Ah, employer red flags. We’ve just about seen and heard of them all. It’s safe to say we’ve all heard horror stories about notorious employers and poor practices. 

Red flags are often a big sign to avoid working for an employer or company. While you always want people to have your best interest at heart, unfortunately, it’s not how it always works out. When you go into an interview, it’s incredibly useful to have the skills and tips to look out for these signs. Although remember, one bad moment won’t always dictate a terrible experience!

We’ve listed below our top red flags to look out for as a candidate to look out for during your next interview.

Rudeness or disrespect towards employees or others 

Rudeness or being disrespectful to anyone is just straight-up not cool – especially if it’s your potential employer. This also includes things that aren’t as obvious, like poor body language towards you or being half an hour late, not apologising, and not giving a reason as to why.

If your potential employer is rude towards others, it’s a telltale sign that they will most likely do the same to you in a few weeks.

No mention of paid time off, holidays, or paid sick leave

Everyone is human. Trying to manage the juggle of work-life balance, along with the occasional holiday and, not to mention, paid sick leave, are all important factors in a job. 

If you’re in a job interview and bring up the company’s policy for holiday pay or leave time and you get a very vague response, that’s a red flag. It might not be the most important part of the job, but it is a big consideration and signals consideration for employees. Your potential employer should be able to clearly break down when holidays and sick leave are given to employees and how it all works.

Everything’s a little too vague 

Following on from the above, if any part of the job interview or details of the job description is too ambiguous, that’s another red flag. Employers want to potentially hire you, so they should be prepared with all the details of any questions you might have. In addition to this, you should come prepared with questions to ask. If you feel that your interviewers are dodging questions or can’t give you a straight answer, chances are they don’t know the answer.

The salary range is non-existent or not within a reasonable range 

Similar to how holiday and sick leave isn’t the whole job, neither is your pay. However, it’s how you pay the bills and keep a roof over your head, so you should be definitive about it. When you go into an interview, having a specific range in mind is fair and reasonable.

If a potential employer doesn’t give you a range or gives you a range that seems unrealistic, for example, $30,000 to $90,000, it’s a red flag. A big red flag. While a range is good to have, having one that is too broad leaves the potential for you to come up short and not be paid what you’re worth to the company. When discussing salary range, go into the conversation with a minimum number in mind, and know that any lower than this, you may need to line up another interview.

Inappropriate questions or comments 

Hand in hand with being rude or disrespectful to others, inappropriate questions or comments are just a flat-out no.

A job interview is a great way to get a first impression of someone, so during your interview, if someone is making inappropriate comments within the first 10 minutes of meeting them, chances are they’re not going to be great to work for or with. If anyone during the job interview – interviewer or otherwise – makes you feel uncomfortable, it’s likely that behaviour will continue after you’ve been hired. 

No formal agreements, and verbal discussions only 

While having faith that someone will do the right thing based on their verbal agreement can work in some scenarios, job interviews aren’t one of them. You should still be shown proper interview etiquette with a formal contract, virtual or otherwise. So, there shouldn’t be any excuse for the lack of a formal agreement.

Your contract is a written form of all of the verbal agreements. It’s your safety net if a negative or messy scenario arises. Having only verbal agreement between the two of you isn’t enough of a solid foundation – you need and should have something in writing for both parties. Verbal contracts are also quite hard to manage: people forget what they’ve said and can often end up backtracking on something they said a week ago to change their stance and further benefit them. If you can’t get it in writing or your potential employer insists you don’t need it, red flag.

Go with your gut 

While this isn’t a red flag, it’s a great way to tell if something isn’t right. If you have a gut feeling or intuition that something isn’t right or the office atmosphere isn’t right for you, then find somewhere else. The majority of the time, if something doesn’t sit right with you, chances are it’s not.

Final thoughts 

Here at Salexo, we work to find your dream employer, so we understand how important it is to find the right fit. You spend a significant time of your day-to-day life working, so ensuring you’ve found “the one” is why we’re here. If you want to know more about how Salexo can help you, get in touch with our team to find your dream job today.