Interviewing for a job is an overwhelmingly nerve-wracking experience for even the most confident people. You do your homework, pick out an outfit, and rehearse your strengths and weaknesses for hours on end only to meet total strangers in a position of power and be judged by a single conversation.

But out of fear of coming off as unfit for the desired company, we can forget a job interview is a two-way street. Just as employers deem whether candidates are a match for them, it's equally necessary for applicants to see whether the organization is in line with their goals and values. Sometimes, the interviewer may make an offensive comment or give out a downtrodden vibe of the office, and our intuition tells us to quickly run the other way.

"What are subtle red flags at a job interview that say, 'Working here would suck'?" asked one user over on Reddit and inspired thousands of people to chime in with their stories. From phrases like "fast-paced environment" to promises to be a part of their close family, people revealed warning signs to be on the lookout for. Below, you’ll find some of the most illuminating responses from the thread, so be sure to upvote the ones you agree with most. And if you know any additional indicators of hostile and toxic work environments, let us know all about them in the comments right below.

Psst! If you’re interested in even more job-interview madness, check out Bored Panda’s earlier piece right over here.

#1

I once interviewed for a company that said they'll be holding onto my passport and my university degrees as long as I work there.

While I had heard of such instances, I also knew it's against the law.

Image credits: tiinn

#2

While waiting in the lobby for my interviewer to come out, a man flung the work area door open as he was screaming and literally sobbing about the place being worse than hell. It was like a red flag factory exploded in my face.

Image credits: lorinisapirate

#3

I had an interview where the guy said "we - we work hard here. I'd like to say we play hard, too, but.. we work hard here".

Then, later on when I asked about what happened to the predecessor "he left. Unfortunately, he took on a little too much, became unhappy and left. He's taking some time off before he decides whether he wants to stay in IT or not."

So you overworked a guy to the point where he decided he needed a new career?

Image credits: renegadecanuck

#4

Baker here, on my first day I was given a potted tree, I was told to plant it, if I was still baking when it got big enough to hang myself off, I should, because this is not the job you want for the rest of your life.

Image credits: Jacob-Black

#5

Applied for a Guitar Tech job at guitar center. Went through three levels of interviews. Right during the last one, this f*****g dude, goes through all my paperwork and is like "you got the job, we're gonna start you off in sales." And I was like "I didn't apply for sales, I've interviewed the last three weeks for the Guitar Tech position." An he just said, "I know." And had this sh*tty stupid smile on his dumb face. And that's when I realized, they probably don't care for their employees there.

Image credits: willislol

#6

Hostile interviewers. I had an interview years ago, where they had a good cop, bad cop routine going. The good cop asked me about my hobbies, and seemed interested. The bad cop, scuffed and rolled his eyes.

Image credits: anon

#7

If to move forward in the hiring process you have to pay them for anything

Image credits: OkaySeriouslyBro

#8

I once interviewed with a company and they had a paper that showed the breakdown of how all the shifts reported. It was basically a flowchart with names... And start dates for their employment. Only one name had been there longer than a year.

Edit:

Also, this job was for a company (in the DC area) that makes RAM. I was interviewing to be an electronics technician responsible for the robots that handle the semiconductor material while it is in the clean room.
Edit 2: The name that had seniority there had a start date in 1998, and my interview was 2011.

Image credits: Clickum245

#9

Had an interview with a store owner once when I was in high school. Guy threw a pad of paper across the table at me and told me to list out my values.

The values of an 18 year-old. Applying for a job as a cashier at a sporting goods store. Uhhh, what?

Jotted some stuff down and he then proceeded to tell me why all my values were wrong.

"Family is great, but God is greater. God should be top of your list."

"School is only good if you get to work in your field."

"Work ethic? I'm just going to assume you don't know what that is."

"You definitely don't know what love is, so don't list your girlfriend anywhere in your values."

He then told me that I'd be less than minimum wage as a Trainee for as long as he saw fit to call me that and how that was completely and totally legit.

Promptly Noped the f**k outta there.

Image credits: Aramil03

#10

One place my wife interviewed asked her if she had any kids or planned on getting pregnant soon.

Both questions are illegal to ask during an interview.

Image credits: Redsox933

#11

If they say, "It's like a family here", they mean "the drama is unbelievable and yes, it gets very personal".

Image credits: vengeance_pigeon

#12

When the mournful eyed Filipina janitor bumps into you as you walk towards the restroom, slipping into your pocket a hastily scrawled note that says "you leave, is no good for you here".

Image credits: anon

#13

One that I've experienced- they asked me to start immediately.

"When can you start"?

"Tomorrow!"

