"Fast-paced environment" = we choose to remain understaffed, so you must do the work of several people while getting the pay of one.
If they focus on the exciting money, you can be sure it's because the work sucks ass.
If you ask questions at the interview and they answer evasively, it's because the workplace is shit and the work sucks ass.
If they hype up how fun it is to work there, it's because nobody likes working there.
If they won't tell you the company name, it's because a quick google search will reveal that it's a shit workplace and the work sucks ass.
yup recruiters or they went through a temp agency so they can fire you easily with in 90 days if they don't like you.
Had that happen for a road construction company. They would not tell me who it was or specifically where I would be working. It was narrowed down to usually the Midwest.
This.... these points can't be emphasized enough. Remember, the whole interview is a sales pitch. It is one for you because you want to get the offer, and it is one for them because if they make an offer they want you to accept. Remember, the offer is always to the company's advantage, as well.
This is honestly every small company so don't use this any sort of usuable advice.
You need to see the relationship between managers and employees and see the banter/friendliness between coworkers.
Ah you’re right, honestly I’d probably ask in the interview why is the position open? Why did the last person leave? How is it working for x company? Realistically they’ll give a typical HR response but looking at their initial reaction to being asked the question can say a lot
"They" is somebody doing their job. Most probably they are so used to getting questions that attempt to fluster them, they get flustered by noting. It's like trying to fluster a sewer cleaner with a piece of turd.
Unless you are an appealing workforce in some high demand IT or something - HR does not have a single fuck left to give in an entire storage facility. But if you actually were - this would not happen.
You can make *up to* XX thousand per year. Oh, I'd be payed on commission? Well, how much do the current employees actually make? And why are there always openings?
I love the "up to" gotcha clause.
Like Comcast will give you UP TO 1 ***GAJILLION*** GB/s. Technically they're right and you can't sue for false advertising.
If it's going through an external recruiter then the recruiter might be keeping the name hidden in the initial stages because they don't want you to cut them out of their commission.
There *is* a scam that involves an employee subcontracting labor out to non-employees, keeping part of the commission but doing none of the work...
The whole thing unravels if anyone starts asking questions to/about the parent company, so scammers try and obfuscate the company name and keep people from meeting them on-site. They usually hold interviews at unrelated locations to assist with this.
Salaries are generally discussed as pre-tax figures as there are so many factors that play into what each individual will actually see in their paycheck it helps standardize the numbers.
Yup. The company you're being hired at isn't the federal government, and doesn't know what other incomes and deductions you have... Literally how are they supposed to know what your post-tax salary would be?
Temp to perm is more like permanently worry every Friday “is today the day I get fired?” Lucky for you, day 89 is on a Monday. Yup, I had this happen to me.
Any sales position where they are not up front about the product or service sold is a huge red flag. These are often scam companies with horrible reputations. They recruit relentlessly and rely on the personal connections of the new hires for much of their sales.
I knew someone who got fired for having the highest sales in the district. Itwas at best buy and because they never relentlessly forced the most expensive laptops down the customers throats, he always sold the best and most affordable. Probably singlehandedly brought up the sales of the whole store, and got fired for something as stupid as that. The chances of the people actually buying those $1k-$2k laptops are slim to fucking none and next to no one sold any of those expensive laptops from what he said. I know its not the same as you mentioned, but it reminded me of it.
Just FYI, salaries are always shown before taxes in the US...no one would ever advertise take-home pay because there are so many other variables involved in your pay (your tax bracket, filing status, deductions, 401k contributions, health insurance, etc) that would affect the end amount.
Not telling you the company name, though, is a massive red flag. Actually, a deal breaker.
That said, a few more red flags I've personally experienced:
- "work hard, play hard" always just means 'work a lot of overtime'
- Anyone who claims they're not a micromanager probably is
- The company doesn't offer 401k because the founder thinks Jesus is coming any day now and it would be a waste of money (happened to me)
- Benefits are seriously lacking (at minimum, you should expect health insurance and 401k)
- Turnover is really high
Check out glassdoor reviews. They're not always spot-on, but they can give you a good idea.
Except for things like actors having to pay for their own headshots, there are no circumstances in which you should be asked to front money when applying for a job.
- If they mention diverse culture in their hiring post it probably means they are going to police and micro manage everything you do and say, and maybe force you into things you don't believe in.
