Hiring Teams Beware, Interview red flags revealed!

Employers often have a list of what they are looking out for in their perfect candidate but what about employees?  It’s just as important for hiring teams to put their best foot forward during interviews to secure the best talent. We scoured interview posts on Reddit and used the upvotes to rank the top 15 interview red flags.  

Job Interview Red Flags

Online Reviews Matter Most 

Recruitment site Glassdoor has a reputation for having honest reviews, the good, bad, and the really ugly. With almost 50,000 upvotes, Bad Glassdoor Reviews is our number one interview red flag. Lots of candidates research their potential new employer before their interview and that includes how their employees feel too.  

Poor Communication 

Interviewees are encouraged to ask questions as part of most hiring processes, but if those questions are met with poor answers, this can put a candidate off so much that it’s number two on our red flags list. 

A condescending tone and poor explanation of training also feature in our top 15, as employees are able to envisage a future with a lack of respect and little attention to personal or career development.  

Overworking Culture 

Did the advert say full time but the interviewer is suggesting it’s more 996 than 9 to 5? 

Red flags for overworking have four entries in our top 15, as it can come in many forms including suggesting that someone take on more than their job role and “wear many hats” or phrases such as staff “enjoy overtime” , working weekends and even “work hard, play hard”.  

Google searches for Overwork Culture hit a record 13,000 a month just before the pandemic, thankfully those have dropped to fewer than 2000 a month in early 2023, possibly thanks to the rise in flexible and hybrid working. 

Clothing Rules 

“Clothing with the company logo” comes in at number 4 on our list of red flags. Some businesses need a uniform so customers and clients can identify their staff, in a shop or care environment for example. If you work in an office though, is there really a need to be wearing that work-branded hoody and cap? Probably not, according to our research. 

Desperate Employer

It’s nice to be wanted but as “suggesting you sign the contract immediately” is in our top 5 red flags, employees are wisely wary of a company that seems desperate. A business that puts pressure on someone to sign immediately could be very efficient, it could also be a sign of a high staff turnover or bad HR planning and that could be a question for the hiring team. 

The Family 

“We’re like family here”. Work isn’t your family, unless you work in a family business. This red flag makes it into our top 15, as it implies an emotional investment in the business and the potential for people working so closely that the personal and professional lines blur. That’s fine in an established business where relationships have built over time, but for a new recruit that could be completely overwhelming. 

Pay Transparency  

Back in 2018, Glassdoor found that 62% of potential candidates cited pay transparency as the most important thing they look for in a job advert. If it wasn’t in the advert and they’re still being shady in the interview that’s a huge red flag for Reddit users too, with two pay-related complaints in our list, “Undercutting Salary Offer” at 10, and “Dodging Questions about Pay” at number 8.   

“Hiring teams should keep these red flags in mind when interviewing. The interview can often be the first experience of the internal workings of a company for a potential employee and it should present the best version of the business, just as the candidate will be showing the best version of themselves. Hiring can be an arduous, long and costly process and it would be a shame to have found the right candidate, only for the interview to make them think twice before signing their contract. ” 

Lucinda Pullinger, Managing Director UK, The Instant Group

Sources: 

https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=today%205-y&q=overwork%20culture

https://www.glassdoor.co.uk/employers/blog/glassdoor-study-job-ads/

Methodology: 

Selected the ‘best’ 15 comments from this Reddit post. Logged the number of upvotes and percentages to create ranking.