Candidates Reveal 4 Biggest Red Flags in Job Interviews

What do job seekers find the biggest problem at an interview?

To find out, data analysts at HR community People Managing People analyzed 5,172 comments from a Reddit thread titled “Interview Red Flags That Reveal a Toxic Job.”

Experts say interviewers should set positive expectations, be transparent about the role and the organization — and avoid saying the following.

“You are joining a family”

The #1 twist for candidates can be surprising, turning a concept that’s usually considered positive into a troubling one.

A review of Reddit revealed that the #1 red flag was the use of the term “family” to describe a company.

“Maybe it’s meant to convey that the organization is collaborative and team-oriented, trusting and respectful,” said Anna Cowell, a talent acquisition consultant at Washington-based human resources consulting firm Helios HR. “But it can be a way of describing an environment where unending loyalty is expected or commitments go beyond typical job duties and hours.”

Instead of the warm and fuzzy, people can be reminded of family dysfunction and toxicity, said JT O’Donnell, career coach and founder and CEO of Work It Daily, a career coaching site in Portsmouth, NH

O’Donnell recommended that instead of using a corny metaphor, employers should convey the connection to family through examples. “What are the stories to support that claim?” she asked. “People expect you to help them visualize what it would be like to work there. Say “This is a place where everyone’s voice is heard” or “This is an environment where you will be supported.” “

Recruiters and hiring managers better be clear and find thoughtful ways to explain workplace culture to candidates, Cowell agreed.

“We really need you to say yes”

Another red flag is when candidates think hiring managers are desperate for the position or hear the role has a history of turnover.

“Recruiting is a high-stakes business, and recruiters can lose track of how what they’re doing looks on the outside,” Cowell said. “Managers can be overzealous in their communication, sending multiple follow-up emails to passive candidates who don’t seem interested. It can be difficult to let a candidate go when you think they’re perfect for a role, and there’s a fine line between enthusiasm and desperation.”

She said that’s why it’s important for recruiters to honestly present the candidate’s interest in the role to the manager to help mitigate expressions of desperation.

“Saying ‘We need to fill this job yesterday’ or ‘We need to fill this job ASAP’ feels like advertising,” O’Donnell said. “Job seekers would prefer to hear something specific to understand the need for the vacancy.”

If candidates ask why the position is open and how long it has been open, transparency is the best option. “Have an answer ready,” Cowell said. “If the role is challenging in any way, be upfront about the limitations or difficulties, giving candidates the opportunity to make an informed choice about whether or not to continue in the process or move on.”

“Long hours but worth it”

Mentioning long hours and a crushing workload, even in exchange for valuable rewards, is another red flag for some applicants.

“There is a shift and employees expect to have a reasonable work/life balance,” Cowell said. “You want to keep in mind that your culture reflects your values, and if that involves working outside of traditional business hours at certain hours, it’s best to be upfront about that. People want to be successful if they believe in what they are doing and know what is required of them.”

Experts agree that honesty about the less glamorous parts of the job is the best policy.

“If working long hours is out of the question, then find out what kind of person likes that style of work,” O’Donnell said. “Ask employees who find satisfaction in that environment what they like about the culture, and then take that message to the interview. It’s better to embrace it and say, ‘Yes, there are long hours, but that’s why the compensation is so high and the benefits are so great.'”

Cowell said an important part of the interview process is giving job seekers a chance to make their own choices. “You don’t want to hire someone who isn’t going to be successful or happy in the role.”

‘So you’re married?’

Inappropriate or offensive questions are sure to stand out as interview cues. In a recent SHRM survey of more than 1,000 recruiters, 24 percent said it was somewhat or very common for hiring managers to ask inappropriate interview questions during the hiring process.

“You want to avoid anything that suggests you’re trying to pry into their personal lives and personal preferences,” O’Donnell said.

Cowell said questions to avoid include potentially discriminatory questions like “What are your plans to start a family?” or “How old are you?”, and she also advises against asking silly, off-the-cuff questions like “What superpower would you like to have?”

“Be careful and deliberate about the questions you ask, and make sure they’re job-related,” she said.

“Interviewers should be more focused on what a person’s drivers are and why they want to work for you,” O’Donnell said. “Ask, ‘What makes you want to come to work every day?’, ‘Why would you want to work at this job?’ can respond in a work context and can also choose the personal aspects to share.”

Ultimately, Cowell said, job seekers need to be open-minded about what might appear to be red flags in an interview. “The red flag could just be poor communication. It’s worth digging in and getting clarity, asking ‘What do you mean by that’ or ‘Tell me more’ rather than shutting down and thinking that work must be a bad place to work.”