.'"

"Not exactly warm fuzzies."

- FenisDembo82

No In-Betweens

"Employees are either new hires or have been there for 15+ years with no in-between. There is no room for improvement - it's better to leave for advancement."

- PerfectxDollx

"Or like a place I worked at, one person had been there 15 years and the rest had been there 3 years or less, some even less than a year."

"Later on we found out the 15-year employee was a terrible human being on multiple levels and had basically run everyone else off while playing the victim."

- Historical_Gur_3054

Near Miss

"I interviewed with one of the big ticket networks. It’s based in Southern New England."

"The pre-screen call with the hiring manager went well and our views about writing code, source control and documentation were spot on so I thought I’d give it a shot."

"When I arrived they took my driver’s license from me and told me they’d hold it while I was on site. Then they wanted to do a credit check while I was taking a series of grammar, basic intelligence and JavaScript tests."

"I told them there’s no way I was going to get my credit dinged with a hard credit check before an offer. The woman from HR… just. didn’t. get. it."

"I made sure they stopped the credit check, collected my license, and walked out."

"I sat in the car for a minute, thinking about the very odd vibe of the place, how they treated me, and wondered about the culture of a place that would do these things."

"Since then, they have been outed for a whole bunch of issues, including [big surprise] HR ethics."

"Looking back, I never should have considered working in that place."

"I’m very happy where I work now, my boss is smart and flexible and I’m doing good work — as opposed to screwing concert goers. Near miss!"

- NorthNorthAmerican

Never Settle

"'Nobody wants to work anymore' - You're about to find out exactly why nobody wants to work for them."

"Seriously, every single job I've worked that said that during an interview was toxic and grossly underpaid."

- No_Recognition_1426

"I recall watching some new segment on the supposed inability to find workers after COVID and how some were claiming it was the free money from the government. They interviewed someone just railing about how they couldn't get anyone to even interview. They were paying minimum wage. The interviewer came back a few weeks or months later and the place had found employees without a problem, once they started to pay a reasonable wage."

"Turns out the real phrase is nobody wants to work a shi**y job for bad pay."

- naphomci

ASAP!!

"Being hired on the spot. I always thought it meant I was a great candidate, and if they didn't hire me on the spot I bombed the interview. Looking back, they only hired me on the spot because they were desperate to find another person ASAP. Every job I've had where I was hired on the spot made it very clear why their turnover rate was so high. The ones I waited a bit for the job offer ended up being great places to work."

- placeboeffex

Work Working GIFGiphy

I do worry about the "Can you start today?" aspect sometimes.

Like, how fast are people jumping ship, friend?

And more importantly... why?

But I've worked around that issue.

My bigger concerns are always the cult-like expectations of loving the job or the environment.

You can just see it in a manager's eyes.

You know they've given over their lives and now they need yours to feed the beast.

Well, you can't have me.

Bye, Felicia!