Red Flags to Look Out For When in a Job Interview
- Amy Leighton
- Mar 18
- 2 min read
Job interviews are so stressful, you may forget that an interview is actually a two-way street.
Not only is an employer checking you out but you’re also assessing whether or not you want to associate with the company you’re interviewing with. Since you’re under stress, it may not occur to you to look out for red flags that can come from an employer during the interview process. Here are a few to notice.
They are inconsistent.
Realistically, if an employer is trying to recruit a candidate, they should be on their best behavior to attract a solid employee. If you find you’re left in the dark about next steps or worse yet, “ghosted” by them, then look at that as a blessing in disguise. It’s common courtesy to let a candidate know what to expect or that they weren’t the right fit for the next stage of interviews. Also pay attention to frequent rescheduling as this may be a sign of poor time management and disorganization.
Unclear work culture.
GenZ has placed more importance on fitting in with an organization’s culture. Culture can be represented in things like celebrating an employee’s success, providing health perks, or opening lines of communication between upper management and employees. You want to see a strong company culture represented to know if you’d fit, so if a company can’t give you a picture of how their organization works and what’s important to them, that could be a red flag. It can represent that an organization won’t be focused on your wellbeing.
Asking inappropriate questions.
Many employers are aware there are questions they can’t ask, but if you experience this anyway, it is definitely a red flag about a company’s intentions. They aren’t allowed to ask about your personal information as this can be used for discrimination, especially when you’re in the screening phase. So you shouldn’t be asked about your family life or marital status, sexual orientation, or age. In addition, if an interviewer focuses on questions about your personal life rather than your professional experiences, this could indicate a situation where they will micromanage and feel an ownership over your life outside of the office.
Looking for a job takes a lot out of you from sorting through job descriptions to making sure your resume passes AI to preparing for an interview.
Fortunately, you can look for clues as to how an organization operates even before you step foot into that interview. Pay attention to their efforts of communication with you and take an honest look at what they show you from the start. All of these tips will give you a good insight into whether this is a company you’d like to work for or not.
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