Five Red Flags That Scream 'Don't Take This Job!'

Forbes ^ | 04/21/2014 | Liz Ryan

[SeekAndFind]

You can find tons of advice about how to get a job interview and how to snag a job. Most of it comes from the “Do whatever you have to do to get hired!” school of thought. The job market isn’t a job-seeker’s paradise, but it isn’t bad considering what it was like just a year or two ago. If you’re willing to step outside the velvet ropes and try something new in your job search, you can get the interview, and get the job.

When you’ve been through a job-search drought for months and haven’t had much or any interview activity, your standards can start to drop. If the drought lasts long enough, your standards may plummet. You’ll delude yourself then that any job at all is better than another month of unemployment. That’s when a job-seeker can tumble headfirst into the Vortex.

The Vortex is the place a job-seeker goes when somebody (anybody!) is interested in hiring him or her. You can lose your bearings in the Vortex. You can ignore critical signs the universe is sending you. Most of us have been there at one time or another.

I almost took a job working for a horrible woman years ago. She used most of our interview time to insult me, but she kept calling me back. At the time I thought it was strange. Now I see that the woman’s “You’re an idiot, but let’s talk again” approach made perfect sense for her, because it was very important for her to hire someone she could berate and belittle. She was testing me. After a telephone conversation where she said “Are you ready to forget everything you know and learn how to do business MY way?” I gave Miss Hateful the slip,

[glorgau]

“You’ll be joining our family”

Yep, that "family" garbage is a screaming red flag.

[fwdude]

The rules differ from state to state. Some require that you only have to accept offers that pay a certain minimum percentage of compensation that you earned from your previous employer. I’m not sure if any insurance benefits figured into that compensation number, but that’s my take on it.

[Dallas59]

[Chickensoup]

Maybe I need a vacation.

_______________

I think it would do you good.

[tenger]

I've never ever been good at punting the "salary expectations" question back on my interviewer.

Even worse is when filling out an online application, I think it's entirely rude that a required field is "salary expectations" with a number before you can continue on. It's quite unfair actually, but they've got the jobs and you're looking. If you want it bad enough, you'll fill it out with something.

[Delta Dawn]

Should have said something like:

I would hook the 200SQFT BBQ grill I saw outside with the forklift and bring it around to the bodies.

What time do you guys do lunch?

[ShadowAce]

I've never ever been good at punting the "salary expectations" question back on my interviewer.

If you ever get a good answer, let me know. I'd love to be able to answer that question.

[Tijeras_Slim]

Thanks, that’s kind of you to say.

[txhurl]

You need a vacation, too?

[Nepeta]

I had some clown call and want me to drive 50 miles to an interview, but he couldn't give me an idea what the pay range was. I told him I couldn't take the time to interview for a position that might not pay enough to justify the gas money/wear and tear on the car. He seemed shocked.

I've been through many weird interviews. During one, I was shown a room full of broken glasswear and told that was the "lab". Then, the interviewer --who was the only person in the building-- excused himself and vanished for 20 minutes. By that point, I just wanted to see how long he would be gone.

I had another interview where the guy asked me three different ways why someone with my qualifications was interested in the kind of rotgut job his company was offering (a generic pharmaceutical manufacturer. At the third asking, I got up and told him that he had convinced me that I was not interested. I was polite; I wanted a job and had shown my sincere interest by showing up 60 miles from home with a professional attitude, but I didn't want to be kicked around verbally. He seemed shocked, and wanted to give me a lab tour, but I had had enough.

Then there was the interview where someone was going to be hired to replace an unsuspecting slug who was going to be dumped out the door as soon as the replacement was landed. This involved ducking here and there to remain invisible. If they treat employees this way, it really makes one want to work there...

[Night Hides Not]

Even worse is when filling out an online application.

Ain't that the truth. You're right, they hold the upper hand, so you have to play the game.

Most of the time, HR isn't looking to fill any positions, they're just trying to keep the pipeline full for when a position comes open.

And don't get me started on Robert Half. Their reps don't get paid for filling positions, they must get paid for adding candidates to their "inventory."

Unless you're desperate, don't waste your time. You'll spend a couple of hours filling out paperwork and talking to the rep. After that, it's crickets.

They must be getting desperate, though. I received a call last week from them, wanting to "reconnect"...I've been gainfully employed for about 4 1/2 years (thankfully). I'll give him a courtesy call tomorrow, but that's about it. No one I know has had a good experience with them.

[hoagy62]

I’ve been out of work for about 2 months. I was called in for an interview at the local Joint Base. I interviewed for an assistant baker-cook position. Two days later, they call me back to tentatively offer me an entirely different cook position that I never even interviewed for.

I still have to take a physical and pass the background check before they ‘officially’ offer me the position. It’s barely above minimum wage, but it’s the ONLY job out of many applications that’s even contacted me.

[Rides_A_Red_Horse]

Got an offer once from a startup company. Going back the next day with my then-current employer’s counter-offer, the offices were completely vacant with no sign of prior occupancy or contact info.

---

They started up and finished all in one day. Now THAT’S an efficient company!

[a fool in paradise]

. Now I see that the woman’s “You’re an idiot, but let’s talk again” approach made perfect sense for her, because it was very important for her to hire someone she could berate and belittle.

I had that job. Only she didn't let loose with the insults until the day I was introduced as the new hire and had already signed.

I lasted about 9 months. Her previous whipping boy/girl moved to another role within the company (and avoided leaving) and that was 3 years before my time there.

[a fool in paradise]

I dunno. When I got to the purely hypothetical question “How would you deal with a pile of human bodies using only a forklift?” I sort of figured the job was not for me.

I'd knock the phone off the hook and carefully dial 9-1-1 with the front prong of the forklift.

[a fool in paradise]

What I saw online about Robert Half wasn’t good. I had talked to someone there once when I came to learn that he wasn’t really interviewing me for an actual open position but for their files. And they try to worm information out of you like reference information at the managerial level (not to check up on you but to dig via cold call harassment for openings for other clients; I’m not about to sour my good contacts by having them spammed).

[whodathunkit]

I’d a asked if they also had a knifelift and a spoonlift.

[a fool in paradise]

“The answer to that is above my pay grade” is the answer worthy of a “commander in chief”.