To think it’s nearly impossible to spot red flags in job interviews when everyone’s basically talking out their arse?

[SnugShaker]

You prep, they smile, everyone says the right thing… and then you get into the job and it’s nothing like what was sold. I’ve had interviews where they raved about “wellbeing” and “work-life balance” and then I found myself drowning in unpaid overtime, poor management or straight-up dysfunction.

AIBU to think interviews are mostly performative nonsense on both sides and it’s almost impossible to know what you’re walking into until you’re already there?

Are you asking detailed questions?

“what does work-life balance mean practically speaking in this position “
“what does a typical workday look like for this position’
”what are the typical start/stop times for this position “
‘’why did the last 3 people leave the team”
”how often would I find myself working later than 5pm.”
’what challenges do you see with the company’
“if I asked a random team member what they find challenging about the work culture, what would they tell me?”

Nothing is foolproof but you’re likely to get a sense based on the answers you get. Also if you ask a few challenging questions you’re likely to self select out of a situation where they want or need a pushover.

I’ve definitely asked some of those but I’ve also learned that people can be very good at answering them in a polished, rehearsed way, especially if they’re trying to fill a role quickly. Sometimes the red flags aren’t in what’s said - it’s what left out or subtly deflected. I agree strong questions help but I still think interviews are inherently limited. They’re short, curated snapshots - on both sides. Not always enough to really know what you’re walking into.

Hi @SnugShaker I can apply what you have said to my experiences of interviews. You dont know the fit until you are in post.

Great question suggestions also @saltinesandcoffeecups although when i asked about work life balance and welfare at my last interview was told it is prioritised but found out manager and colleagues habitually work through breaks/lunch and felt bad for taking every last minute of mine as I need it! Asked to start late for son to go to dentist and although yes, had text message asking where I was! (Had dropped him at school and driving to work so didnt answer).

What employers say and what happens may be genuine misalignment or could be outright bluster and BS 😂

Absolutely

I do a few things. I search out ex-employees on LinkedIn and look at their work histories. How long did they stay?

I check the male/female ration. An even balance increases the chances of it being a reasonably sane workplace.

And if I'm thinking of accepting a job, after all the questions, I sit quietly outside the premises in the evening and watch people leaving. Do they look utterly fed up or do they seem relatively ok?

Put the candidates in a range of situations, some of which they might not realise are part of the process. When I was showing someone round the department before her interview she asked some strange questions because she was 'off guard' and didn't realise that I'd be reporting back to the panel. From her comments it was very clear that she had no intention of staying long in the post, which was useful to know! She'd been after an entirely different job.

Also - how did they behave towards receptionists and other support staff? Some people are rude to 'menials' while putting in a good performance at the interview itself. I think this is an important test for their general character.

Written tests/tasks?

I find the task I am asked to complete a good indication as to how much of a shit they are as an employer. If they ask questions about me, and I can see the task is genuinely skills based, they are usually pretty decent and professional as a firm. Questions like "You've seen we're doing XYZ, what do you think our next steps should be" or tasks that are actually generating usable work or ideas from them usually indicate the employer is a bit of a shit.

100% this, interviews are just so pointless but I don’t know what the alternative is so 🤷‍♀️

Ask as many technical questions as possible and put them in a situation asking what they would do.
Personality red flags are hard to spot sometimes but 80% can be dismissed on competence grounds I find....

I applied for and got a job that said they were a friendly team. Turns out they all refuse to go into the office and the 'friendliness' is a few minutes of chat on teams each day ( not even on video, just a few lines in the chat function about the weather or whatever).

Every public sector job I have ever interviewed for goes on about how busy they are and then when I get the job I am nearly always massively under-occupied.

I always came away from interviews with a gut feeling about the place. The worst jobs were those where I ignored a bad gut feeling about either the company or the people I'd met.

Yep and competency based interviews are the biggest pile of shit ever invented. The amount of candidates who interview well but can’t do any of what they say is astonishing. I’ve started taking on the underdogs, going ok so far!!

Ive had two interviews recently, both the same job for 2 diff companies. The first was more money but hybrid for a larger company and the travel costs meant i wouldnt really see the higher wage, the second less money fully remote for a smaller company with a better reputation. I wanted job 2.

The first interview they were full of smiles, if they felt my question lacked something they asked follow up questions, the intial feedback to my answers was positive, she understood when i stated i didnt have specific experience but said other experince i had and how those skills could be transferred over to the new role. They were open to my questions and reponded positively answering clearly.

The second they were rude and dismissive the second the interview started. The woman had this full superiority thing going on. She asked me a specific question about my current role, then went on to belittle my answer about how that wouldnt adapt to the role i was interviewing for, despite that not being the question, the question was about my current job role and experience. 5 minutes in to the interview i decided i no longer wanted that job. If thats the face of the company at a hiring point, whats the rest of it like? I continued the intervew but ddnt bother selling myself at all, i just answered the questions they asked without elaborating. However, the belittling and negativity to very question continued. Questions were asked that i couldnt possibly have achieved at the point i am in my career, which they clearly knew from my application, which they had clearly read as she asked a specific question about where i am now. The negativity was also baffling give them being the same content in my answer for the first role which i was offered immediately. When i asked a question about career projection and pathways she literally rolled her eyes. I withdrew my appplication imediately upon finishing the interview.

Im also assuming now, since i didnt get an outcome, probably because i withdrew, that its the first time in my 30 years of working and numerous jobs and interviews over the years, that i was unsuccessful at interview. so i dont think it was a me issue, she was just deeply unpleasant and i knew a few minutes in there was no point in trying and that i didnt want to be employed by a company she was the "face" of.

Sometimes, you can know instantly that a work place is not for you.

After a while of doing interviews and seeing situations, you can most certainly tell from the way people reply, their body language and the words they use whenever they are fudging or not.
also always check glassdoor for reviews

Interview preparation is a big thing, lots of advice on what to say is out there. People tell you what you want to hear on both sides. Proper use of probation periods would weed out poor performance, but usually managers don't want to go through the whole rigmarole so put up with it and long suffering colleagues get screwed over.

Love these questions!