10 Red Flags often found in an interview??

Hidden truths about your interview and how to navigate them.

Lets talk about it !!

All of us have given an interview at some point in our career and have heard certain phrases from the HR or the hiring manager, as well as come across certain scenarios that have left us perplexed. The untrained eye is often oblivious to the actual meaning of those phrases, recruiting jargons and are unable to decipher the interview given or the experience of it and ask "What happened ?". This article is aimed at helping you (the candidate) to identify the "Talk", spot the red flags and be aware of the hidden. It will help you gauge the interview yourself as well as ask deeper pertinent questions where applicable, to reveal the actual from the hypothetical. Read till the end. Let's start with some of the familiar ones.

1. "We are looking for someone to hit the ground running.." A very common phrase probably as old as time when the first employee was hired. This phrase is often used during the interview to show how active and engaging the job will be and how urgently this requirement needs to be filled. Well, at the outset it may seem like a reasonable request; every business would like to hire a capable and experienced person who can handle the role without any down time. But this may also mean that the person will not get much onboarding or support at the start and almost no time to settle in or that the teams is short staffed and under a lot of pressure to deliver. This can be really tough as every organization is unique. Potential issues like culture shock, team and hierarchical dynamics, visibility as well as undue pressure to deliver at the out set; are not considered. It may lead to a sub par performance by the newly hired as company/ manager expectations are often high and in extreme circumstances it can also be detrimental leading the newly hired to resign. Such a situation can be avoided by the employer by incorporating a robust progression plan or having a strong business continuity plan in place. This ensures that the business does not suffer, there is already an existing resource that can handle the deliverables and that if a new resource needs to be hired that person gets enough time to assimilate into the business. If you hear such a comment or phrase during the interview you should ask the hiring manager to elaborate on it and set expectations at the outset rather than be surprised and stressed after joining.

"..may also mean that the person will not get much onboarding or support at the start and almost no time to settle in.."

2. "We are like a family.." It sounds comforting, makes you feel important and valued as family member, right? Well, not to sound too cynical but if you hear this "run" or realistically at least become cautious. This often signals a toxic culture where boundaries between work- life balance are blurred or at least is questionable. Family means different things to different people not everyone is willing to connect with colleagues on a deeper level or lay bare and discuss their personal issues. This type of phrase is said to portray a positive company image in the market and make the new hire feel safe and secure. Such work places foster a power dynamic where employees are often taken advantage of and it make the employees feel underpowered, almost like in all families parent- child or sibling relations work on relational dynamics. If you don't develop a good connection with your manager or colleagues you will not succeed and can be often overlooked or neglected. The employer rather than brand their organization as a family, should rather promote a healthy and constructive culture based on empathy, realistic expectations, setting professional boundaries and common interests. The candidates on hearing the phrase "We are like a family.." in the interview should ask probing questions like where and how are the "family values" demonstrated. Ask questions specifically about work-life balance and how does the organization facilitate or promote it.

"This often signals a toxic culture where boundaries between work- life balance are blurred or at least is questionable. Family means different things to different people...."

3. There is lack of clarity in job description & expectations - There is a subtle difference between a Job description and Job expectations. One was drafted so that it can be advertised and the other is all the things often not mentioned in the JD. Though they may overlap and where the Job Description chalks out the KRA's; Job expectations drafts out the qualities and competencies required to be successful at those KRA's. If during the interview information regarding responsibilities, reporting structure or goals are not clearly outlined and discussed; the organization is in disarray and they are using the interview process to figure this out. This often times is a result of a new position being created or there was a change in the structure. If you face such a situation it is wise to be direct and ask the reason as to why clarity does not exist. Most likely you will get a reasonable answer which will comply with the above scenarios but if the question is avoided or a vague answer is given, that's a red flag and the recruiter or the hiring manager is hiding something.