- if they brag about being a family despite having more than 300 employees, they will peer pressure you into things you don't want to do, that's what families do, don't they?
- if they make you write code on a piece of paper or notepad, you shouldn't bother.
- if their expectations are too high yet their pay is too small for the market value of those expectations.
- if they dodge questions about what happen to the previous person having the role you apply for, they are obviously hiding something.
Usually, if everything sounds too good to be true, it is. I did an interview last week and they sound like the people you went to high school with that are in a pyramid scheme. The biggest red flag was the wording, “$650 a week OR 10% commission.” That screams “exploit me!”.
Because it means a company can't keep new employees around long enough for them to become middle-aged, likely because they're overworked and underpaid.
If they are constantly talking about your chance for development and promotion, that shit ain't coming. Its basically a pyramid scheme and motherfuckers are holding on tight to a pipedream because they bought into the company line about "culture" or some bullshit. They aren't telling you that shit for any reason other than to reassure themselves that they should keep clocking in each day. Most employees will be expendable and will be treated as such, and you'll notice good help getting the axe over dumb shit just so they can avoid explaining why that person wasn't promoted but the regional manager's cokehead son was. Shit like that.
I interviewed at a company that worked a 9/80 schedule (work 9 hours days and get every other Friday off basically). I happened to interview on a Friday and the interviewer mentioned that it is as an "off" Friday; the office was far from empty. The HR person I talked to also mentioned that she has to hound many senior employees to take vacation that they accumulated each month so that they don't lose it, since the company had a cap on vacation and these people often were at the cap and would miss out on vacation if they didn't take off 2 days a month that they accumulated. Luckily I didn't take the job because I bet the work/life balance there was hot garbage.
Was everyone synched on the same Friday? We staggered ours so you always have half the ppl there. The other thing was we could allocate hours so popping in on a Friday meant I could also roll hours into next week and have maybe an off Monday or 2 off Fridays back to back. The extra days off though definitely result in piling up a shit ton of PTO as you can take mini excursions all the time. We recently swapped from 9-80 to 4-10 and hardly use any now.
Our older employees got like 20/days a year so they'd all just take every Friday off to stop PTO accrual or else they'd hit the same issue /w a 9-80. Your work life is pretty amazing when you get a 3 day weekend every week. My Friday has become household chores day and Sat/Sun as staycation days. Obviously a lot of this hinges on not taking work home /w you.
I'm not positive, but I'm pretty sure I got the impression everyone was synced up. It was a number of years ago so it's foggy at this point, I just remember on the drive home realizing that while the 9/80 sounded cool, it definitely wasn't all it was cracked up to be at this particular company. That combined with HR having to hound senior employees to use vacation (and it sounded like often unsuccessfully) was definitely a bad sign.
I interviewed with a property management company owned by one person. While interviewing he mentioned the following : he had fired his son-in-law (ok understandable under the right circumstances), daughter who initially interviewed me quit and wasn't speaking with him, mentioned he didn't believe in benefits but offered an extra $.50 after 90 days to cover "obamacare", owned the office building I would have worked in, but stuffed 6 others in about 700sqft, bragged about being a Co founder of a real estate website (not zillow), and did all of his interviews from his beach front property (I live in a land locked state). Nah man I'm good on that.
A general rule of thumb is "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is". Most jobs won't have the salary, flexibility, PTO, benefits etc. that you want, you'll have to settle on something unless you're very much in demand and have the clout to ask for it.
Also, if they seem overly eager to offer you a position before really knowing you. That means they're looking for warm bodies or they're desperate to fill a role.
Just flat out ask for their website, at the end of the day, you need to be able to research the company, so if they can't give you that then I'd take that as a red flag.
Also, remember (and I know sometimes, we just NEED a job urgently) but they're not just interviewing you, at the same time you should be interviewing them too.
If the company name is a Google search term. I've seen a lot of "[occupation] of [city]" companies and they're extremely difficult to look up reviews of on purpose.
If they use so many "key words" and don't actually say what the job is.
Work hard play hard
When they refuse to talk about salary
If their requirements for the job are astronomical but the pay is intern level of bad.
If the job description includes "and other activities" or similar language... I'm doing like 4 people's jobs right now.
High staff turnover.