"How about right now, we're way behind." *Thanks for joining the crew of the Titanic! Watch your step, she's listing about twenty degrees to starboard, but a finer luxury liner has never sailed the seas.*

Image credits: GreenStrong

#14

They wanted me to explain my tardiness stats from high school.

I'm in my thirties.

Image credits: Blinkskij

#15

Not subtle at all - I went for an interview for a job that I was already doing with 5 years experience, with excellent reviews and even a recommendation from my current employer. It was a panel interview and as soon as I walked in one of the interviewers walked out to the parking lot. He comes back and goes "how do you plan to work this job with two kids still in car seats?" I told him he was asking an illegal question and was being straight up sexist and inappropriate. I knew right then that I wasn't taking the job.

Image credits: anon

#16

When the person interviewing you is the person whose job you'll be taking, and they're quitting because the job sucks.

This comment is oddly specific, but I'm currently interviewing candidates to take over my job. It's a real ethical dilemma, encouraging someone to take the job I'm leaving due to dissatisfaction, but I tell myself that they may enjoy it better than I have.

#17

'we're a christian company'

if they say that... f*****g run. end the interview as fast and possible and f*****g run.

they're going to overwork you, underpay you, short you on benefits, and f**k you over at the first sign of trouble, but the owners will show up daily, driving their $150k cars that they paid cash for, so they can sit in their office and do f**k-all for a few hours and then leave so they can go yell at the contractors remodeling their houses for the fifth time in six years.

#18

When they pay you through Paypal and you're two weeks in without any sign of a contract yet.

Image credits: rebel_nature

#19

Group interviews. Seriously what a dumb idea. I think Walmart and a few others do this

Image credits: Tassimo1

#20

Anything that implies that you'll be doing sales/cold calling. I once applied for a "Marketing Strategist" position that required a degree and slowly figured out that I would be cold calling people to sell them stuff they probably didn't want. Sorry but unless you're basically a sociopath, sales/cold-calling is an absolutely awful, soul crushing and highly stressful line of work that very few people can be successful in.

Be wary of vague job titles involving Marketing. Marketing offices are usually in nicer buildings as well, and not strip malls in an industrial park.

Image credits: Protodeus

#21

When they mention the high turnover rate several times during the interview.

Image credits: anon

#22

They mention their employees must wear "many hats".

#23

I told this tale, just the other day in response to a different question so, enjoy your duplicate post.

A company emailed me that they found my resume on Monster and were very interested in meeting to discuss an opportunity in their office and would I be available this Thursday at 10 am to meet with Scott?

Absolutely!

So, I show up at 10am. A girl rides up the elevator with me and gets off at the same floor. We both walked into the same door. The receptionist greeted us and the girl said, "I'm here to meet with Scott."

I thought, "Well, that's a little weird but, maybe she's super early."

The receptionist looks at me and, I said, "I'm also hear to meet with Scott. I have a 10am."

She escorted us to this conference room where I see 30 other people. Now my alarms are starting to go off. She tells us to find seats and watch the presentation. Scott will be in shortly.

So, sitting there in silence for 15 minutes before I finally lean over to the girl and ask, "What job are you interviewing for?"

She answered, "I'm... I'm not entirely certain."

I asked, "Well, what's on your resume? What job did you think you were being offered?"

She answered, "I'm a mechanical engineer. You?"

"I'm a software developer."

So, another 5 minutes goes by when Scott walks into the room. He's super excited to see us and this presentation will take about an hour. He's asking people their names and making an effort to use their names whenever possible as he's handing out copies of the power point slides. Tells us that we can take notes.

I start flipping through the slide deck and notice right away that all the slides are either blank or otherwise devoid of content. They might have a title on them but, the title is just words. No explanation whatsoever. Things like, 'Company History' and 'Compensation' but otherwise empty.

He tells us that there will be time after the presentation to ask questions but, in order to get done before lunch, he requests that all questions are held to the end of the presentation.

"Scott," I said, "I do have a quick question before we get started."

"There will be plenty of time after the presentation for all questions."

"Scott, I promise that this question will be quick and very relevant. Are all the positions available commissioned insurance sales?"

"Well, we are an insurance company."

"That's not what I asked, Scott. Are all the positions available commissioned insurance sales?"

"Well, yes."

I stood up and gathered up my resume and folder and said, "Thanks for wasting my time, Scott." And, I walked toward the door.

Scott rushed to beat me to the door and opened the side closest to me causing me to pause briefly. As I did, I heard a great deal of grumbling and paper shuffling behind me. I turned to look and literally everybody in the room except for 4 dudes in three-piece suits at the front of the room had stood up at their tables and were putting their s**t in their briefcases and notebooks.