4. High Turnover - It's always a good practice to do some research on the organization and the Job you are considering to interview for. Gathering information to questions like what happened to the last incumbent or if its a new position and what was the need to create a new position are all good information to possess. Answers to these can tell you a lot, like if the previous incumbent was promoted or took up a lateral position, indicating promotions and growth is apart of the company culture or is it a new position because the team is expanding or a new division is being setup, all positive indicators showing that the company is in its growth spurt. But if you see repeated Job postings for the same role every week and month and if you ask about it during the interview and they say that it is so because they haven't found the right candidate even though the position has been open for a while or the previous incumbent resigned, its a red flag and it should make you put on your thinking cap. Possible reasons for a high turnover could be that the company is having a hard time keeping someone on that role possibly due to mismanagement, misalignment of the role and responsibilities, a stressful work environment or employee satisfaction is very low. The higherups pay a close attention to this metric then why not you? as a candidate it impacts you more as you are looking at that company as a future employer and if that company has a high turnover something is not right.

"Possible reasons for a high turnover could be that the company is having a hard time keeping someone on that role possibly due to mismanagement, misalignment of the role and responsibilities, a stressful work environment or employee satisfaction is very low.."

5. Prolonged interview process- Every organization has their own hiring process, consisting of various methods for candidate evaluation and number of interviews depending on the industry and the seniority of the role being hired for. Every company has the right to do their due diligence so that the right person is hired for the right job. But there are no 'purple unicorns' as its famously said in the HR circles, its just a phrase stating the fact that there are no perfect candidates only qualified individuals. Many companies in order to find that purple unicorn tend to go overboard with their evaluation processes and draw out the interviews over weeks and sometimes months. Unless you are applying for the top most head honcho role or a critical role that impacts the core business directly, you should not waste your time engaging with the lengthy process. This is a red flag as it usually means that either they are not sure about your candidature or they are not sure about filing the role and are just trying to delay until they get clarity. If you are already in the middle of the process and its drawing out its always good to politely ask the hiring team or the hiring manager as to why the process is so lengthy and provide a feedback on the candidate survey if the company sends you one.

6. Bait and Switch- Though not a very common scenario but if you notice that the role you are interviewing for is not the one that you applied on. It is highly possible that the JD posted was a bait and they are trying to sell you a role that they are desperate to fill or are trying to convince you to join on a lower position than the one advertised. Needless to say that 'change is constant', one of my favorite phrases about the corporate world. If the recruiter or the hiring manager does not explicitly point out or discuss the changes in the scope of the role with you, it is a big red flag often indicating that they don't communicate well with the stake holders internally and/or externally. Also it's well worth noting that if the change in scope is random or suddenly communicated during one of the interviews it means that the role was not well drafted initially and not a lot of evaluation was done to judge the need of the position. This may lead to the position becoming redundant as soon as some clarity kicks in or a change in the management occurs. Be cautious of this as your future and lively hood stands at stake. If the role is not properly defined or described with anchors like reporting matrix, if its an individual contributor or a team handling role, what will be the team strength, which specific business unit will the role be under just to name a few, it is dubious and do not accept the opportunity.

"..if the change in scope is random or suddenly communicated during one of the interviews it means that the role was not well drafted initially.."

7. Future promises and "competitive salary" - Various things are discussed during the interview process and especially if the role is critical, many promises are made to make the role more lucrative. It's common that the role, responsibilities, culture and future opportunities are often amplified before being sold to the candidate. Promises like onsite visits, responsibility to lead a team or lead a project, promotion in a short duration and performance bonus etc. are made to attract the candidate but unless those promises are S.M.A.R.T and or written on the job offer it is not wise to believe it and its is a red flag if the recruiter or the hiring manager is trying to hard-sell the role using those promises.

"Competitive salary" is another jargon that's used to advertise a role as ambitious and the company as a good paymaster willing to pay the right salary for the right candidate and the 'salary is no bar'. The reality is that all organizations have an annual budget, where all positions are budgeted for and seldom can they go beyond that. If you ask the recruiter or the hiring manager about the salary and they use this word "competitive" it's a red flag. It usually means that either they are not paying as per the market standard and they know it or they have not chalked out the role requirements, scope and value of the role clearly. This can lead to disagreements down the line.

"..unless those promises are S.M.A.R.T and or written on the job offer it is not wise to believe it.."

