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What would you consider a red flag in a job description?

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What would you consider a red flag in a job description?

Mine would be if a job description says "we're a family", "Rockstar" or "work hard, play hard".

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  1. Anonymous

    I saw this on a LinkedIn post: My favorite: "We are looking for a jack of all trades, must be prepared to do everything everywhere and be ready to do unpaid 15 pages test task."

  2. Bella

    "Unlimited earning potential"...is going to likely mean a pretty low salary with bonuses req'd to supplement it. Prepare to work your arse off with unrealistic expectations.

  3. Sharmil McKee

    Unlimited earning potential = commission only

  4. Kat

    I saw one that said something like "have to be comfortable with multiple interruptions and be willing to drop everything at a moment's notice" - hard pass. That says you've either got too much work for one person to do or you're bad at managing time and projects. Another one mentioned at least 4 times that you had to be comfortable with heavy phone work, which means that you can expect to be chained to your headset all day-no thanks.

  5. Sharmil McKee

    Heavy phone work=sales.

  6. Heather (she/her)

    Family, hit the ground running, self-starter, a really detailed job description with lots of high-level responsibilities but then asks for only 5 years' experience

  7. Anonymous

    And the pay is $15/hr.

  8. Anonymous

    “Must be detailed oriented.” Like someone’s going to say in an interview “oh not me. I’m a big picture kind of gal! Details annoy me.”

  9. Laura KE

    "Ready to roll your sleeves up" means that they're under resourced and you'll be doing two people's jobs

  10. Sharmil McKee

    Right, and it means that they haven't developed a training program. So, the job is sink or swim.

  11. Anonymous

    When I applied for the role I had now, they said must have a sense of humor. I didn't see it as a red flag though, I really like the job. One thing I don't like are surprise guest in the interview. To me that seems like HR isn't trusted to make the decision. I understand seeing multiple people, but not as a surprise.

  12. Anonymous

    Must be willing to work in a fast-paced, high-pressure environment, is usually a hard "no" for me.

  13. Marian Davidson

    "Unlimited Vacation".

    When your benefits package articulates "X" days vacation, they need to grant the time off, or pay you for unused vacation upon your departure (subject to some rules). With "Unlimited Vacation" they are not under any obligation to give you specific time off.

    I've found that the managers and senior folks are getting tons of time off (one in a parallel position has had 12 weeks off this year) while the worker bees have to do all the work and are told that they cannot be spared.

  14. Anonymous

    You’re probably right: but as

    (1) a hard-working woman with a chronic illness who needs adequate sick days (and 5 days per year isn’t enough),

    (2) a Jewish employee who needs about 5 extra PTO days per year due to the Jewish holidays (Passover, Rosh Hashana, etc),

    I love unlimited vacation for those reasons!

    In the end, the actual solution is to give us American workers adequate vacation time and sick days to cover it, right from the beginning (like the amount that is standard in Europe). But sadly, that’s unrealistic for now!

  15. Anonymous

    Family.

    I have a family. Every time I worked with "family ", I'm expected to spend evenings out and ostracized when I'm legitimately busy.

    I'm friendly and helpful, but at the end of the day, I go home.

  16. Anonymous

    As a new employee, traveling to a meeting and having your new boss ditches you for dinner

  17. Tiffany Baker

    Agreed! I cringe when I hear "we are family". I am there to work. I am a team player but.... Family means very different things to me than being at work.

  18. Anonymous

    Providing lunches or snacks = they expect you to work 24/7 and never leave.

  19. Anonymous

    Definitely the purported "We are family" statement. It's used so often now, its lost whatever meaning it might have had. If family treated me like some of my previous employers - I would no longer have much to do with them.

  20. Ayian

    Emotional language/negativity in a job description. If the writer feels it is appropriate to discuss problems they've had with someone in the position or writes an inane requirement due to a past employee, they're showing you where their boundaries are: they have none, which means they will violate yours and probably gaslight you if you attempt to defend those boundaries. Steer clear.

