Don't Ignore These Job Search Red Flags
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Take note and listen to your gut.
What the application and interview process feels like as a candidate gives you a window into what to expect from a company if you get hired.
If interview process is full of poor, untimely communication, if the process is disorganized, if you immediately get the feeling that you are insignificant and just a number, these are all pretty big red flags as a candidate.
The way a company shows up for you during the interview process for the most part is exactly what you'll get if you get hired. Do not ignore these red flags while going through the hiring process, it usually doesn't get better.
Companies that care will make you feel like they care.
There is no company in the world that sincerely cares about employee experience that has a terrible, impersonal, disorganized hiring process. Companies that care will show you that from the start — and the ones that don’t will show you, too.
Companies make it loud and clear how you will be treated in the day-to-day by how they intentionally make you feel in the interviewing process. If the experience is bad from the start, the likelihood that things will be way different once you start there or get any better is extremely low. As in basically zero,
Likewise, if a company is really dialed in during the interview process; they’re organized, communicate well, and make you feel that they care about you as a human — green flag!
Let the warning signs speak for themselves.
Think about the process as a first date. This is your chance to get to see someone on their best behavior who’s trying to make a good impression on you (or not trying at all).
You are just getting to know each other, so it’s natural to put your best foot forward in order to gain the other person’s interest and trust, and begin to build a good foundation for some kind of relationship.
Now imagine a first date where the other person was 20 minutes late without a great reason or apology, came dressed in dirty, grubby clothes, only talked about themselves the entire time and didn’t ask you a single question, was rude, and then claimed to have forgot their wallet causing you to have to pay for the meal. You’d run for the hills after that (I hope. If not, we need to talk about your dating choices). Everything about that is a #hardpass
No different with companies you’re applying and interviewing for. If they care about your experience you will know because they will do things that cause to to have a good experience. If the process feels like garbage, run.
Companies, take heed.
Shine a huge spotlight on your hiring process and make sure that you are being intentional about the way you are treating candidates.
Don’t unnecessarily automate a bunch of things in the hiring process, or make it impossible for candidates to interact with an actual human. Having people manually type in everything that their resume already says is soul-sucking, stop doing that. In my opinion having people record themselves is extremely impersonal, and terrifying for some people. Not only that, because people will want to get it as perfect as possible they will likely have to re-record themselves a bunch of times which is a huge waste of time and energy.
Show folks that you actually care about them by making the hiring process a reflection of how you want your employees feel about working for you. Make people feel valued and appreciated for their time and effort. Prove to candidates that you prioritize employee experience, they’ll notice and they will care.
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This article was created by Galen Emanuele for the #culturedrop. Free leadership and team culture content in less than 5 minutes a week. Check out the rest of this month's content and subscribe to the Culture Drop at https://bit.ly/culturedrop