'We're all a family here': 25+ People share the most toxic red flags they've experienced at job interviews

Job interviews share more in common with a scene from Shakespeare's Macbeth than they do with a legitimate means of vetting a candidate for employment. Two players put on a performance for each other: one playing the part of an employable person and the other of an employer that a candidate would want to work for. Sure, there might be no regicide or kinslaying in a job interview — but the process can be just as ruthless.

On top of the complexity of the social performance of the interview, there's a lot that can go wrong with a job interview right from the get-go. Timeliness is of huge importance; if either of the parties is late to the interview, that can be a huge red flag as to the respective party's reliability. During the interview, an employee might be so nervous that they find themselves incapable of portraying an accurate portrait of their skills and experience. Despite being a better fit for the role, they may find themselves losing out to a more confident but less-qualified candidate.

Despite an interviewer's best efforts to conceal the flaws of their management team or organization, there are cracks that can appear in the armor that can give insight into how things really operate. These 25+ people gathered on a popular r/askreddit thread to share their experiences and advice.

Keep reading to view the reader's answers. For more, check out this job seeker who sent a scathing email to a recruiter who was late for their interview.

Have you ever experienced any of these red flags? Maybe you have some of your own? Let us know!

Like what you see? Follow our WhatsApp channel for more.

Posted by Brad Dickson

Advertisement

Stay up to date by following us on Facebook!

Tags

ask reddit jobs job work quit workplace job interview questions quitting employment

Next on FAIL Blog

Scroll down for the next article

Comments

Advertisement

Hot Today

POPULAR

‘I don’t care about your policy': Guest checks into hotel for 45 minutes, then leaves, demanding a full refund which employee refuses 1

Overachieving employee raises KPI averages higher just so their boss misses a promotion: 'The entire sector didn't get raises that year' 2

‘I don’t work 80 hours a week when I’m paid for 40’: Boss demands new hire work overtime for free, stating employee isn't committed enough to their team 3

'She was fired': Hybrid employee takes a take a sick day instead after being admonished by boss for working an additional day from home while sick 4

'If I am not employed there, the software cannot be used': Teacher wipes software from all machines before leaving for good after years of free extra labor 5

'[I] had a guy try to pay me with pottery': 30+ Freelance artists who had the most entitled clients ever 6

UPVOTED

Fast food Karen throws back-to-back tantrums, gets herself arrested: 'Karen [ended up] sitting in the backseat of the police car' 1

‘I don’t care about your policy': Guest checks into hotel for 45 minutes, then leaves, demanding a full refund which employee refuses 2

27 Retail Memes for Customer Service Workers Who Are Checked Out 3

'If I am not employed there, the software cannot be used': Teacher wipes software from all machines before leaving for good after years of free extra labor 4

Manager insists on personally reviewing every job candidate Recruiter finds, lives to regret it: 'I never received pushback again' 5

‘I don’t work 80 hours a week when I’m paid for 40’: Boss demands new hire work overtime for free, stating employee isn't committed enough to their team 6

Advertisement