I exited quickly enough that I got the elevator to myself but, looking back on it, I should have waited because I definitely want to know what their elevator conversation was.

#24

They put an absurd emphasis on "cool" perks like free beer/soda, ping pong tables, pizza parties etc. Those things sound fun, but usually are band aids to cover up more deeply rooted problems like low pay, poor benefits, long hours, incompetent leadership, and low job security.

Those perks sounded exciting when I was fresh out of college but nowadays I'll take a boring but stable 9-5 that pays well and has good benefits over a "cool" company that might expect me to work 60 hours a week and might lay me off at any time.

#25

Mine was going for a corporate job that required travel ~40% of the time, which to me didn't sound so bad. I interviewed separately over a day with like 8 people on the team. I'd say about 4-5 of them had negative things to say about the travel aspect. So that was a red flag for me.

Image credits: Well_thatwas_random

#26

Been through man job interviews, a few I've seen

* A "hostile" interview in which the interviewer deliberately acts difficult and challenging to see how you behave under pressure. If they're willing to treat you like s**t during the interview, they're willing to treat you like s**t at work.
* Never interviewing with your future boss. It's okay for early interviews to be screenings with HR, but at some point you should talk to people you're going to working with; a failure here indicates that they aren't investing much in you, and don't expect you to stick around very long.
* Vagueness in describing the job. If they can't tell you what your day-to-day is like, you probably won't like it.

The interview process with my current job, which I love, went like this:

1. Got a call from HR to set up a phone interview
2. Phone interview was with one of the two managers who run the department I would be working in (though not the manager I would be working for)
3. In person interviews with:

* The manger I would be working for
* His boss
* Managers of two different departments that I would be working closely with
* HR manager
* Going out to lunch with the team I would be joining

So, if you have an employer that does that...it's a good sign.

#27

I've only had a couple bad job experiences when I was younger and they both had one thing in common: They made me wait for 15+ minutes to start after the scheduled interview time.

If they don't respect you and your time before you start, they definitely won't respect you when you're working there.

Now that I've been on the other side and interview people, I would never even think of doing that, no matter how busy I am. I also personally call every employee I don't hire, explain why they weren't the perfect fit, and try to give them some positive encouragement going forward.

BOTTOM LINE: Just because you are the one looking for a job, doesn't mean that the potential employer shouldn't be courteous and treat you just as well as they treat a client/customer.

EDIT: Call back only people I've interviewed, not anyone who has ever sent a resume in.

Image credits: anon

#28

I recently interviewed for a construction company to be brought on as a resident IT guy. I let them know very clearly beforehand that my background is mainly troubleshooting. Then they starting asking me if I could script them apps for iPhone, set up a new office location network and when not assigned to a task to be making sales calls. When I said I don't have experience in that field they started attacking me stating that this interview isn't going very well because I don't have a can do attitude.

I did a burnout in their parking lot after politely leaving.

#29

I had an interviewer that was interested in hiring me and when I asked if we could go around the office and meet his team, he didn't want to. Huge red flag, didn't take the job.

#30

When your position "has huge opportunity for growth" but they don't have anything more to say other than "the executive team has a lot of plans for this department." If growth opportunity is important to you, get a 3 or 5 year plan. If there is no plan, there is no growth opportunity.

#31

If they say that over time is expected. That just means they are under staffed and you will be putting a lot many hours you are not getting paid for.

#32

If you can you assess the coffee situation while moving through the office for interview.. Powdered creamer? Run. Liquid creamer in numerous flavors? Work there till death or retirement.

Image credits: 2ftUSBcable

#33

I once went to a four hour job interview that was 4 different 50-60 minutes sessions each with a different group of people. Every single group asked me the same damn questions, while repeatedly warning me how busy the department was all year round.

It raised a red flag. If you're so f*****g busy all the time, then why don't you get more efficient and interview me all at once!!! I got the job and learned that this was pretty typical. They were always "busy" because they were inefficient. In reality, they really didn't have to be so busy all the time. I often did extra work to fill my time because I did things much more quickly than the previous person to do my job.

#34

Posted this before but my roommate once was asked to do a trial run as a waitress since she had no experience. Sure that's cool. It was for Valentine's Day lunch, surely she will be shadowing and letting drinks and what not. Nope. They put her out there solo for a 5 hour shift THEN ASKED HER TO COME BACK THAT NIGHT TO WORK A DOUBLE. She never got paid for it and never returned.

#35

I've had several interviews where I walked away from the offer...

