15+ Job candidates who spotted red flags at their interviews: 'The interviewer performed a card trick'

Author image for Remy Millisky
Remy Millisky • Writer and Editor
Mar 12, 2026 5:00 PM EDT

We all remember that one interview that went so bizarrely that it's forever burnt into our minds!

When you read that, did a particular interview experience pop into your mind? I bet it did! 

Most of us will do dozens, perhaps hundreds of job interviews throughout our lives. Starting as teenagers applying to retail jobs, and carrying on through our professional lives, we all have to go to interviews if we want a hope of finding a better-paying role. There's no way around it, you've just got to put on your best suit, pull out your firmest handshake, and try to sell your skillset to the best of your abilities. 

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    Job candidate awkwardly smiles while shaking interviewer's hand.
    via Getty Images

    Job candidate awkwardly smiles while shaking interviewer's hand. 

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • These people couldn't help but notice a few glaring red flags during their interviews, though, and they helpfully clued the rest of us into them. 

    For example, a few people got asked no-no questions. One person was literally asked if they have children! Hate to break it to that interviewer, but you most certainly cannot do that in America. You can't ask a candidate what their age is, and it's advised that interviewers don't ask candidates when they graduated college, either. There are numerous factors about a person's identity that are supposed to be left out of the interviewing process, yet some interviewers flout the rules. 

    Other people noted that if a job interviewer tells you you're going to be wearing multiple hats, and that you should like working in a fast, ever-changing environment, that should also give you pause. It signals that management isn't very good at maintaining a solid working environment for their employees. It means that when a manager calls out, several people will be trying to do their jobs for them. Offices like this can be exhausting to work at — they do things like asking the tech guys to fill in for the receptionist all day, or demanding that the accountant fills in for the head manager for the entirety of a maternity break. This can make it so that good, qualified employees are ripped away from what they're actually good at, and put them into roles that they don't want to do. It's not a respectful way to treat a candidate with a specific set of skills. If you spot this in the interview phase, before you ever get onboarded, you might just save yourself a lot of hassle. 

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    What's a red flag at a job interview?

    Y... 1. The interviewer started late. After 30 minutes, I would leave. 2. They take a call during your interview. 3. They don't make eye contact. 4. They talk about themselves. 5. They have a body odor.
    via Yewdall1852
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    Was this a thinly veiled question about their age?

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    Or maybe you just had to really love MJ's music to fit in at that office? That's an odd thing to say, for sure. 

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    oldmannew I had the interviewer state, "Here, when you arrive, you're expected to work." Thanks for clearing that up. I knew that they were going to be a bit too much.
    via oldmannew
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    You simply cannot be asking questions like this!

    Content Goal1560 "tell me about your family." "Do you have any kids?"
    via Content Goal1560
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    It's like they don't want to talk about the main reason --- some might say the only reason --- a person gets a job. The salary is kind of important to know!

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    Even when the candidate isn't being picky about it, some interviewers despise talking money. But if you're making $100k, and the job is only offering $65k, you're wasting your time interviewing there. You wouldn't want to sit through 3 rounds of interviews just to discover that unfortunate fact. 

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    No_Repair7134 I was interviewed for a management position, the question was how I would increase staff retention I replied increase pay to reduce external stress on staff... I was unsuccessful
    via No_Repair7134
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    AssistantAcademic a culture of heroic efforts, sacrifice for the company, and overstepping the lines. of work/life balance. If you tell me the norm is 50 hour weeks and commend all the sacrifice made for you company, I'm not going to make it through the interview.
    via AssistantAcademic
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    I work to live. I don't live to work. I'll come in and do great, high level work, but anything over 40 hours better be the exception rather than the rule.
    via AssistantAcademic
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    If they start telling you that they're offering $20k under what the posting said, you can laugh in their faces!

    reverendsteveii any deviation from the posted offer
    via reverendsteveii
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    SettingStreet3338 When they hire multiple candidates at the same time. Unless there's organisational changes, it usually indicates that there's a high turnover of staff, which is often a sign that there's something dodgy going on.
    via SettingStreet3338
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    RedditForMeNotYou "Unlimited PTO" just means no one uses it because it's "a bad look" to use it and using it "too much" is highly subjective. Then when you leave they don't have to pay anything out to you for any unused bc you never accrue any.
    via RedditForMeNotYou
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    knows is going on so you should be able to make something happen out of thin air. -unpaid overtime.
    via RedditForMeNotYou
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    Jackkgold "Can you work under pressure?" What it actually means -we are understaffed - unrealistic deadlines -one person gets to do everyone's job -no one
    via Jackkgold
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    Si... Hindsight taught me when i pointed out they got my name, address and date of join wrong on my contract and they called me a troublemaker when i asked them to correct it
    via Significant_Salad_57
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    Konowl "Minimum is 44 hours a week" "Do I receive compensation for all the hours worked above and beyond that number?" Got a BS response that was basically no. Just got up and left - and the interview was going great at that point and I felt like I was going to get the job.
    via Konowl
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    Give me a break!

    Low_Stress_9180 At 6th interview "we will let you know within a week about the next interview "
    via Low_Stress_9180

    We need to cap every interview process at 3 interviews. We cannot be spending our time at 5 interviews just to get an email starting with "Unfortunately…" 

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    Nervous_Smile1993 When they hire you on the spot. From experience, it usually means they're desperate & it's a toxic work environment. You will be miserable.
    via Nervous_Smile1993
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    2 interviewers look at candidate, while one woman writes down answers, in a conference room setting.
    via Getty Images

    2 interviewers look at candidate, while one woman writes down answers, in a conference room setting.

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

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    Illustrious_Elk_1339 I had a phone interview, where I was asked when I graduated high school. I was interviewing for a marketing role in a medical device company. When I said it was illegal to ask that, they just said, "Okay, next question."
    via Illustrious_Elk_1339
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    This is pretty common these days, but still a red flag in some industries

    Leucurus Asking for your social media handles
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    loztriforce I like to ask them directly about turnover: if they get defensive or if they don't want to answer, I move on. Like I'll ask how many in the department I'd be joining have been there over a year, or I'll ask how long the prospective boss has been in that role.
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    Whatever53143 When you arrive for the interview and they ask you to come back later in the day when it's "more convenient" for them.
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    syncpulse When most of the interview is them selling you on the company instead of you selling yourself. That usually means the job is crappy, or the company is toxic and they have a high turnover.
    via syncpulse
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    Which-Invite-4792 They asked a bunch of Disney related questions. I'm not really a Disney guy, but just kept my answers to obscure Disney movies (like Fox & The Hound and The Rescuers Down Under which were about the only few I'd seen) hoping that they wouldn't ask any details about it. I got the job and
    via Which-Invite-4792
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    the boss was nice enough, but definitely had some interesting quirks. She was in fact obsessed with Disney & Disney Princesses though, and couldn't understand how I wasn't? It was just a little weird how she tied everything back to something Disney. I left after about 8 months though.
    via Which-Invite-4792
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    Job interviewer looks bemused at candidate's answers.
    via Getty Images

    Job interviewer looks bemused at candidate's answers.

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