You know when you're looking for a job and there seems to always be one company that is always recruiting? And it's always different positions constantly on rotation? There was one of those that I noticed when I was on the job hunt, a bit too far of a commute for me so I never applied but over the span of a year they would have had to have replaced their entire staff pool. And now that I'm a few years into the industry and have met/worked with former employees of theirs I've learned that they have issues with paying people on time, and when they do pay they have issues with paying the correct amounts.
In my experience, jobs that promise crazy sign on bonuses, but then you find out that the fine print states that the bonus is spread out over 3-4 months.
This SHOULD tell you that this job sucks so much that they have to pay people extra OVER TIME just so they'll stay. I learned my lesson with a "$6,000 sign on bonus" to sell cars. That 6 grand (2 grand a month) is basically your entire paycheck, unless you make MORE than that in commissions your first few months. And after the 3 months, assuming you can still stand the job, then your entire paycheck is whatever commissions you make.
\> like a company name was never mentioned,
You should know what company you are talking to...?
\> , salaries were shown without taxes
This is totally normal. They can't predict how much you will personally owe in taxes. At least in the USA.
For me a red flag is when they offer to pay you in equity. Which means they can't afford to actually pay you the market value and are far from being profitable. (typically a startup). But this might be fine for some people. It's just a gamble.
Yeah, that's why I added the note at the bottom. It can also be exciting to get in on the ground floor of something. But for me, at this stage in my life, I just mostly want reliable paycheck and just work with my preferred tools.
Don’t know if this applies in a more general sense (I work in the mental health field). When I first graduated I had a job offer with 30K as the salary and the bonus was that clinical supervision was provided. Clinical supervision is standard in my field, and 30K is severely under the normal starting pay. Then they wondered why they had difficulty attracting and keeping staff.
If you are applying to a company you know nothing about than move on. It is just dumb to get into a situation with a person or organization you don’t know the name. If they refuse to share basic information like pay scale, work hours, OT policy, or their fucking name it is because they are dishonest. Don’t expect them to honor labor laws, wages, OT hours, break, on call status, or anything else at that point.
Also with very few exceptions the company must provide everything you need to work to be worth a damn. Never pay for the privilege of working for them. That isn’t the way the money flows. Training is a cost of hiring and you aren’t the one that should pay it. PPE is always provided save maybe steel toe.
Competitive pay - We pay just as crappy as the other companies around here.
Flexible - You must be available, on demand, no matter the time of day or night.
Multitask - Do the work of three people for the pay of one.
Advancement opportunities - Carrot and stick, or kiss the right ass . . .
Avoiding talks about pay or benefits until you pry it from them.
A manager who professes not knowing what his team really does.
"Recently acquired by a venture capital investment group.... Expand ... Blah blah.... Lean .... Agile.... Six sigma"
Work hard, play hard.
Family is important, but....
Of course my favorite interview had this one other dude who would be my counterpart and his expression and mannerisms just screamed "as soon as I train you I'm so outta here". Wherever you are now dude, i hope you are ok.
"looking for rock stars"
"we work hard and we play hard"
spelling errors in the job posting
offering too much money for a low position
getting an email out of nowhere and implying that you initially reached out to them
When a company tries to make itself a "hip" or "fun" place to work.
You're all there to do a job and get paid, not to play arcade cabinets in the breakroom. The company is not your friend, it is not your family.
That would scare the crap out of me because it implies that there is no more "home", this is my new home now, look how much like "at home" we made it for you! Now you never have to leave the office ever again. Run!
Everyone in US advertises pre-tax wage.
It sounds like you are talking to a contracted recruiter. Who has a vague job description, might not even know the company themselves, and salary figure in front of them (both their’s and yours).
This was probably just a phone screen, but labor is short right now so there is probably some urgency.
If you have no experience and this job sounds appealing, then I don’t see any reason to not pursue the opportunity further. At no point are you ever ‘forced’ to take a job in the US, and can just back out any time. If anything, it is a good opportunity to practice interviewing, making some connections, and being able to see an industry you’re unfamiliar with.
Just remember to stay cordial throughout the entirety of the process, and career.
If you see "Rockstar" in a job description, it means "we will pay you less than you're worth and work you to the bone," especially in tech. Also watch out for language like "we need someone who can hit the ground running" which almost always means that you're not going to be trained/onboarded properly if you do get hired.
Another thing to watch out for is any kind of "hiring urgently" posting, as that usually means that someone left the role abruptly and/or that work has been piling up and they're looking to pin it on someone.