  21. Anonymous

    I saw a job description just like that yesterday. They're looking for an assistant front desk manager at a local resort. Job description reads more like the front desk manager (not assistant manager), but front desk manager isn't mentioned at all. Thing that really got me was the "we're open 24/7/365 and all of our employees need to understand that," which means you're probably going to have to work when you don't want to but get over it. Writer sounded annoyed that employees might actually have a life outside of work.

  22. Nina Johnson

    Vague job descriptions like "we all wear lots of hats here" or no job description at all. Vague salary talk like "earning potential" or a huge salary range like "$35K - $125K." Lack of specific work hours may hint at no boundaries regarding when time-sensitive requests will be made. Lots of references to "stress" or "high-paced" may indicate they aren't good at assigning balanced workloads or planning ahead.

  23. Jess

    “Additional duties as required” can be a red flag. It either can show that everyone on the team is a team player and everyone steps up to help each other, OR it is a catch-all so they can throw every random thing at you and give you too much work with no pay increase.

  24. Anonymous

    Nearly every JD has this clause unless the job is for menial labor that only has a set number of tasks. This covers them for inadvertent tasks or other things that might change as the business model does. I have ALWAYS been assigned tasks that fall into this category, not because they are outside the realm of what my job is about, but because they weren't enumerated along with the other 20 or so duties in the job description.

  25. CosmosMom

    ”We are all a family”

    in my experience that means they want unrealistic sacrifices of your time and labor.

  26. GirlBossanova934974

    I have 3 red flags. 1) When the job title and the job description don't match. The title says they want a web analyst for example and the text of the job description says they are looking for a salesperson to sell their stuff. 2) When there is a long laundry list of skillsets and experience in specific areas that only a company insider would know. Clearly, the job spec was put out to SAY they advertised the position. 3) When the company inserts a bunch of knowledge questions into the application. Upon review of the questions, a simple Google search reveals the answers to the questions.

  27. Sharmil McKee

    Right. A laundry list of skill sets and experience requirements tell me that they don't have a training or L&D program. No thank you.

  28. Rosey Rosetty-Wagner

    When the job description is incredibly long but does not match the compensation package in equal length. Including when it’s a short job description but lists upper management effort for low wages, i.e. advanced problem-solving, supervision of employees, etc for something like $15 an hour or less.

  29. Anonymous

    Duties as required...

  30. Sharmil McKee

    I agree. That sentence means that role is undefined, so there will be reporting issues, boundary issues, and you will wear multiple hats. No thank you.

  31. Anonymous

    Exactly!! Screaming disorganized. I see chipping in occasionally but that's it.

  32. Sonya Mayfield

    Covid vaccine requirement.
    Some people may say "well, they just never took it off ." But my problem is they even had it to begin with, even if it is in healthcare by now more care should be taken and making sure the job description is relevant. And the fact that it had a requirement at all tells you everything you need to know about the organization, especially if it is not health care related

  33. Anonymous

    A vaccine requirement is waivable for those with real medical risk, and is also in the best interest of all workers. The requirement protects vulnerable employees and those with vulnerable family members. You're right - this requirement tells you the company is putting the welfare of ALL their employees at the forefront, so if that keeps you away, ...

  34. Julie E

    I would hope people working in healthcare, especially with patients, would be vaccinated. My MIL died from COVID she got from her home care nurse.

  35. Anonymous

    Do you have similar feelings about measles, mumps, rubella, polio, and flu vaccines?

    I wouldn't have been able to complete my MBA had I refused a measles vaccine.

    I have zero issues with companies wanting their employees to be safe and protected. Covid is real (even if it's slowed down or fallen out of the news lately) and vaccines work.

  36. Anonymous

    That’s your prerogative, Michelle, but a COVID vaccine requirement (medical exemptions allowed) tells me that the employer cares about the well-being of its hires and its customers.

    To me, a COVID vaccine requirement is a plus.

  37. Anonymous

    Agreed. My organization required it when I was hired. Best place (benefits) I've ever been

  38. Anonymous

    I am actually wary of 100% remote roles (with a corporate office somewhere) that leans heavily on independent work and self starter. In my experience that means they don’t yet know how to include their remote staff very well. Leaving remote workers very independent and therefore not very effective or connected. Not to say avoid interviewing but definitely a flag to dig deeper.

