Searching for a job can be stressful, and it’s natural to focus on making a good impression on potential employers. However, it’s also important for candidates to spot the red flags that might indicate a company or position is rotten. Ignoring them can lead to joining a toxic work environment. Thankfully, some of the warning signs are quite evident.

A few days ago, Redditor TytoAlba15 made a post on the ‘Antiwork‘ subreddit, sharing screenshots of an unhinged recruiter attacking them via text messages. This conversation serves as the perfect reminder that a bunch of businesses are still stuck in the Middle Ages, and the best way to get rid of them is to stop joining them.

Recently, a woman shared her ‘unhinged’ text messages with a job interviewer

Image credits: TytoAlba15

According to a CareerBuilder survey, a whopping two-thirds of workers say they’ve accepted a job only to realize it was a bad fit, with half of them quitting in the first six months.

Executive coach Rebecca Zucker, who focuses on helping leaders make a change from the inside out, agrees that the saying “caveat emptor” — buyer beware — applies when interviewing for a job.

“This isn’t to suggest that you should go into the interview process overly skeptical or suspicious, but rather to encourage you to be attuned to [various signals] in the interview process that warrant your attention, as they can indicate larger issues with your potential boss, team, or the organization as a whole,” she explained on Harvard Business Review.

Here are Zucker’s top 10 red flags to watch out for when the situation isn’t as clear-cut as it was for TytoAlba15:

• Constant rescheduling and disorganization. “People are busy and things may unexpectedly come up, so it’s not unusual that an interview may at some point need to be rescheduled,” Zucker said. Yet, when it happens multiple times, it’s an indication that something is amiss.
• Disrespecting others. According to the executive coach, every organization has some natural tensions or frustrations between different departments, such as sales and engineering. However, are the people you’re meeting with during the interview process able to talk about challenges or tensions with other stakeholders in a constructive way, or do they do so disparagingly or disrespectfully?
• Values conflict. “A values mismatch is a big red flag,” Zucker notes. “Get clear on what your most important values are before you start the interview process and have questions ready that will allow you to assess the company’s culture, the extent to which the organization shares your most deeply held values, and how well you’d be able to express your these values on the job.”
• Lack of clarity or consistency in answers to your questions. When you ask a question during the interview, how clear or precise are the answers you are getting? Are they vague, general statements, or does the interviewer give you tangible examples — the same as they would expect from you?
• Bait and switch. When the job for which you are interviewing starts to sound very different from the one you applied for, it can be an indication that they don’t communicate or manage change very well.
• Inappropriate questions or comments. “If you receive a question or comment that is ageist, sexist, racist, or equally offensive, it is an obvious red flag that this organization not only has poor training, but also likely tolerates bad behavior — or just as bad, has not addressed unconscious bias in its talent management practices, including recruiting,” Zucker said.
• Lack of connection. The executive coach highlighted that a good interview is a two-way conversation that excites both parties about the possibility of working together. “When there is a lack of energy or connection and the interviewer doesn’t seem engaged, is not smiling, seems distracted, and/or is robotically asking questions as if following a script and not really trying to get to know you, that is not a good sign.”
• Resistance to change (even if they say they want change). Some hiring managers just don’t have a growth-orientated mindset. They may be so old school that they just want to keep everything the way it is.
• Excessive number of interviews or drawn-out interview process. Zucker said that a red flag arises when the number of interviews becomes excessive, and the process drags on for an extended period of time. “Either (or both) of these can be a sign that the team or organization is overly consensus-driven, indecisive, or has issues driving things to completion.”
• Exploding offers. When job offers are given with a firm deadline (often on a very tight timeline), it’s basically an ultimatum, which doesn’t feel good or show respect for an individual’s desire to make a thoughtful career decision.

“While no one can perfectly predict how a new job will turn out, staying alert to the potential red flags mentioned above during the interview process can help weed out suboptimal employment options,” Rebecca Zucker concluded. “Being observant in your interviews as well as attuned to how the process is managed, asking good follow-up questions, and doing your due diligence can help mitigate the chances of making a bad decision.”

Good luck dodging bullets!

After reading the exchange, people thought the recruiter needs therapy or at least a few days off to recharge

Some even shared similar stories of their own

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