1. I was interviewing for a IT Mgr job at some small-mid sized company. During the interview I asked about the person who I'd be replacing as it was mentioned that he was still there and the interview was hush-hush. I was told that he was being replaced because he was slow on getting things done. "Well we don't really know what he does. Nobody here is technical but him." I heard that as, "We don't know what he does but we want it done faster and we are firing him because of it."
2. Same interview... "So you don't have a college degree. Why should I hire you over some kid fresh out of college?" I dunno, my decade+ of solid work history and proven track record? I did get offered the job and turned them down.
3. I was left waiting in the lobby for 20 minutes after the interview was supposed to have started... the marched down endless rows of cubicles into a bland meeting room where I was group interviewed by 7 people. None of whom seemed to be having a good day. They then wanted to test me. Nevermind that I've years of Sr. Unix Admin work on my resume, ask me how to clear a printer queue...
4. The interview went well, really well, I even had a former co-worker who now worked for the company saying amazing things about me. The problem was the offer... They wanted me to go through an agency for 3 months to prove myself. Nope. Nopenopenopenope.

#36

If the interviewer cancels and forgets to tell you.

I once drove an hour each way just to learn that my future boss took the day off. Not a sick day. She had booked a vacation months ago and didn't bother clearing her schedule (or checking it when scheduling my interview).

That job ended up being very short-lived and traumatic. She was fired like a month after I quit.

#37

I just got out of an interview.

Red flag 1: was never informed that it was a group interview.

They said they were hiring for several positions as they were a new branch in a new market. Ok fine.

Red flag 2: when we walked in the office, the receptionist was on the phone. I heard her say "well no, the training isn't paid. It's only 5 days spread out across 2 weeks..."

Unpaid training means they don't want to invest in you until you've proven to be valuable. The only way they can afford this is to hire groups of desperate people and train them with no pay. The ones that stick around keep the sh*tty job.

Red flag 3: compensation was briefly mentioned as a commission rate on different products we would be selling.

Letting someone leave an interview without a realistic understanding of compensation means that you know that's a deal killer more often than not.

#38

When the interviewer's eyes have the cold, lifeless look of someone who's slowly dying on the inside.


You look into their eyes and see that all their hope and ambition is lost. They've come to accept their meaningless existence and know they will die a lonely death, looking back on a life full of regret.


If your interviewer gives you a vibe like that, don't take the job.

#39

How much do you make now and how much do you want to make.... This is the worst. Basically "Can we hire you at a very low cost..." "Can we afford you." If a company is more worried about how much they have to pay you over the quality of employee they are going to get, they're going to suck.

#40

If interviewing with a large corp and you notice the office flooring/cubes/desks all look old and worn.

If it is a large corporation they normally can afford to update the carpet once in awhile. The fact they do not bother shows that management is too cheap to care about the environment they provide to their employees.

If your management does not care about the how the carpet/cube/desk in your work environment they sure as hell are not going to value you.

#41

"Must be a self-starter" = We won't train you.

"Fast-paced environment" = We will overwork you.

"Must be able to multitask" = We fired three people and want you to do all their jobs.

#42

If they show you large commission numbers from a few years ago. Hotels.com did this, but what they didn't say was the large checks were from a year ago and they changed their commission structure since then an those checks are no longer obtainable.

#43

"You are required to work a minimum of X hours per week."

Fresh out of college, I had my resume on Monster and I got a call from someone with Steve & Barry's (was a short lived clothing chain here on the east coast, supposed to be known for low prices. They over-expanded in the early 2000's and went under by 2008), about a management position there.

So the guy is describing the position and says "You are required to work a minimum of 52 hours per week." Not only is that suck, but they might as well just say you have to be here 6 days a week because obviously that's what they want.

I didn't take the job because I was pretty sure 52+ hours a week in a clothing store would lead to heavy drinking and/or insanity.

#44

When they interviewers are too informal. I generally try to be professional until I see them get a little less formal. This one interview the two people kept texting each other on their apple watches and giggling. Then after every response would turn my answer into a weakness. I wasn't offered the job but I wouldn't have taken it abyway

#45

People are way too excited about working there and are totally high on the company Kool Aid. Working there is the best thing EVER according to everyone you talk to. There's nothing they love more than slaving away for company XYZ.

They're either full of s**t and lying to you and cannot be trusted about anything -OR- they're truly high on the Kool Aid and you're going to be expected to similarly partake if you ever want to fit in.

#46

When they ask you to stand up and do a slow turn for them, then tell you you're only allowed to wear short shorts. (Was not for a strip club).