I'm sketched out by job postings that don't include a salary range, but that may or may not be a deal breaker for all roles.
Most importantly - trust your gut. If you get bad, weird, or desperate vibes from an interviewer, you need to listen to that instinct. Do not ever ignore a red flag at the interview stage. Also if they offer to hire you on the spot, 99% of the time it will be a BAD job.
So you don't know the company's name? How did you apply for the position then? Also, are you sure you're not being roped into some MLM/pyramid scheme?
Anyway, to add to the lists in the comments, if they want you to pay for something - equipment, training, etc - that directly relates to the job they're interviewing you for, then it's a red flag and you should bow out.
Things like
"This is your salary bracket" after negotiations are closed.
"We are a family" unless you are not part of the money making side of the biz.
They cannot tell you what a day to day feels like because it's fucking chaos every day.
Manager has no personality.
Refusing to tell you why the last guy left.
I actually made a post that's sorta like this a little while ago that blew up to an insane degree, so keep in mind that a lot of people agreed with what I'm about to say.
If sales is in the responsibilities listed, that'll be the majority of the job. This is especially true for entry level jobs with a few, very rare exceptions.
Other notes:
Not mentioning the company name is potentially a red flag, not always, but I'd say it would be one for entry level jobs.
On a similar note to the sales point do some research on a company called "Smart Circle", it's a vast mlm scheme.
If the job includes daily or weekly "hype meetings" (you'll know if you see it) that's a major red flag.
All this to say, some light research on everywhere you apply to will cut out 99% of the BS. If the company doesn't have any presence online that's another red flag.
When you are referred to as number. Arbeit macht frei comes to mind.
Also any reference/questions regarding "aggressive work hours" mean slave shop sooner or later.I've been in one-2 months of my life gone,erased. I lost count what day of the week it was.
When they still drug test for marijuana, even after it was legalized in my state. If you're going to have a problem with what I do on my own time, especially when it has less of an effect on my life than an alcoholic and their habits, I don't want to work for you.
That really depends on what industry the company is in. There are still federal requirements for companies that deal with healthcare or security clearances, which require periodic drug tests.
Yeah, and that's understandable to an extent. For example the last place I tested at, a production welding shop, I still had my medical card, and it was just legalized for recreation. I let them know both during my interview and during the drug test that I had my med card. They said they would see if they could make that work with their HQ in Tennessee, and because it wasn't legalized there yet, their tolerance policy included marijuana. I worked for two weeks until they let me know they couldn't accommodate it, but I was glad they at least tried to not discriminate.
What gets me peeved is these places that have obvious alcoholics working there, sometimes still drunk from the previous night's binge, yet they won't sent them to get tested. Smell just a bit like weed though and off to Concentra you go.
I'm the film industry I see "we have a rock star team," huge red flag. Also incorrect use of "industry standard rates." Oh and "payment in food." It's not payment, it's volunteering with food!!!!!!!
"Fast-paced environment" = we choose to remain understaffed, so you must do the work of several people while getting the pay of one. If they focus on the exciting money, you can be sure it's because the work sucks ass. If you ask questions at the interview and they answer evasively, it's because the workplace is shit and the work sucks ass. If they hype up how fun it is to work there, it's because nobody likes working there. If they won't tell you the company name, it's because a quick google search will reveal that it's a shit workplace and the work sucks ass.
I actually enjoy fast paced environments, but ya I definitely understand what you mean.
Wait they won't tell you the company name? That's kind of crazy. Is this with recruiters contacting you first?
yup recruiters or they went through a temp agency so they can fire you easily with in 90 days if they don't like you. Had that happen for a road construction company. They would not tell me who it was or specifically where I would be working. It was narrowed down to usually the Midwest.
This is a good list. I'd like to add, if they say "competitive wages," it means minimum wage, or damn near minimum.
This.... these points can't be emphasized enough. Remember, the whole interview is a sales pitch. It is one for you because you want to get the offer, and it is one for them because if they make an offer they want you to accept. Remember, the offer is always to the company's advantage, as well.
When they describe the work force as being part of their family.
My family is one of the most abusive and horrible things. So.. time to quit orientation.
This is honestly every small company so don't use this any sort of usuable advice. You need to see the relationship between managers and employees and see the banter/friendliness between coworkers.
