Planning a Job Change? Here Are 4 Interview Red Flags to Look For

You’ve gone over your financial plan and feel ready to make a job change. You’ve found a posting that sounds like your dream job and have spent hours preparing. This is the role you want. Or do you?

While trying to convince a potential employer you're interested, it can be easy to convince yourself, too. But what if the company isn’t quite the right fit? 

Here are some red flags that recruiters say you should look out for when deciding whether to take an offer.  

The interview process is disorganized

The recruiters reschedule your interview at the last minute. The call starts late. You wait weeks to hear whether you got the job. These signs of disorganization at the outset can reveal a lot about what it would be like to work for that employer.

“Pay attention to the interviewing process for its entirety,” says Zahria Little, an executive recruiter at Clarke Caniff Strategic Search. “Take into account things such as timely feedback, communication, transparency and professionalism. If the company can’t even keep an interviewing process organized, how do you think other aspects of their business operate?”

Pay close attention to how long it takes for the company to set up interviews, adds Ralph Chapman, CEO and owner of HR Search Pros. “If they keep rescheduling the days and times, keep changing who you will be speaking with or just keep dragging out the interview process, you will want to get some answers as to why this is happening,” Chapman says. A scattered process can signal the company may regularly demonstrate a lack of respect for their employees’ time and boundaries.

Interviewers avoid answering your questions

After you’ve answered all the interviewers’ questions honestly and thoughtfully, you should get a chance to ask questions in turn. 

While you won’t want to appear too critical during an interview, indirect answers should concern you. “It is important to ask a lot of questions throughout the interview process and it is equally important to pay attention to how the interviewer is responding,” Little says. “This is especially important when asking questions related to culture, job responsibilities and why the position is open.”

If interviewers are avoiding tough questions or refusing to address negative information that is publicly known, Chapman says they may be trying to hide something from you. “That can be a big sign there are other issues within the company and you might want to steer clear of them.”

The company’s culture or values don’t mesh with yours

The feeling you get for the company’s overall ethos is an important component to consider.

Little says it can be challenging to take pride in an organization if you don’t share its values. “It’ll impact your day-to-day work negatively and you’ll find yourself back on the job market in less than a year," she says.

She suggests reading the interviewers’ body language when asking questions about the organization’s goals or culture. Are they smiling when talking about how much they love their roles or the company? Or does it sound rehearsed?

Chapman is a fan of doing research outside of an interview to further determine if the company culture is a good fit for you. You can start your research online, but he recommends speaking with current and previous employees to get their perspectives on the role as well as additional insight into the company.

Enthusiasm is lacking

An important point to keep in mind is that interviewing is a two-way street. So pay attention to tone of voice and body language. “Just as a candidate is expected to show some level of excitement when interviewing, it’s important for the interviewer to show the same,” Little says. If you aren’t feeling the same enthusiasm from the interviewer, it’s likely that the individual isn’t happy with the company or their role.