There’s risk in walking away from a job interview. In our current economic climate, it’s challenging enough to book one.
If you spot a red flag during the interview, you may not know what to do. Should you walk away? Or is now the time to brush warning signs under the rug?
Regardless of what you decide to do, it’s beneficial to know what to look out for. Sometimes it’s worth staying off the market to avoid the misery of a toxic work environment.
They wait too long to get back
Just about everyone has experienced the frustrations of being left hanging during the job search process. It’s the struggle of almost every candidate.
For hiring managers, it’s time-consuming to follow up with every single applicant. At the beginning of a search, sometimes it’s nearly impossible.
Similarly, if you’ve ever worked with a corporate recruiter, you may know that they sift through hundreds of candidates daily.
With that said, it’s extremely discourteous to leave a candidate hanging for weeks after an interview. If you’ve already started the process and it’s taking weeks to get a response, it’s best to move on. Employers should be giving you a realistic timeframe to expect a response. If you are never informed about next steps, that’s reflective of their management style and in-office communication.
High turnover
Oftentimes, the interviewer will bring up the former employee that served in the role you’re applying for.
It’s a good sign to hear that they served for a couple of years or are leaving for bigger opportunities.
A bad sign is when you hear that they’ve had several people serving that position for a short period of time.
Best practice? Always do your own research. Glassdoor is a great resource for getting an inside scoop on the company culture.
Distrustful of their team
Sometimes this can be hard to gauge from an interview, but you may get indicators of distrust when they talk about their team. Do they shift the blame on their colleagues? Do they begin stories with a negative tone? Do they try to use fear as a motivator?
Ask your interviewer how THEY enjoy working there. Ask them about how they motivate the team. If they can’t conjure up a response, that’s a huge red flag.
They’re unorganized
There’s a lot of pressure on candidates to remain punctual and professional. There’s less pressure on the hiring managers. If the hiring managers cancel last minute or doesn’t provide any information to prepare you beforehand, there’s no reason to assume that the chaos isn’t going to carry over to your work life. Pay attention to the amount of professionalism showcased in an interview.
If you are looking for a new opportunity or you want to hire the best talent, reach out to us at info@jdisearch.com.