How to see the Interview Red Flags 🚩

I often talk to folks in my network who are six months (or less) into their roles and are already planning their exits. 

They mention the asshole boss or the toxic culture – or both. Typically they’re a match made in corporate hell. 

It always makes me curious. Were the red flags visible in the interview process? Or did this assholery come as a shocking surprise? 

When I pose the question with all of my coachy compassion, I usually get a, “Well, now that I think about it, they were. But I didn’t put it all together.”

So here are a few ideas to help you – put it all together – and actively recognize the red flags:

1. Tone and language:
Interviews are a time for the organization to be on their best behavior and sell you on the company and the role – while they’re getting to know you. If your interviewer is rude or worst case mean in an interview – we tend to write it off or double down on trying to win them over. Don’t do either. They are showing you who they are. If this is supposed to be their best, imagine the prickliness of their worst. 

2. Listening skills:

Do your interviewers seem to be truly taking in what you’re saying or are they monologuing and interrupting you? Do they respect you when you try to jump in with your questions? Do they leave any time for your questions? This is especially important when it comes to the hiring manager. Is this how you want your one on one meetings to go? Do you expect they will ever try to understand you and what kind of support you need? 

3. The feeling in your body:

As I say often, our bodies hold a lot of wisdom we tend to ignore. If you have a racing heart, chest constriction, stomach pangs or if you generally feel like you need to immediately outrun a cheetah – pay attention! Sure, in any interview you will feel nerves, butterflies and adrenaline. This is different. What I hear from people who retroactively realize the signs were there, is that their bodies were projecting the red flags on their interviewers foreheads, but they chose to explain it away. 

I know this all takes practice – and it may seem there are way too many things to focus on in an interview already. How do I add this to the list?  This isn’t meant to overwhelm you. It’s more about trusting your intuition and building awareness that you deserve better than these red flag behaviors. These are people you’re going to be spending more time with than many members of your own family. If possible – it would be great to be able to communicate with them or dare I say – even like them. 

I’d love to hear from you about some of the red flags you’ve noticed in your interview processes. If we know what we’re looking for, we can work together to say no thank you.