    My other is grammar. If there are numerous issues with spelling, dropped sentences, the company employees are too busy to be thorough.

  39. Anonymous

    I agree about being a “family”, I already have one thank you. I am not a “rockstar” I am not sure why a company wants that for an administration job ( I don’t think Mick Jagger and I are in the same field). One big red flag is lack of role clarity and line management. Many companies leave those ambiguous and that causes issues when you take the job. Also in the interview if they ask you a question about how you completed a successful project or initiative in great detail and take too many notes (outlining step by step) it may be that they are actually seeking information but not necessarily hiring. That happened to me, they asked how I would expand the market internationally they asked many questions about a strategic plan I created for another company, then they stopped the hiring process for an executive position. A few weeks later they published a global outreach plan on their website

    for their stakeholders and members - it was my outline!

  40. Anonymous

    Not necessarily in the job description but watch out for jobs that seem to be always open. Or check to make sure there isn’t multiple positions open in the same department. Could be a sign that they can’t keep anyone because of bad management.

    also within the interview process for a management role if you’re asked multiple times if you’ve ever fired someone. Should have been a red flag. I was newer to management and they asked about 3 times throughout the interview process. Was a toxic environment where upper management was too impatient to train people properly so pushed to fire people quickly. My next job search I was never asked that question from any of the multiple places I interviewed.

  41. Anonymous

    Absolutely on point!
    We're family means we're dysfunctional like one, we'll be in your business all the time. You might have to spend the holidays with us! I kid you not, happened to me on July 4th at one job. Rockstar means don't be over 30 but we'd ideally like you to be in 20's and high energy. Don't apply if you're older. Work hard, play hard= you will take your job home with you and love it. We're super competitive to the point where people will get injured one way or another. No biggie because they're only casualties as those that really want it badly rise to the top. Our work culture is toxic to a T and we're darn proud of it! Brilliant list btw! Also mine is if they don't state salary and the descriptions of your job are vague or there's a laundry list that includes too many responsibilities. If they want someone who loves to wear many hats, you're doing everything short of scrubbing the toilets! Nothing wrong with housekeeping jobs BUT if you're admin and doing that, there's definitely something wrong there. Even if it's a small company, don't have your office staff take turns doing that. Actually pay someone to do this job! Admin janitor is not a job, at least last time I checked.

  42. Anonymous

    Family definitely equals nosey people. Heard it before! Then they want to be a Facebook friend. No thanks. Bad enough I see you 40h a week!!

  43. Laura Schnur

    I am laughing so hard at these because it is all so TRUE. I’m a teacher - principals now do the hiring. When I first started the HR superintendent hired and placed you - principals did not get to spend their days at job fairs and interviewing endlessly. It was better this way. My favorite red flags are “we are a family here” - to which I cringe because families do not get along and that means this will be a big problem where I’m expected to play along with offensive people or I will be labeled the offensive one. Another red flag is when you are told to wear Hanes beefy t shirts for spirit days and random days during the week - so I can walk around feeling like a man or a refrigerator - these genderless clothes do not flatter me in any way and I can’t wear them as it makes me so uncomfortable I want to change immediately. I like my professional teacher look and I don’t know how wearing ill fitting and unflattering clothing makes me a better teacher or an example to students… nor does it show “unity” or team spirit. None of these strategies impact students the way they think anyway- 1/3 of the class has a sports jersey and remembers to wear it. Pajama day was another problem for me - I don’t want to be in my pajamas at work - lots of teachers love it - it just me as I have to go out and find some flattering pajamas to wear to work which again makes me insanely uncomfortable… here’s another red flag in an interview - can we call your current employer - no you cannot - but they do it anyway - and they refuse to acknowledge that there are lunatics out there who will say anything to make sure you don’t get to leave - particularly when you are trying to find a better position for yourself. Honestly the rock star thing has me going too- most rock stars are alcohol fueled and drug addled - why would I want to be like that????

