9 Red Flags to Watch Out for in an Interview
Hiring the best talent for your company can be hard, but avoiding bad hires can be even harder.
No doubt about it, hiring can be a risky business, and with employers engaged in a war for talent it can be easy to overlook the red flags that warn of a potential bad hire.
Familiarizing yourself with common interview red flags can help you avoid the stress and wasted time and money that come with a bad hire.
Watch out for these common red flags during the interview:
The candidate is late. Without a justifiable reason, lateness indicates an employee that will be unreliable, unprepared, and lacking in time management skills.
They have poor listening skills. Frequently misunderstanding questions, or talking over you, indicates an employee that will struggle to learn the job and make mistakes.
They have no questions or ask the wrong questions. No questions, or canned questions, indicates a concerning lack of interest. Obsessive questions about compensation, for example, can indicate a candidate that is only motivated by money.
Their employment history is suspicious. Employment gaps, unusual career progression, and job-hopping are all red flags if they can’t be adequately explained.
They are overqualified. If a candidate is overqualified for the position they’ve applied for - a manager interviewing for an administrative role, for example - this needs to be addressed in the interview. This employee may become bored, or may quickly jump ship when something better suited comes along.
Their answers are vague. Vagueness can hide a lack of experience. Ask specific questions and listen for specific answers - request specific examples if they’re not volunteered. Vague statements like ‘I make a ton of sales’ are a red flag if the candidate can’t provide a specific example to back it up.
They didn’t research the company. Always ask ‘what do you know about the business’ or similar. A candidate that can’t be bothered to do a little preparation is lacking enthusiasm for the position, and that’s not someone who is going to do a good job.
They live too far away. Too long of a commute can lead to tired, frustrated, and unproductive employees who ultimately move on. We have found a 30-minute commute to be about the limit that works for us.
They badmouth former employers or colleagues. Most of us have had a bad experience with someone at work, but it’s entirely inappropriate to gossip or complain about it during an interview.
Identifying a bad candidate can be challenging. Use your best judgment but don’t go it alone. Rely on your hiring team to offer their perspectives and always use additional screening methods. Tools such as behavioral assessments and background checks are invaluable in reducing the risk of a bad hire, and always call references and scroll through the candidate’s social media posts to check they are a good fit.
Whatever hiring process you use, set clear expectations for new hires during onboarding and if a new employee isn’t working out, don’t waste any time in letting them go.