#47

If they tell you that you *COULD* work a wide range of different duties and task but then ask "do you mind if your title is test engineer?" Guess what? You're going to be doing testing, not doing design or the other interesting things you *COULD* be working on.

#48

For people looking for jobs and reading this thread this is something I will say. When your questions are direct but the answers are not, you are getting mislead in one way or another. Try asking a question from a different angle, and if you still don't get a direct answer that is a red flag.

Ex. "How is your company culture?"

"We have a ping pong table and we have a nice office layout"

"How amicable and social are my future team?"(if you're looking for that)

"We have office events all the time and book drives"

Red. F*****g. Flag.

#49

If it's a service industry job, or a job that has odd hours (as in not Monday-Friday and 9-5) and they emphasize that your open availability is a must, then they're going to not only expect you to work whenever, but they're hiring you to work the shifts the current employees won't.

This happened to me at a restaurant I worked at briefly. Since I was the only one they made close the store (6 days a week with the exception of Wednesday) I was also the only one expected to clean the bathrooms. I made the same if not less than my co-workers (less because it was South Florida and I'm not bilingual). I quit after two weeks and gave no notice, so my lazy a*s boss actually had to come in and do stuff.

#50

This wasn't during the interview but after the fact...I went for the interview at a dental office for reception work. Was offered the position about a week later. 20 minutes after I accepted the job, the lady called back and said "Dr so and so actually hired another person for a job at one of our other offices but they need to train here. Unfortunately, there isn't enough space in our office to train two people at once so we'll have you start in a few weeks."


It's been a year and they still haven't called me back. Luckily, about 45 minutes after that phone call, I got an interview at a different company, something in my gut said take the interview even though you were offered a job, and I got that second job two weeks later and I'm about ready to hit my year mark with that company and even got a promotion and raise 4 months ago. Sooo yea...good idea i didn't wait around for that other job.

Occasionally I want to stop by that dental office and ask them when I'm supposed to start.

#51

Assuming the interview is going well, I always ask how the team spends their lunch. I didn't ask it once and I found that it was expected to work through your lunch every day (even for an hourly position). I asked at my last interview and it actually opened up a great conversation about the day to day operations of the department.

It can be a risky question, but useful if asked correctly.

#52

Unlimited earning potential.

#53

I was interviewing at a grocery store when I was like 17 or 18, and the first thing they say in the interview is "we are not union friendly."

Bruh, I'm 17 (or 18), I don't care about unions, I just need weed money.

That job sucked a*s, quit after 4 years, am currently in a union and absolutely love it.

#54

The interviewer calls you by the wrong name after staring at your resume for nearly one hour and asking you questions totally unrelated to the position you're interviewing for.

#55

I had an interview at Tops where the interviewer talked for 5 minutes about how her honeymoon begins at the end of that workday.

I got the job, technically because she said she would contact me when she got back about when I could start working.

Years of unemployment had finally ended! I couldn't wait!

2 weeks and 4 days later I called to ask about the job only to be told "I don't remember you and I don't remember any interview."

I was devastated. A year more with no job and I began the rotation of searching again and got an interview. 8 to 10 years of cashier experience gets you an interview but never a job.

I went in to the second interview thinking it might be someone new. It wasn't. What she said when she saw me made me see red:

"Oh I remember you!"

#56

I had an interview at a popularly known coffee shop that is orange, pink and brown.

I have a Engineering degree but couldn't find work in my area (it's a poor town and it's hard enough to find work without a degree).

The manger asked some of the following?

"Why don't you have an engineering job yet?" "Something must be wrong with you."

I explained the market and how a lot do my friend still didn't have jobs (which was true). I said I'd had a lot of interviews but nothing had resulted in an offer (which was also true).

"Well I think something is wrong with you and you are hiding it."

Well thanks...



She then proceeds to tell me if I have any form of anxiety I can't work there as I won't be able to complete my duties so to fess up. (I do have anxiety but 1.)I don't have to disclose that s**t and 2.)it's very very mild and I know it wouldn't impede me).

Lastly she tells me how she is going to be firing everyone that works there over the next month because they all suck.


She offered me the job, I accepted at the moment and was supposed to go in the next day to fill out my paperwork. I went home and stressed about how I knew I would be miserable there and what to do. I decided to decline it as my health and wellbeing were more important than this job. I sent a very nice email stating that it wasn't the right fit for me at the moment.

The next morning I received an offer from an Engineering company I interview at earlier in the week.


Apparently she still complains about how I decided to decline the job....

#57

In all seriousness, check the bathroom for one-ply toilet paper. If they don't care about your a*s, they don't care about your a*s.

I've worked several places when I was younger and all the bad places fit this rule.