  44. Anonymous

    Yes to all, especially the bit about the family. My family can be highly toxic, From the ones that have issues with addictions and alcohol to those with severe mental illness. Then there are the big sisters, the middle kids, and the babies, all of which match the stereotypes exactly. I have a hard time spending more than one or two days with my family [of origin], so I don't want to work with them.

  45. Sharmil McKee

    Hahaha... "families don't get along". Spoken truth!

  46. Anonymous

    Truth about Rock stars !!

  47. Anonymous

    "We are a rocket ship" which really means we are going to stick you in a highly pressured tin can of a culture where you will be stuck with your coworkers 24/7. And don't even ask for a potty break.

  48. Anonymous

    Sadly, we know what happened with the tin can under pressure: submersible.

  49. David Heitzmann

    "family" = "toxic culture" and "work hard, play hard = no balance" ....
    i think you nailed the top two!

  50. Anonymous

    Rockstar drives me crazy. Unless you are joining a rock band, no one is a rockstar.

  51. Davacenia Adams

    A nursing job that is paying twice what a comparable position in a same type of facility. I mean why tho? Last time I fell for that I ended up in a ltc facility where the patients were selling drugs out of their rooms and gun fire was an occasional problem. GUNFIRE! Yeah so um.... no.

  52. California in UK

    in my experience a "fast-paced environment" means that workloads are sometimes unrealistic

  53. Sharmil McKee

    Yup, and the pay does not match the workloads. When I see that phrase, I swipe left.

  54. Anonymous

    A huge variance in a salary band.

    Using the term “Rockstar”

    Having ping pong tables or similar games in office

  55. Anonymous

    Yes! Also, allot of drama...

  56. Anonymous

    "We are family ".

  57. Bradford McCormick

    One that burnt me: Work that requirs specialized knowlege and focus not just moving boxes from one place to another:

    "Half time working in department A on project B, and half time working in department X on project Y."

    Real meaning: Two full time jobs. And since they are concurrent you get confused about what applies to which one and not the other. Even more than double pay would not be enough because of the cognitive dissonance.

    A waking nightmare.

  58. Anonymous

    "we expect you'll be wearing a lot of hats" = we want to do everything but we don't want to hire for it. See also: "unicorn".

    "ninja" = the hiring manager is David Brent

  59. Vanessa Wharton

    We want you to do three jobs and pay you for one!

  60. Vanessa Wharton

    Able to multitask. It’s really best to focus on one thing at a time. This says to me that “you are going have several things thrown at you from different directions and different people all at once”….kinda like the EA descriptions will be supporting 3-6 EXECUTIVES. ??‍♀️

  61. Anonymous

    yeah, but some jobs DO require multitask.

    Like, I'm in transportation and being able to coordinate all the logistics in order to properly plan multiple loads literally requires keeping up with a lot of details simultaneously.

  62. Anonymous

    This is true. There isn't an expectation that one will literally work on multiple projects/tasks at once, but it's not linear, either. I recently let someone go because, among other things, they couldn't handle more than one thing at a time, and sometimes that one thing took a REALLY long time (in one case, 4 months) to complete. No sense of urgency and no sense of planning.

    No job I have ever had saw me working on only one project at a time. Perhaps the word "multitask" is a red flag in and of itself, but evaluating the ability of a candidate to handle multiple projects and successfully prioritize, time block, etc., is a requirement.

  63. Anonymous

    Grammar mistakes is a big one. One tiny mistake is fine, but any more than that it cringes me out. It shows lack of care at best and ignorance at worst.

    Job descriptions that are more than two-three paragraphs. If you can't sum up the job enough in that amount of space, it's too much. I'm not reading all that.

    A job that keeps coming back on the market. I actually got my current job because the person who was hired before quit after a few weeks, but that was only the one time. If it keeps coming back every couple weeks like my old workplace because they couldn't keep anyone long term because of multiple issues... then there's probably multiple issues.

    A little past the description, but if what they offer you pay-wise at the interview is different from the job description, flee. Once, a job description told me 15$+ an hour. I get there, and the boss offered me 12$ an hour. I only took it then because I was desperate. Only because my trainer pestered the boss for the "rate the description offered" was it raised to 15$ after 2 months because she said it wasn't right I wasn't given what the description said I would get. That place was terrible.

