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7 Signs In The Job Interview That You May Not Want This Job Leadership

7 Signs In The Job Interview That You May Not Want This Job

I’m in late stages of the interview process for a VP role, and I have met several executives, including the Chief Information Officer. But I still haven’t met the person who would be my immediate boss. I asked to meet that person, and it turns out the company is still hiring for my boss’ role. Isn’t that a bad sign? Why wouldn’t they hire for the boss’ spot first and then my role? I’m not sure I would even take a job where I didn’t know who my boss would be, but the jump in title and salary would be significant. – Data Analyst

Two female professionals at a job interview

Kudos to this data analyst for looking past the title bump and raise and considering other aspects of a job (after all, you can be both well-paid and happy!). Kudos too for culling additional information during the job interviews, including from who (and who isn’t) interviewing. Not meeting your boss and not having a specific boss identified are two potential red flags. But they aren’t the only signs a job may not be for you. Here are seven more:

1 – Your boss isn’t new but other leaders are

Even if you do get to meet your boss during the interview process, a red flag would be if that person alludes to other leadership changes in positions crucial to the support of your role. Changes above you may trickle down and impact your role through no fault of your own. You may find that your role disappears, as new leadership prefers to bring in their own team. Or your role could change because of how new leadership structures new priorities. Your direct boss may not know you well enough or have enough clout with the new leadership to help.

2 – You have more than one boss

Pay attention to who sponsors the main projects you would be working on. Even if you have one official boss, if you’re leading initiatives ultimately run by different people, you really have more than one boss. It’s hard enough to develop credibility and trust and match workstyles with one individual. Having more than one magnifies the challenge.

3 – You hear different priorities for what results are expected in the job

Just like it’s hard to match workstyles with different bosses, it’s hard to meet priorities that keep changing. When you go through the interview process and get to meet leaders and colleagues from different groups, pay attention to how they describe the job and its expectations. Whatever is written in the job posting is not gospel when it comes to the actual position. You need to confirm that during the interview process, so you know the specific needs a company is facing – i.e., what the real job is. If everyone has a different description for the job, it could be a sign that the company is scattered in its priorities or doesn’t have a clear strategy.

4 – There is an unrealistic timeline for when results need to happen

Even if you do get a clear set of priorities, make sure you understand how much runway you have for making results happen. Deadlines should account for the complexity of the role and how much support you have. This varies job-by-job, and it’s part of your work as a candidate to determine what is realistic, what you can do and what you want to do. Don’t forget to consider timing as you do your due diligence on whether this is a job you want or not.

5 – The job is a new role

It’s not necessarily a bad sign that a company is hiring for this particular job for the first time. It could be a result of launching a new line of business, entering a new geography or some other expansion. However, a new role carries additional risk because there is no track record for how committed the company is to the role (e.g., will they exit that new business or geography if initial projections don’t work out?). How much runway does the new person have (see point 4)? Is the leadership supporting this role senior and influential enough to protect this job if early success is elusive?

6 – The job has had frequent turnover

A smart candidate asks why a role is open and what happened to the person before them. A good sign would be that the former person in the role is still happily in the company in a promotion or other new role. Another good sign is that the former person had the role for as long as you might want to have it. So, if it’s an entry role that’s expected to be a one- to three-year commitment, then the previous people in the role were there for one to three years. If it’s a complex management role, the previous managers had several years in the role. If you see a revolving door of people, you’ll need to dig into why everyone is leaving – and why you would be an exception to that trend.

7 – The job has been open for a long time

Is the company not attractive compared to its competitors? Are they disorganized and slow to hire? Have they just not prioritized filling this position (and therefore do they really care about the role)? Are they divided about what to hire for? A long fill time deserves more investigation.

Even if you ultimately don’t want the job, you want the job OFFER

No one red flag should be considered a deal-breaker and reason enough to not accept a job. These signs indicate you should do more research, ask more questions and think about what you want in light of what you learn. That said, whether you ultimately accept the job or not, you definitely want to get the job offer. You want that offer so the Yes/ No decision is up to you. The offer will also give you confidence that you can close the hiring process victoriously. Another offer is also great leverage if you have other jobs you’re going after (and you should be going after multiple jobs at a time!). As you go through the interview process, do your due diligence but always in a gracious, collaborative way such that the company believes you wholeheartedly are interested in the job.