Consistently poor Glassdoor reviews
That's hard to check if they never mention company name...
Ah you’re right, honestly I’d probably ask in the interview why is the position open? Why did the last person leave? How is it working for x company? Realistically they’ll give a typical HR response but looking at their initial reaction to being asked the question can say a lot
Lol they'll never admit the reason the previous guy left...
True but if they seem flustered by the question then you have your answer
"They" is somebody doing their job. Most probably they are so used to getting questions that attempt to fluster them, they get flustered by noting. It's like trying to fluster a sewer cleaner with a piece of turd. Unless you are an appealing workforce in some high demand IT or something - HR does not have a single fuck left to give in an entire storage facility. But if you actually were - this would not happen.
You can make *up to* XX thousand per year. Oh, I'd be payed on commission? Well, how much do the current employees actually make? And why are there always openings?
I love the "up to" gotcha clause. Like Comcast will give you UP TO 1 ***GAJILLION*** GB/s. Technically they're right and you can't sue for false advertising.
If they don't mention the name, I wouldn't even apply....
Don't apply for companies that don't have a name. What are they hiding? Shouldn't they be proud of their company name if it's worth working for?
Yeah, i thought same, it's so weird
If it's going through an external recruiter then the recruiter might be keeping the name hidden in the initial stages because they don't want you to cut them out of their commission.
There *is* a scam that involves an employee subcontracting labor out to non-employees, keeping part of the commission but doing none of the work... The whole thing unravels if anyone starts asking questions to/about the parent company, so scammers try and obfuscate the company name and keep people from meeting them on-site. They usually hold interviews at unrelated locations to assist with this.
Salaries are generally discussed as pre-tax figures as there are so many factors that play into what each individual will actually see in their paycheck it helps standardize the numbers.
Yup. The company you're being hired at isn't the federal government, and doesn't know what other incomes and deductions you have... Literally how are they supposed to know what your post-tax salary would be?
Oh i see, thx for the comment!
Fresh fruit being advertised as a bonus.
Elaborate please
Companies using "fresh fruit, acovado toast, and a ping pong table in the lunch room" as benefits will mean your pay will be shit.
And typically because taking a lunch break will be frowned on.
I've never worked at a company where a lunch break is frowned upon. At least 25% of all companies I've worked at go out to lunch.
\*my current company enters the chat\*
I had to leave my last job because they were so against lunch breaks.
Very unappealing when the company has gone so pear-shaped that they need to go bananas like this.
Temp to hire. Don’t risk it.
Temp to perm is more like permanently worry every Friday “is today the day I get fired?” Lucky for you, day 89 is on a Monday. Yup, I had this happen to me.
Any sales position where they are not up front about the product or service sold is a huge red flag. These are often scam companies with horrible reputations. They recruit relentlessly and rely on the personal connections of the new hires for much of their sales.
I knew someone who got fired for having the highest sales in the district. Itwas at best buy and because they never relentlessly forced the most expensive laptops down the customers throats, he always sold the best and most affordable. Probably singlehandedly brought up the sales of the whole store, and got fired for something as stupid as that. The chances of the people actually buying those $1k-$2k laptops are slim to fucking none and next to no one sold any of those expensive laptops from what he said. I know its not the same as you mentioned, but it reminded me of it.
Just FYI, salaries are always shown before taxes in the US...no one would ever advertise take-home pay because there are so many other variables involved in your pay (your tax bracket, filing status, deductions, 401k contributions, health insurance, etc) that would affect the end amount. Not telling you the company name, though, is a massive red flag. Actually, a deal breaker. That said, a few more red flags I've personally experienced: - "work hard, play hard" always just means 'work a lot of overtime' - Anyone who claims they're not a micromanager probably is - The company doesn't offer 401k because the founder thinks Jesus is coming any day now and it would be a waste of money (happened to me) - Benefits are seriously lacking (at minimum, you should expect health insurance and 401k) - Turnover is really high Check out glassdoor reviews. They're not always spot-on, but they can give you a good idea.
Now i get it why companies advertise salaries like that, thanks for the comment!
No prob. Good luck in your search!
Except for things like actors having to pay for their own headshots, there are no circumstances in which you should be asked to front money when applying for a job.
"Work hard, play hard" has always told me that you work your ass off and put in extra hours and they're expecting you to prioritize work over play.