  64. Anonymous

    Grammar mistakes can also just be a sign of a non-native speaker and should be viewed with grace

  65. Keitsitse Losaba

    I have seen a company repost the same position for over 6 months. They post, get applicants and obviously don't get, however, I have heard that they have certain salary ranges from friends who used to work for the company- so my assumption was I didn't get the job because I ticked all their boxes except salary. They have even resorted to approaching recruiters for the post. I thought LinkedIn was enough.

  66. Yana Myaskovskaya

    I've worked for companies that had a lot of the listed "red flags," and at a certain point in my life (late 20s - early 30s), I loved it.

    Like anything else, it's more nuanced – I worked for a humble and high-expectation leadership team (definitely both "work hard, play hard" and "we're a family") at a time I was willing to sacrifice some of my work-life balance to grow in my career, and it really paid off for me personally when I became an executive at 35. They really were (and still are) like family – I can call many of my colleagues and they will happily pick up the phone, talk about work challenges or personal issues, and mentor me when needed.

    For me, red flags look more like "work with the best in the business" or "MBA preferred" or "X years of experience with a large or boutique consulting firm." What that tells me is that a company cares more about the credentials and having the "right resume" than you do about somebody's actual relevant experience (and I say this as somebody who both attended a top-10 university and worked at one of the most-coveted software companies globally).

    The reality is that folks with ambition who want to make a difference often have experience with small startups you've never heard of. Problem solving and strategic thinking are woefully under-taught at some of the U.S.'s more coveted universities. Some of the most challenging consulting partners I've worked with came from the "Big Four" because they tend to focus on breadth, rather than specialization and proper training.

    The startup CEO at one of the companies where I experience rapid growth told me that he "would rather hire somebody with something to prove than somebody with a perfect resumé," because those are the people that worked hardest and turned out to be the most impactful.

  67. Anonymous

    you sound like the perfect prey for the red flags ?

  68. Yana Myaskovskaya

    There is nothing wrong with liking a certain company culture and recognizing that what works for one person may not work for another, or even the same person at different stages in our lives. I was pointing out that some of these "red flags" may not be that for a specific kind of ambitious individual who recognizes that "rocket-ship" cultures can lead to career growth with some trade-offs. I don't consider myself prey, since I went in fully aware of what I was sacrificing and I made the choice consciously.

    At the time, I worked for a large software company that exhibited none of these so-called red flags, and I greatly disliked it because I wanted to grow rapidly in my career and that was not the culture at this larger company. I had specific priorities that weren't being met – somebody else may prefer stability over opportunity and risk. At that time, I was willing to sacrifice some "life" balance and take some calculated risks to get ahead in my career, which paid off very well for me both financially (I held significant options with a startup company that became a Unicorn) and in terms of job growth.

    It seems rather judgmental to assume that any woman who makes the decision to join a startup company would be preyed upon purely because she has ambition and is willing to make the necessary trade-offs for rapid career growth. I'm not saying it's for everybody – I'm simply pointing out that red flags are different depending on what you're looking for in a job match.

  69. Awa Fofana

    My son says, "when it sounds like a Robo". He always says he can read a text or an email and know when its a scammer or a bot. Some are really sophisticated, but many have a pattern. Notice the wording and pay attention to the email address and the signatures. Do not just pay attention to the name of the sender. Check the actually email address that is cloaked under a name.

  70. Anonymous

    A huge red flag in a job description would be that the company quotes excerpts from a book that they call their "core values" and expect their prospective employee to fully embrace that philosophy.

  71. Chris Roden

    Your correct, especially when their Core Values and Code of Conduct basically that they can discipline you up to termination for any negative comment on social media, or anything that might make them look bad. The NLRB has stated that complaining about working conditions, which is seen in a negative light, is a protected concerted activity. They also say they take possible bullying or harassment accusations seriously, but you report it, nothing happens, and you then go on fb and complain about conditions and treatment, the bully says you threatened him on fb in a post that don't exist, and in less than 24 hrs, your fired. Also, beware any company that states safety first quality second, because they are more likely to be the ones to put production numbers above all

  72. Anonymous

    I agree with you Chris. I work with a company just like this. And yes, they've stated that they can and will terminate you if you don't embrace their philosophy or teachings from the book (which is controversial - you either like it or don't). And if you don't like or agree with the philosophy, then you are deemed "not fit for the company" and thus let go. So if anyone sees this on a job description - that the company follows the teachings of a book - then run, fast, scroll past.

