Negative signals/warning signs/red flags from company interviews

Hey all,
As a candidate, what are some of the top warning signs/negative signals/red flags that the company you’re interviewing at demonstrate that show the org might be problematic and dysfunctional? I was once super naive and didn’t see these warning signs and as a result got burned super badly at TOXIC and dysfunctional companies. Never again. Just wanted to get everyone’s feedback. For me personally, the top signs that a company is problematic/toxic/dysfunctional are:

• Interviewers not showing up. Worse if MULTIPLE interviewers did not show up. DURING ONSITES.
• Multiple extremely long interviews with many different people. I’m talking > 5+ interview panels. Worse if it’s with multiple people who you would realistically never interact with in this role.
* Interviewers who are super new at the company (e.g., joined 2 months ago). Worse if majority is new.
* Requests for additional interviews upon completion of onsite, esp if the on-site was already super intense and involved to begin with (see above re: meeting w >5+ people on-site). I get trying to find the right fit, but if you can’t decide even after such a long process, it demonstrates indecisiveness, lack of clarity, and insecurity on the leadership side— all recipes for disaster.
* Interviewers had extremely different ideas from each other on what the position would entail. Worse if these people are actually on the same team or within the same department 😂
* Lack of clarity on who you would be reporting to.
* Repeated mentions and emphasis on how “unique” and “special” their org and company is, and how it’s “not for everyone”— basically how grateful you should feel to be among the RARE CHOSEN ONES. Examples: WeWork, Shopify, [insert cult name 😂]
* Bait and switch— offer you a significantly different job than the one you interviewed for.
* Aggressive down-leveling (don’t believe promises that they think you would be promoted quickly— it’s all lies)
* Hiring manager leaves the company before the interview process is over (yes, had happened to me before)
* Emphasis on significant stakeholder management for a non-manager position. Translation: there is huge misalignment on leadership side and they want you to fix it. You will never be able to fix it.
* Interrogating and drilling the candidate on trivial irrelevant details (e.g., why is your resume not exactly the same as your LinkedIn?!—> ummm maybe some of us haven’t updated our LinkedIn yet?! #WTF 😂)
* Non-technical HM (as in, no experience at all in tech before and no basic tech literacy at a high level) for a technical role
* Exploding offers. Expecting someone to
make a decision as huge as a career under intense time pressure (e.g., 24-48 hours). Worse if company already KNOWS that the candidate has family and relocation considerations.
* Requiring INTENSE take-home challenges (advertised as should “only” take 4 hours = at least 10 hours) + hour-long PRESENTATION during on-site to 10+ people (including people who you would never interact with) + 4 rounds of LC, in different programming languages, for tech screen + 3 rounds of LC and whiteboarding DURING on-site
* Interviewers staring at you blankly when you ask about WLB.

For me, companies who exhibited these behaviors usually demonstrate a lack of respect for candidates and are usually highly dysfunctional.

Other people’s experiences?

#interview #tech #knowledgeispower #collectivewisdom #PTSD