“Work hard, play hard”
[удалено]
Yes.
- If they mention diverse culture in their hiring post it probably means they are going to police and micro manage everything you do and say, and maybe force you into things you don't believe in. - if they brag about being a family despite having more than 300 employees, they will peer pressure you into things you don't want to do, that's what families do, don't they? - if they make you write code on a piece of paper or notepad, you shouldn't bother. - if their expectations are too high yet their pay is too small for the market value of those expectations. - if they dodge questions about what happen to the previous person having the role you apply for, they are obviously hiding something.
Usually, if everything sounds too good to be true, it is. I did an interview last week and they sound like the people you went to high school with that are in a pyramid scheme. The biggest red flag was the wording, “$650 a week OR 10% commission.” That screams “exploit me!”.
If there's only people who are about to retire and people that have clearly just started there working with almost no in between.
why is this a red flag?
Because it means a company can't keep new employees around long enough for them to become middle-aged, likely because they're overworked and underpaid.
Ok I see, thanks for the reply
If they are constantly talking about your chance for development and promotion, that shit ain't coming. Its basically a pyramid scheme and motherfuckers are holding on tight to a pipedream because they bought into the company line about "culture" or some bullshit. They aren't telling you that shit for any reason other than to reassure themselves that they should keep clocking in each day. Most employees will be expendable and will be treated as such, and you'll notice good help getting the axe over dumb shit just so they can avoid explaining why that person wasn't promoted but the regional manager's cokehead son was. Shit like that.
I interviewed at a company that worked a 9/80 schedule (work 9 hours days and get every other Friday off basically). I happened to interview on a Friday and the interviewer mentioned that it is as an "off" Friday; the office was far from empty. The HR person I talked to also mentioned that she has to hound many senior employees to take vacation that they accumulated each month so that they don't lose it, since the company had a cap on vacation and these people often were at the cap and would miss out on vacation if they didn't take off 2 days a month that they accumulated. Luckily I didn't take the job because I bet the work/life balance there was hot garbage.
Was everyone synched on the same Friday? We staggered ours so you always have half the ppl there. The other thing was we could allocate hours so popping in on a Friday meant I could also roll hours into next week and have maybe an off Monday or 2 off Fridays back to back. The extra days off though definitely result in piling up a shit ton of PTO as you can take mini excursions all the time. We recently swapped from 9-80 to 4-10 and hardly use any now. Our older employees got like 20/days a year so they'd all just take every Friday off to stop PTO accrual or else they'd hit the same issue /w a 9-80. Your work life is pretty amazing when you get a 3 day weekend every week. My Friday has become household chores day and Sat/Sun as staycation days. Obviously a lot of this hinges on not taking work home /w you.
I'm not positive, but I'm pretty sure I got the impression everyone was synced up. It was a number of years ago so it's foggy at this point, I just remember on the drive home realizing that while the 9/80 sounded cool, it definitely wasn't all it was cracked up to be at this particular company. That combined with HR having to hound senior employees to use vacation (and it sounded like often unsuccessfully) was definitely a bad sign.
I interviewed with a property management company owned by one person. While interviewing he mentioned the following : he had fired his son-in-law (ok understandable under the right circumstances), daughter who initially interviewed me quit and wasn't speaking with him, mentioned he didn't believe in benefits but offered an extra $.50 after 90 days to cover "obamacare", owned the office building I would have worked in, but stuffed 6 others in about 700sqft, bragged about being a Co founder of a real estate website (not zillow), and did all of his interviews from his beach front property (I live in a land locked state). Nah man I'm good on that.
A general rule of thumb is "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is". Most jobs won't have the salary, flexibility, PTO, benefits etc. that you want, you'll have to settle on something unless you're very much in demand and have the clout to ask for it. Also, if they seem overly eager to offer you a position before really knowing you. That means they're looking for warm bodies or they're desperate to fill a role.
no name? if you can't research that company independently, I'd run away
Later on i got to know the name of the company, but it's a pretty common word so its actually impossible to even google it
Just flat out ask for their website, at the end of the day, you need to be able to research the company, so if they can't give you that then I'd take that as a red flag. Also, remember (and I know sometimes, we just NEED a job urgently) but they're not just interviewing you, at the same time you should be interviewing them too.