  73. Anonymous

    I got laid off when I divorced my abusive ex. New owner religious and had hod own core values. Too bad I was let go under a different premise

  74. Anonymous

    This made me almost snort coffee from my nose!
    So true! They’ll beat you over the head with those “core values” that are so ambiguous, you’d think they were written specifically to let go of employees.

    At the same time, you’ll definitely see something about everyone being heard - as long as it fits the undefined “core values.” I worked in a hospital QA role with these values. The most Non-“humanistic” group of people I’ve ever seen gathered in one place. Corporate life was more “humanistic.”

  75. Monique M. Angers, ARM, sHRBP

    Fast paced, quick learner a must, mutli-tasking, etc. To me, that is a prep to a quick burnout!

  76. Anonymous

    And/or a lack of any sort of organized onboarding.

  77. Anonymous

    Totally these! “We’re a family” and Work hard, play hard” are so cringeworthy!

  78. Brenda J

    lol, some places REALLY mean it! ?

  79. Anonymous

    Many of these phrases were created in the 80s to give the idea of inclusivity but when you see any of these splattered everywhere, run, don't walk away. 'We can do it when we work together' is my brightest red flag.

  80. Anonymous

    These weren't around in the 80s. Trust me. I was there. That was a time when work meant work. It wasn't your family and it wasn't a place to play. They watched your every move. Two 15 min breaks, 1 hour lunch. It was a very different time. I worked for a very large computer company and the only way anyone got a job there was through friends or relatives, or job placement centers. The rah-rah warm and fuzzy stuff came along much later in the 2000s and grew exponentially.

  81. Julie E

    “Must be flexible” and “available to work occasional evenings and weekends” always has me keep scrolling. The first means we’re going to dump everything on you and you’re going to like it. The second screams no work-life balance. I’m also leery of the family statement and employee-owned. I’ve been a business owner and it’s not the same. When you own your own business and work harder you’re way more likely to be financially rewarded for it in additional revenue. With employee-owned that’s not the case unless you’re at the VP level.

  82. Anonymous

    "Must be flexible" and "available to work occasional evenings and weekends" -- usually means retail and will be working evenings, weekends, and clopens. Ask me how I know......

  83. G C Hesse

    Oh let's see....1] haven't been awarded the contract yet

    2) I don't want hear anything about your hobbies

    3) not really sure where the office will be

    4) you are expected to come in 9n Fridays and clean the office building.

  84. Virginia Shaw

    We have a strong culture, everyone is valued, these send me running

  85. Anonymous

    This thread is giving me a huge belly laugh!! These are so good.

    red flag "beer in the office, corn hole tournaments, enjoy a game of ping pong while taking Zoom calls, pizza parties" --- this gives bro/frat house vibes to me.

    red flag "must be willing to use your personal electronic device to take work calls and answer emails 24/7"

    red flag "please complete this work assessment / role project in the next X hours/days to be considered for employment"

    Granted, I've done these sorts of assessments/ projects for creative gigs (not many), but I've learned this isn't wise to do as some companies have been known to steal people's ideas and they don't compensate them for their time...oh and you, don't get the job. To counter this request, I share my portfolio and if they still want you to do this assessment without pay and without a legal doc that protects your work, then it's a HARD NO for me.

    red flag "job descriptions stolen from an HR role profile library, generic descriptions/vague so you reverse search it and find a copy of it on Google search."

    red flag -- jobs that have been open longer than 90 days.

    red flag --- jobs that don't list a pay range AND the ones that do, you learn they can't pay you in that range based on where you live. Or, you apply to the job anyway and learn they aren't willing to pay you a reasonable salary that supports your basic cost of living expenses.

    red flag --- jobs that auto-reject you within 5 mins to an hour of applying...and no explanation given.

    red flag -- they use Workday

  86. Lynne Haines

    Why a red flag for the use of Workday, specifically? And Why jobs being open for more than 90 days?

