What are some "yellow flags" — or things that make you take pause — in an interview or job description?

What are some "yellow flags" — or things that make you take pause — in an interview or job description?

Maybe it's not a red flag like reading "we're a family," but something that makes you think twice before applying or accepting an offer.

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7 Comments

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  1. Lesa Edwards, Career Coach & Master Resume Writer

    Hesitancy to answer your questions about any aspect of the work - or indications that they aren't being entirely truthful.

    If you need honest answers - say, about the morale in the office or what type of boss you will be working with - find other ways of getting your questions answered. (I've had considerable success leveraging LinkedIn for this purpose.)

    Unwillingness to be fully transparent may be a sign that things aren't good, and that the interviewer doesn't want to lose you as a candidate by being completely honest.

  2. Anonymous

    Work hard play hard requires more discussion of what that means.

  3. Joan Williams, Senior Talent Acquisition Specialist

    I literally had someone say "we're like a family" to me in an interview this afternoon. She seemed to think that's a good thing. My reaction is RUN. That was one of about 8 red flags.

  4. E C

    The worst supervisor I ever had handled our interview with military-like efficiency and seemed desperate to get someone in ASAP. My instinct said it didn't feel right. I became the third person in five years in that role. And they were desperate because this person had two FTE worth of duties. The job descriptions were literally copied and pasted into one document. Knowing what I know now, I would not have taken the job. Listen to your instincts.

  5. Anonymous

    When there is a gotcha written into the job description and it's 1200+ words long (like put your favorite color in the subject line or your cover letter before emailing) or when the tone indicates that random things like this will disqualify your application. Sometimes I just think it;s going to be a hassle to even try...

  6. Anonymous

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  7. Arlene Frances Gottardo (Bryak)

    Huh?

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