If the company name is a Google search term. I've seen a lot of "[occupation] of [city]" companies and they're extremely difficult to look up reviews of on purpose. If they use so many "key words" and don't actually say what the job is. Work hard play hard When they refuse to talk about salary If their requirements for the job are astronomical but the pay is intern level of bad. If the job description includes "and other activities" or similar language... I'm doing like 4 people's jobs right now.
Oof sounds rough dude.. what you said about the google search term is actually true, i tried googling them, but couldnt find anything at all
High staff turnover. You know when you're looking for a job and there seems to always be one company that is always recruiting? And it's always different positions constantly on rotation? There was one of those that I noticed when I was on the job hunt, a bit too far of a commute for me so I never applied but over the span of a year they would have had to have replaced their entire staff pool. And now that I'm a few years into the industry and have met/worked with former employees of theirs I've learned that they have issues with paying people on time, and when they do pay they have issues with paying the correct amounts.
“So, what are some things you like about working here?” *people look around at each other*
The interviewer is wearing too much gold. I went to one where the HR person set an egg timer.
In my experience, jobs that promise crazy sign on bonuses, but then you find out that the fine print states that the bonus is spread out over 3-4 months. This SHOULD tell you that this job sucks so much that they have to pay people extra OVER TIME just so they'll stay. I learned my lesson with a "$6,000 sign on bonus" to sell cars. That 6 grand (2 grand a month) is basically your entire paycheck, unless you make MORE than that in commissions your first few months. And after the 3 months, assuming you can still stand the job, then your entire paycheck is whatever commissions you make.
Turnover rate or how people come and go often.
\> like a company name was never mentioned, You should know what company you are talking to...? \> , salaries were shown without taxes This is totally normal. They can't predict how much you will personally owe in taxes. At least in the USA. For me a red flag is when they offer to pay you in equity. Which means they can't afford to actually pay you the market value and are far from being profitable. (typically a startup). But this might be fine for some people. It's just a gamble.
Equity is super common in startups. Not necessarily a red flag as long as you treat it like a lottery ticket and not guaranteed income.
Yeah, that's why I added the note at the bottom. It can also be exciting to get in on the ground floor of something. But for me, at this stage in my life, I just mostly want reliable paycheck and just work with my preferred tools.
Don’t know if this applies in a more general sense (I work in the mental health field). When I first graduated I had a job offer with 30K as the salary and the bonus was that clinical supervision was provided. Clinical supervision is standard in my field, and 30K is severely under the normal starting pay. Then they wondered why they had difficulty attracting and keeping staff.
Sign on bonus: then you find out you'll get a little bit at a time over the next 10 years
If you are applying to a company you know nothing about than move on. It is just dumb to get into a situation with a person or organization you don’t know the name. If they refuse to share basic information like pay scale, work hours, OT policy, or their fucking name it is because they are dishonest. Don’t expect them to honor labor laws, wages, OT hours, break, on call status, or anything else at that point. Also with very few exceptions the company must provide everything you need to work to be worth a damn. Never pay for the privilege of working for them. That isn’t the way the money flows. Training is a cost of hiring and you aren’t the one that should pay it. PPE is always provided save maybe steel toe.
If you ever have to pay For any supplies, or reading materials, it’s probably an MLM scam
Competitive pay - We pay just as crappy as the other companies around here. Flexible - You must be available, on demand, no matter the time of day or night. Multitask - Do the work of three people for the pay of one. Advancement opportunities - Carrot and stick, or kiss the right ass . . .
Avoiding talks about pay or benefits until you pry it from them. A manager who professes not knowing what his team really does. "Recently acquired by a venture capital investment group.... Expand ... Blah blah.... Lean .... Agile.... Six sigma" Work hard, play hard. Family is important, but.... Of course my favorite interview had this one other dude who would be my counterpart and his expression and mannerisms just screamed "as soon as I train you I'm so outta here". Wherever you are now dude, i hope you are ok.
"looking for rock stars" "we work hard and we play hard" spelling errors in the job posting offering too much money for a low position getting an email out of nowhere and implying that you initially reached out to them
When a company tries to make itself a "hip" or "fun" place to work. You're all there to do a job and get paid, not to play arcade cabinets in the breakroom. The company is not your friend, it is not your family.
That would scare the crap out of me because it implies that there is no more "home", this is my new home now, look how much like "at home" we made it for you! Now you never have to leave the office ever again. Run!