    As to listing salaries, an awful lot of job listings never post such an item, so I have to dig. I have also seen posted amounts that differ from actually pay amounts; hours too for that matter--not cool to lie about that!

  87. Anonymous

    90 days....I'm thinking the OP sees picky employer

    Not sure of Workday??

  88. Barbara

    What is workday?

  89. Anonymous

    I hate workday ???

  90. Anonymous

    Same here! I don’t like having to create a workday account for every job I apply to for different companies. Plus, it doesn’t always parse my resume correctly, but all other ATS’s do.

  91. k1 k2

    A JD that is asking for a developer, BA, and PM all from one person. Surprisingly common and a guaranteed bad time.

  92. Anonymous

    “Our people are our most important asset.”

  93. Anonymous

    Upbeat and communicative atmosphere: YOUNG people. I'm not against that, but I won't last as I'm older

  94. Anonymous

    I agree with the above.

  95. Shelly Maki Isherwood

    Jobs that don't reveal pay in the ad, anonymous employers, asking you to jump through hoops before even talking or meeting with you (and even then, it's suspect). Things like skills/personality tests, proving your worth by doing some sort of work for free, treating an interview like a one-way street, and ANYTHING that makes you uncomfortable. I take a hard pass on applications that are too long and cumbersome. If a company’s actual application is repetitive and cumbersome, I abort. Getting messages that read, “You didn't complete your application,” are hilarious to me.

  96. Rachel

    Agreed

  97. Barbara

    Excellent points. I’ve endured all of those practices and will not ever do them again. It’s like dating. You feel violated like you’ve given away all on the first date just to get ghosted! Those idiot psych tests are the worst. I wonder what they do with that info!

  98. Anonymous

    I recently did one of those psych tests for a "reputable used car sales company" that took 2 hours to complete! I went through with it because I used a connection within the company to forward my resume to the hiring manager. All of that work and I Never heard back. I should have stopped that psych test after the first 15 minutes. It was mind-blowingly aggravating.

  99. Anonymous

    I went through everything you said above and now make so much more that I was able to sock away $100,000 in my retirement in a little over a year.
    Sometimes, the arduous recruiting process is to weed out those who are not hungry and don't have a "Why". Think twice. I am so blessed to have went through what you call red flags for it to be a diamond on the rough. *IN the rough

  100. Anonymous

    Group interview where there’s a lot of happy, rah-rah group think. Run.

  101. Anonymous

    For me the EEO, Equal employment opportunity section. I spoke to someone today who changed her race to “White” for an application she was once denied to and she got called for an interview immediately.

  102. Letha Marshall

    I understand why she did that. It's a painful truth of the state of things right now.

  103. Anonymous

    That's really sad.

  104. Zofia Janeczek

    Sad but true statistics were tested that the people that got the most interviews were still the common denominator: white, male, American, and simple non-foreign names. People with complicated names faired worse, and so did minorities, and women, especially women of color. It's almost 2024 and this is the America we currently reside in and it's a disgusting shame!

  105. Barbara

    Great question! Those are excellent red flags. “Looking for energetic multi-tasker” translation …young slave with no life. Some ageist practices ask for the year you graduated high school or college. OR admin positions where the job description is really the description of the president of the company. All the responsibilities but none of power. Or pay.

  106. Kat

    Speaking of ageism, I've noticed things like "early career position", "will consider unpaid/internship experience" or "ideal for recent graduate" in job descriptions. But if I'm interested in the job and have the required skills, should I bother applying? Anyone more than 5 years out of university is clearly not what they're looking for. But they're ruling out plenty of excellent candidates for no good reason. It's very frustrating.

  107. Anonymous

    Some roles say not more than x years out of school.

  108. Anonymous

    Well, some will simply say recent graduate and word it in such a way that they add ageism to it, it's implied and not stated, however you know they won't hire anyone older. Many older students might be out of college but they'd still not get hired with this company as they just don't want to hire middle-aged workers point blank! What kills me is the management in these companies a lot of the time is not older but old and old school.

