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Job Interview Red Flags That Scream 'Walk Away!'
But most people need a job.
And right now, times are tough.
But some jobs, no matter how desperate, people will walk away from.
A person has to procure sanity of coin sometimes.
Redditor your-reddit-plug2 wanted to discuss the job interviews that went south real fast, so they asked:
"What's a red flag in a job interview that says 'walk away?'
Hustle
"'We like to hustle and not limit ourselves to regular office hours.'"
"...NO THANK YOU!"
- rhubarb-81635
Good Bye GIF Giphy
Offers
"When they try to offer you a salary that's lower than what they're offering. Like, the job ad says $50k-70k, but they try to offer you $40k."
AND they try to justify it by saying you're 'not experienced enough.' Except you ARE experienced enough, you might even have more than enough experience."
- Throwaway03461
"This happened to me in 2021 when I interviewed for a Project Manager role at my wife's company (albeit in a completely different division than hers)."
"During the HR screen, I stated my requested salary was $95K, 10K over what I earned at the time. The HR person said that there was no problem and passed me on to the next stage. I interviewed with the potential hiring manager and then had a two-hour panel interview with my potential colleagues."
"Everything went well, and they extended me an offer. That offer was for 75k; 20k LESS than what I asked for and was agreed upon. This was also 10K LESS than what I earned at my job at the time. There was no way in hell I was willing to take a pay cut, especially since I didn't need to."
"When pressed on the sudden decrease in salary, their HR gave me some nonsense excuse about 'band level equity' and 'unknown budgetary constraints.'"
- phlostonsparadise123
Body Language
"During one of my interviews, as I was talking to the hiring manager, I could tell he’s a little sarcastic, power tripping, bi**h. His assistant was sitting across from me, and he looked depressed, like he just wanted to quit on the spot. Sometimes the red flag is reading people's body language on how the boss enters the room."
- Sir_Wank_aL0T1
Lies...
"I once answered a few questions at an interview (as a record store manager), and their third question was 'When can we schedule a lie detector test?' Of course, not being an idiot, and knowing that this is against state law, I jumped at the chance, just for the experience."
"By the time it was over, they thought I was the Unabomber."
- DougOsborne
High Hopes
"When they expect you to treat a dead-end job like a career."
- Patient-Public9728
Stepping Stone
"My first salaried job out of college was at a small independent company that serviced the welding industry. The president (51% owner) and vice president (49% owner) were common-law married. The Director of Operations was the president's best friend and heir-apparent. The head engineer was the vice president's nephew."
"If you weren't part of that clique or weren't thin, blonde, blue-eyed, and attractive, then there was zero chance you'd enjoy any upward mobility within the company. I left for my current company after 22 months; I later heard the president b*tched me out for using him and his company as a 'stepping stone.'"
"Well, yeah, all dead-end jobs can be used as a stepping stone to something that's hopefully better."
- phlostonsparadise123
$$ Talks
"They won’t discuss salary or benefits."
- Fit-Promise262
"Yeah, it's a big red flag if they treat you wanting to know salary like you're asking something offensive."
- justprettymuchdone
Make It Rain Money GIF Giphy
Being Better
"Had an interview for a sales position the other day and they said they only hire women, because 'women are better at sales, am I right?' I’m a woman, but idc, f**k that sexism. Comes off as creepy as hell."
- jawshankredemption94
5 YEARS
"Interviewed for a six-figure job, and they wanted me to commit to a 5-YEAR CONTRACT while being paid 30% less than the average market rate. They said if I left before the end of the five years, there was a $50,000 penalty, and I couldn’t work at a competing business within 30 miles. I wanted to negotiate around what they were offering and at least write in guaranteed annual 6% raises to outpace inflation, but they wouldn’t even budge on that."
"So you want me to make you millions of f**king dollars while you sit on your greedy a** and, in exchange, gracefully pay me super s**t base, guarantee no raises, and keep me hostage in your business?"
"I still can’t f**king believe the recruiters seemed to try and talk me out of walking away when I said no."
- DontWreckYosef
SURPRISE!!!
"I once showed up to an interview and they seemed surprised I was there, despite it being my scheduled time to interview. It then took them an hour to track down the person who was supposed to interview me, and the secretary kept apologizing about how bad the office smelled because 'something crawled into the ceiling and died and they haven’t got it removed yet'. So yeah, there were some red flags for that place."
- productofphi
Competitive
"If you are serious about a job offer, the offer itself should be accompanied by the specific details of not just the pay, but the benefits as well. Health insurance and retirement plans are 25 percent or more of total compensation. I should not have to find out on my first day of work that you only offer exchange plans and do not offer premium support."
"Acting crazy when I ask for details on all the types of compensation is a major red flag. 'Competitive' is just not an acceptable answer. When you make an offer on a house, does your tender letter say you are willing to make a 'competitive' amount without an actual number?"
"In any other situation, you would be seen as an unserious tire kicker. Candidates deserve the same level of care and respect regarding the full financial impacts of what you are offering."
- Deplorable1861
Hostility...
"When the interview is conducted by 4 separate hostile managers who dryly fire questions at you before you can finish answering the last question. 'I'd gladly answer your question once I'm finished answering her question if I still thought I'd be interested in a position here. However, based largely on this interview process, I don't believe that's still the case. I can see myself out, thanks.'" True story."
- dasuglystik
Look Whos Talking Now Omg GIF Giphy
Training
"This one's for younger people. If you have to pay money out of pocket for it, it's probably not a job. If you have to pay for 'training' or to cover the initial cost of something or other. It might be normal to pay for a uniform or something, but even that should be able to be deducted from your first paycheck or whatever."
- samsuh
I Walked Away
"When the job turns out to be something else, compared to what was mentioned in the job ad."
"I once went to an interview about a job that would end up with a degree in carpentry after working there under the supervision of a senior worker for a set time."
"What they actually offered was the job of monitoring a production line that made kitchen worktops from recycled plastic."
"I walked away."
"Some years later, the company was in the headlines for having committed a massive environmental crime, releasing microplastics and all sorts of chemicals into nature."
- Masseyrati80
Thanks, Buddy...
"I work in sales, and twice I interviewed where they said they had to lay off their entire sales staff. I turned down the second interview both times. I’ve worked in small companies that have a small sales team of 3 or 4 who quit around the same time. When your work buddy finds a better job, it inspires other team members to do the same."
- raerae1991
So, that...
"The worst job of my life, after my interview, I was talking with one of my prospective coworkers, and he told me, 'You don't want to work here.' So, that."
- not_thrilled
Save Schitts Creek GIF by CBC Giphy
Some jobs are just not worth it.
How do any of these people in management get these jobs?
That is the real question!
The red flags are ALWAYS there!
And trust your gut!