8. The interview is too short- Interviews generally follow a set pattern starting with the hiring manager introducing self and the company, explaining the role and scope followed by candidate's introduction, career mapping as well as asking questions from the CV and closing at the end with follow-up questions and remarks. The entire process on an average should last from 30-45 minutes, in the least not shorter than 20 minutes. If you were nervous in the interview you might have felt relieved that the interview was short but if the interview was shorter than 20 minutes it should have automatically raised red flags for you. There could be number of possible reasons like,

• Resume mismatch i.e. your resume was not screened correctly and that the technical skills you possess or the experience you actually have is different to the Job requirements but unfortunately, the hiring manager has realized this quite late after the interview has started.
• Number game- your interview was just a number to be completed before they could make an offer to a candidate whom they have already identified.
• Bias- Its a hard candy to chew but 'hiring manager bias', is one problem that plagues the interview process. It is possible that the bias is unconscious but it is nevertheless present. Biasness based on race, color, caste and education to name a few does exist.
• Lack of connection- This is very apparent and you may have faced that during the interview. The interviewer is avoiding eye contact, is frequently looking at the watch or the computer screen, rushing through the questions and is cutting your replies short.

All such actions should tell you something about the organization and their seriousness to hire you. If you do observe such symptoms during the interview especially if the interviewer seems distracted, politely ask the interviewer if something was bothering them and if they wanted to re-schedule the interview? this question will bring them to pay more attention to you and if there is a genuine reason for their distraction they will oblige and request for a re schedule.

9. Behavior- This one is a bit on the nose. You may have faced such a scenario where an interview was re scheduled multiple times because either the hiring manager had an urgent client meeting that came up or they were just not available. This often shows that there is a lack of communication between the HR/ talent acquisition department and the business or the hiring manager does not follow their calendar (usually reflects in the company's practices) or the hiring manger does not feel the position is that important to interview for at the moment, probably because its low priority. Sometimes there could be a genuine reason for it but if you notice this as a pattern then lets face it, this may show that the company's culture is toxic or that the manager is and they don't value the candidates time.

Another red flag to look out for is how the interviewer behaves in the interview. Does the hiring manager come across as welcoming or is the hiring manager arrogant. Body language speaks a lot, an arrogant manager will come across as forceful and impatient whilst a welcoming and humble manager will come across as polite and patient. Though the distinctions mentioned are not hard and fast after all we are human beings, but at the end it should not feel like that the interviewer was disrespectful or the questions being asked were demeaning or sarcastic remarks were being made. If you observe such a behavior no matter how big the company is or how desperate you may be for a job, its not worth loosing your self respect because such behavior on part of the manager will carry on into the day to day interactions as well.

10. Selling benefits which are actually non-benefits- Organizations have something known as an E.V.P - Employee Value Proposition, it basically is a statement that states the values, rewards, recognition, support, and company culture that an employer offers to its employees. Companies use this to market themselves and often try to use it as a differentiator to their competitors and describe it as a 'benefit of working with them'. Some benefits are genuine like a robust medical plan covering the entire family including parents, day care for the kids or health incentives like gym memberships etc. But some companies try to stretch this concept of benefits to laughable extents. Some of the so called benefits are overtime, free-parking, casual Fridays, flexible working, tea and coffee, the legal annual leave allowance etc. Today these are just common practices and provisions. Imagine you are being pitched a job on the basis of getting free parking, LOL. I myself confess of pitching such benefits to candidates. But this should raise a red flag because if common provisions are being sold to you as benefits then its pretty obvious to not expect much from the organization after joining.

"But some companies try to stretch this concept of benefits to laughable extents."

In the end all of the above points are from the perspective of a tenured recruiter. There are and always will be exceptional situations but one must consider that those are situational and not the norm. Identifying bad actors so that you are not deceived is the overall goal of this article. Sadly such dialogues and practices have become the norm for many organizations but if you are aware of it then it will help you discern and make right decisions. Though change is constant it springs from a small step and that step is to say no to such bad practices.

I hope this helps you and equips you to spot those red flags.