14 Red Flags That This Job is a No-Go
If you listen to the news, you will hear stories about the thriving economy and brisk job market. Workers are being hired at a rapid pace each month. Jobs may be plentiful, but that doesn’t mean they are high-quality positions you want to have.
There are red flags that tell you to walk away before starting a new job. Do you know what signs to look for that tell you a job is a no-go? How many of these potential career pitfalls have you encountered?
1. Excessive Required Skills
Job descriptions typically include a list of required skills for potential candidates. This standard practice allows applicants to know what’s expected of them in a given role.
When the job description is overly long and contains impossible-to-meet requirements, that’s a huge warning sign. Chances are it’s a phantom or fake post they have no intention of filling.
2. Unrealistic Work Experience
Just as job descriptions can have excessive required skills, the same occurs with employers’ demand for unrealistic work experiences. These postings are easy to spot.
If an employer expects you to have 10-plus years of experience in niche areas, it’s a job posting you’ll want to skip. Recruiters know there won’t be candidates meeting their unrealistic experience demands.
3. Drawn-Out Interview Processes
Companies conduct rigorous interviews of prospective candidates to ensure they’re the right person for the job. This is especially true if the job involves a lot of responsibility.
If the interview process is dragging out over several weeks or even a few months, that’s an unserious company you don’t want to work for. They don’t respect you or your time.
4. A Too Quick Job Offer
Drawn-out job interviews and too-quick employment offers are signs of an unserious employer. To be fair, this also depends on the kind of work you’re applying for.
If a professional organization offers you the job on the spot without even checking your references, they may have loose hiring requirements. Take a second look before accepting an offer.
5. Multiple Tests
Having to take multiple tests as part of the interview process should put you on high alert. Some testing is to be expected, but numerous tests indicate something else.
Excess testing requests may indicate the company has a poor work-life balance. Being asked to complete projects as part of the assessment means you’re doing free work. Don’t fall for it.
6. Off Putting Interviews
Job interviews are nerve-wracking, and it’s normal to feel nervous. Listen to your instincts if the interview or the interviewer makes you feel uncomfortable.
If the questions seem out of line, the interviewer says or does something inappropriate, or otherwise makes the interview awkward or even antagonistic, be on your guard. Something is wrong there.
7. Complicated Applications
Some careers expect longer applications. An application process that needs more transparency is difficult to follow or gives poor instructions should give you pause.
The complexity of the application should be appropriate for the job being applied for. If the level of effort exceeds the position being applied for, you should pass and spend your time on other applications.
8. The Role Changes
If you’re hired for one role but are onboarded with a different role, that should put you on high alert. Either the company is trying to pull a fast one, or they need you to fit a different role.
It could be that they found that you’re better suited for another position that pays the same or more, or it could be for a role that pays less. Either way, verify the details and salary before going forward to ensure that it’s a job you want.
9. Salary is Too Low
A job opening with a salary far below the usual salary range for that position warrants some investigation on your part. It’s best to look around for the average salary of that job before you even start applying for it.
If you decide to apply and are offered the job, you can always ask if there’s room to negotiate for a higher wage. Don’t be afraid to walk away if you feel you won’t be paid what you’re worth or what the job demands.
10. Older Job Postings
Job postings will often list the dates they were posted. Listings that are months old or reposted are ones to reconsider before applying for them. It doesn’t mean they’re terrible jobs, but something is off.
Old and reposted listings indicate that something about the position makes it either hard to fill or difficult to retain personnel. You’ll probably want to avoid postings like this.
11. No Benefits
If the job description doesn’t indicate benefits are offered, that’s the time to ask questions about the type of role the company is hiring for. Is it on less than a full-time schedule, freelance, or contract basis?
If the job isn’t full-time with benefits, you’ll have to decide if you want to assume added expenses and income losses. These include paying for your health insurance, not having paid holidays, and paid time off.
12. High Turnover
A company that has a hard time retaining its workforce should not only stop you in your tracks, it should be written off completely. Don’t bother wasting your time applying for those jobs.
High turnover is indicative of a workforce that doesn’t want to stay with the company for whatever reasons. Checking online reviews from current and past employees can provide insight into why they left.
13. Negative Online Reviews
Checking the online reviews for companies can be a mixed bag. You don’t know for certain who’s a current or former employee posting the review or if it’s someone from the company posting fake positive reviews.
If you see an organization with many bad reviews on a couple of different sites, you may want to ask yourself what the company culture is and if you want to be a part of it. It’s better to find a place that’ll be a better fit.
14. Ghosting Applicants
The application and interviewing processes are stressful enough. The wait to hear from someone feels like forever. When you’re dealing with an uncommunicative recruiter, that makes everything feel worse.
Recruiters are busy, but communicating with applicants during the interviewing process is a basic act of professional respect. If a recruiter can’t meet this minimum standard, that tells you a lot about the company, and it’s not good.
Looking for Something To Do? 15 Unconventional Jobs for Retirees
Retirement used to be viewed as when one exits the workforce for good and enjoys not having to report to work anymore. It was a rite of passage workers looked forward to. There has been a noticeable shift in how workers approach retirement. Instead of spending their golden years traveling or relaxing, they’re putting their skills to work for a second act.
Looking for Something To Do? 15 Unconventional Jobs for Retirees
12 Remote Jobs That Require Little Experience That You Can Apply For Today
Are you tired of the 9-to-5 grind and looking for a way to work from the comfort of your own home? Or perhaps you’re just starting out in your career and want to avoid the traditional office environment—either way, this blog post is for you!
12 Remote Jobs That Require Little Experience That You Can Apply For Today
15 Lucrative Jobs Making Over $100K Without a College Degree
The tide has turned on higher education. Student debt is the financial albatross that dominates TikTok and Wall Street Journal headlines alike, and the idea of working nine-to-five cubicle jobs is just not very…Millennial.
15 Lucrative Jobs Making Over $100K Without a College Degree
