Warning sign
All too often when candidates prepare for a job interview, they focus only on how they will answer commonly asked interview questions. Perhaps you’ve been there, too: you’ve perfected your answers to behavioral interview questions, job history questions, and you’ve even got a great answer for why there’s a long gap in your career.
But it’s important to remember that job interviews are a two way street: they’re also a chance to see if the organization is a good fit for you. Just like a company can reject you, you can reject a company.
If getting hired is the only metric that matters to you, you could end up at a company you hate. It’s up to you to learn more about the company and its employees before you take a job.
Can you really understand exactly what it’s like to work at a company without actually working there? Maybe not. But, there are still ways to identify some critical red flags simply by asking the right questions during your interview. Here are three questions to ask during your interview, why each question is important to ask, and some red flag answers to watch out for.
Question: On days when you feel disengaged, why is that the case?
Why to Ask It: We all have our bad days. When people have bad days, what’s the root cause? Are they overworked? Not challenged enough? Is leadership tough to communicate with? You want to understand what the most grating part of the company or job is. Is this person’s answer a deal breaker for you?
Red Flag Answers:
- “No one ever feels disengaged here!” (Probably untrue, an opportunity to dig deeper.)
- “I don’t feel listened to, seen, or heard.” (A sign that your ideas might also not be heard.)
- “Our team is way overworked.” (A sign that the company is not well-resourced and expects its employees to work nights and weekends.)
Question: Give me an example of when you or your team got something wrong, and what happened as a result.
Why to Ask It: No one is right all the time. Companies and employees make mistakes. You want to understand how the company first acknowledges and then learns from mistakes. Did change come as a result of the mistake? Is the mistake something people discuss openly and without shame? This question gets at the core of “perfection culture,” humility, and evolution.
Red Flag Answers:
- “I can’t think of anything we’ve gotten wrong.” (Everyone makes mistakes! An unwillingness to admit this could indicate a culture of fear.)
- “We got X wrong but we’re still waiting on Y to correct their end.” (Shows disjointed systems, lack of communication or teamwork, or blame culture.)
- “Mary from my team made this mistake and she was fired.” (Depending on the gravity of the mistake, you’ll want to weigh whether the consequences are fair. Are people given second chances or training when they make mistakes?)
Question: Describe your onboarding process for this role.
Why to Ask It: Onboarding might seem minor, but it’s actually a reflection of how seriously the company is about integrating new employees into the company. Poor or nonexistent onboarding is often a harbinger for how you’ll be treated once you’re a few months in.
Red Flag Answers:
- “We don’t really have a formal onboarding process.” (The company isn’t thoughtful about new employees’ experiences or lacks the resources to put towards onboarding. They also may not understand the correlation between good onboarding and retention.)
- “All of our employees are self-starters.” (They expect you to onboard yourself.)
Try asking these three questions during your next job interview. Now, when the hiring managers asks, “What questions do you have for me?” you’ll be ready. And, you may even dodge a bullet!