  109. Anonymous

    the ones that basically say you gotta work 24/7
    they say "m-f be available weekends, be willing to work overtime" that type of lingo tells me they DO work OT. lol
    some will trick you with "occasional overtime " which imo is normal. But i learned my lesson the hard way, some will lie in saying "occasional." I suggest straight up asking them during the interview on average how many hours do your colleagues work per week and ask how many weekends in the last 2 months have they had to came in.

  110. Zofia Janeczek

    Common trick used in warehouse jobs. Before you know it you're working 6-7 days a week doing 12 hour days! I also love when start time is designated however finish time is not or it's until finish. Meaning when there's work, they'll work you to death. When there's no work, you'll end up on government assistance despite being hired full-time. Also, mandating that you can not have another job while you're employed with them! Yes, this is a thing. The employer believes they pay you enough at $15 per hour for you to have no secondary job conflicts. No wonder people are struggling to survive!

  111. Anonymous

    If they say all of that and you choose to interview, RUN don't walk away from the interview because you're gonna be sleeping at work! LOL Any company that asks you to be able to be basically on call 7 days a week better compensate you and well for that! For example, many truck drivers are actually on call for their job, they can turn down the run at times, and at other times they can't. They work every shift there is out there and it changes every week. However, they are compensated well for this. The good companies will pay full benefits, are union, and they'll make 80-100K a year or more.

    I do not wish to be an office worker who is on call 24/7 for $15-20 per hour because companies are taking advantage of the recession.

  112. Tara Dixon

    I don't like when they don't have a salary range, but I guess there could be different reasons for that

  113. Heather (she/her)

    I agree - it would save everyone a lot of time and hassle to just be transparent about salaries from the beginning.

  114. Anonymous

    You are being too logical!!!! (I agree: that would help HR for fewer applicants!)

  115. Ravyn007 Robins

    When they list a large number of skills but then say it is an entry level job or they only want someone with 1-3 years of experience. This means they want someone who knows things that take years and years to master but they don’t want to pay for it. Also when they list different areas of expertise in the same role which basically means they want someone to fill the role of 3 people but don’t want to pay for it.

  116. Larisha Shelman

    When the requirements for experience and preferred experience are night and day different.

  117. April Line

    When they call a mid-level or senior role "entry level" and offer $30k.

  118. Anonymous

    Even worse, when an entry level role requires you to already have 5 years experience at the role.

  119. April Line

    Yeah--that's not entry level.

  120. Anonymous

    That's pretty much every entry-level job right now. What they're saying is that we need someone with experience but we're not willing to pay you for any of that! We know the economy stinks and that someone will probably be desperate enough to take the job.

  121. Elizabyth Harrington

    Any talk of salary based on location. The fact that I live in a place with a lower cost of living doesn’t mean the employer is entitled to save money by using my zip code to justify paying me less than another person doing the same job.

  122. surfnwrite

    "Going above and beyond."

  123. Farah Bajwa

    "fast paced"

  124. Barika E

    Not posting salary and changing the title of the role

  125. Farah Bajwa

    The company I work for decided to remove the salary ranges out of all job descriptions, "to allign the role better with the individual ," and I'm like, the cost of living has skyrocketed! If I'm well outside the salary range, why are you wasting my time?

  126. surfnwrite

    They are hoping to get someone to work for cheap.

  127. Anonymous

    "comfortably to work in a stressful environment"

  128. Anonymous

    Had an interview today. Woman (Financial Controller) was poorly spoken, looking for 3m for a candidate and needs someone to start immediately do she's not doing all the work. Prior candidate didn't last; quit for other opportunity. Said she went from Accountant to Controller in 6m and said I'd have a FAST track up the ladder. Something didn't feel right and although I can do the work, I sent the "not a good fit" letter a few hours after although I immediately knew: no. I also wish I counted the number of times she said "um". Thank God it was a Teams interview. Better yet, I read poor reviews.

    Sad thing is: I'm used to the crap and this potentially could be good for career. However, listening and getting a bad vibe- I'll let this go. (Not desperate yet!!!!)

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