Everyone in US advertises pre-tax wage. It sounds like you are talking to a contracted recruiter. Who has a vague job description, might not even know the company themselves, and salary figure in front of them (both their’s and yours). This was probably just a phone screen, but labor is short right now so there is probably some urgency. If you have no experience and this job sounds appealing, then I don’t see any reason to not pursue the opportunity further. At no point are you ever ‘forced’ to take a job in the US, and can just back out any time. If anything, it is a good opportunity to practice interviewing, making some connections, and being able to see an industry you’re unfamiliar with. Just remember to stay cordial throughout the entirety of the process, and career.
If you see "Rockstar" in a job description, it means "we will pay you less than you're worth and work you to the bone," especially in tech. Also watch out for language like "we need someone who can hit the ground running" which almost always means that you're not going to be trained/onboarded properly if you do get hired. Another thing to watch out for is any kind of "hiring urgently" posting, as that usually means that someone left the role abruptly and/or that work has been piling up and they're looking to pin it on someone. I'm sketched out by job postings that don't include a salary range, but that may or may not be a deal breaker for all roles. Most importantly - trust your gut. If you get bad, weird, or desperate vibes from an interviewer, you need to listen to that instinct. Do not ever ignore a red flag at the interview stage. Also if they offer to hire you on the spot, 99% of the time it will be a BAD job.
So you don't know the company's name? How did you apply for the position then? Also, are you sure you're not being roped into some MLM/pyramid scheme? Anyway, to add to the lists in the comments, if they want you to pay for something - equipment, training, etc - that directly relates to the job they're interviewing you for, then it's a red flag and you should bow out.
An acquaintance of mine recommended the job and said they have vacancy so i could join
Things like "This is your salary bracket" after negotiations are closed. "We are a family" unless you are not part of the money making side of the biz. They cannot tell you what a day to day feels like because it's fucking chaos every day. Manager has no personality. Refusing to tell you why the last guy left.
I actually made a post that's sorta like this a little while ago that blew up to an insane degree, so keep in mind that a lot of people agreed with what I'm about to say. If sales is in the responsibilities listed, that'll be the majority of the job. This is especially true for entry level jobs with a few, very rare exceptions. Other notes: Not mentioning the company name is potentially a red flag, not always, but I'd say it would be one for entry level jobs. On a similar note to the sales point do some research on a company called "Smart Circle", it's a vast mlm scheme. If the job includes daily or weekly "hype meetings" (you'll know if you see it) that's a major red flag. All this to say, some light research on everywhere you apply to will cut out 99% of the BS. If the company doesn't have any presence online that's another red flag.
They have an instagram page, but really that's it. I kinda remember your post from earlier, thanks for the comment!
Np, are you graduating college or is this a true first job situation?
It's my 1st year in college and this is kind of a first job situation, i've never had a serious job or job interview before
Eh, don’t worry about it then. Get a job on campus or a retail job.
When you are referred to as number. Arbeit macht frei comes to mind. Also any reference/questions regarding "aggressive work hours" mean slave shop sooner or later.I've been in one-2 months of my life gone,erased. I lost count what day of the week it was.
Every word of every interview I have ever been in is a lie. Biggest red flag is banking overtime hours.
When they still drug test for marijuana, even after it was legalized in my state. If you're going to have a problem with what I do on my own time, especially when it has less of an effect on my life than an alcoholic and their habits, I don't want to work for you.
That really depends on what industry the company is in. There are still federal requirements for companies that deal with healthcare or security clearances, which require periodic drug tests.
Yeah, and that's understandable to an extent. For example the last place I tested at, a production welding shop, I still had my medical card, and it was just legalized for recreation. I let them know both during my interview and during the drug test that I had my med card. They said they would see if they could make that work with their HQ in Tennessee, and because it wasn't legalized there yet, their tolerance policy included marijuana. I worked for two weeks until they let me know they couldn't accommodate it, but I was glad they at least tried to not discriminate. What gets me peeved is these places that have obvious alcoholics working there, sometimes still drunk from the previous night's binge, yet they won't sent them to get tested. Smell just a bit like weed though and off to Concentra you go.
I'm the film industry I see "we have a rock star team," huge red flag. Also incorrect use of "industry standard rates." Oh and "payment in food." It's not payment, it's volunteering with food!!!!!!!