Danger Sign Job Interview Questions (Infographic)

Explore these danger sign job interview questions (Infographic) to know the questions that you should not be asked during a job interview.

By Catherine Adenle

What is the danger sign job interview questions that you should not be asked by any organization as a job seeker? There are many red flag questions that a good employer should never ask you during a job interview.

As an employer, in the danger sign job interview questions (Infographic), we highlighted discriminatory questions that you should never ask any job-seeking candidate in your organisation.

Many years ago, I walked into a job interview and halfway through the interview, I made up my mind not to take the job on offer. Although the role, as well as the pay, were a perfect fit for me. So after two days, I received a phone call from the organisation that I have been offered the job. Needless to say that I respectfully turned down the offer and gave the organisation a well delivered constructive feedback on why I had to reject the role.

Looking back, I was proud of my decision not to take the role. A friend of mine who got another role in the same company left after three months because clearly, the organization lacked the culture, vision, active leadership, engagement and any other aspect of being a good employer.

My decision not to take the role was purely based on some of the questions I was asked during the job interview and nothing else. Back then, it was highly important for me not to take just any job that was a perfect fit for me in a bad organisation. I needed to work for a company that promotes career growth, respects and values their employees. Working in a bad environment or organisation could be incredibly detrimental to anyone’s well-being.

As professionals, we spend an average of 7 hours a day at work. Over time, that adds up to a substantial chunk of our lives, so an unhappy work environment or an unbearable work situation can make the rest of our lives miserable.

In these challenging economic times, it is usual for highly competent job seekers to find themselves unemployed for a long time through no fault of their own. So, in order to prevent gaps in their employment history, some of these highly competent people tend to overlook the danger signs associated with any job they are offered irrespective of warning signs. As a job seeker, the eagerness to get a job, any job, should not prevent you from making a good judgement call on any role you decide to take on.

“It is your job to make sure it is the right fit for you,” says Anna Runyan, career coach and founder of ClassyCareerGirl.com.

During a job interview, the danger sign job interview questions highlighted via the Infographic below are questions that employers should never ask you because the questions are discriminatory. Potential employers asking you these 15 danger signs job interview questions are unintentionally showing you invisible signs on top of their heads that the organization in question is probably not the best place of work for you.

The 2013 Gallup State of the American Workplace Report found that 70 percent of Americans are either “not engaged” or “actively disengaged” with their work. For this reason, as a job seeker, you’ll want to avoid working for an organisation that can make your work life miserable.

If an employer has an issue regarding any of these 15 danger signs job interview questions as explored in the Infographic below that aren’t related directly to your ability to do a great job, then it’s time for you to run a mile from such an employer.

Job interviews are tough enough so why would any employer make it even more unpleasant for you as a potential employee by asking you some of these danger sign job interview questions?

These danger sign job interview questions are different from IQ questions asked by some well-known companies.

See Google’s Ban on Bad Interview Questions is a Lesson for Every Organization

Also See the 25 Worst Job Interview Mistakes

Danger Sign Job Interview Questions (Infographic)

How can you spot a bad organisation to work for via a job interview?

Well, you can do various investigative homework even before a job interview.

Explore how to view prospective employers. Websites exist on the web that offers employees an anonymous forum to give feedback about their companies. Try LinkedIn and Vault. “Glassdoor.com is also a great site to give you an inside look into an organisation. However, I’d advise that you don’t completely trust all these online information since they are anonymous; you won’t be able to tell if the information is 100 percent true or they are just from few disgruntled employees stating the same points repeatedly.

See Checking out an organisation

Use this information from some of the sites gingerly as you source out more information through their websites, annual reports, news releases, product review and other sources.

Other signs to look out for apart from these danger sign job interview questions

At any job interview, as well as the content of the danger sign job interview questions (Infographic) below, there are various other things to also look out for:

1. See if the organisation has a bad reputation. You can easily find out through the internet.
2. Your treatment during the hiring process is a major clue as to how you’ll be treated as an employee.
3. If your emails, phone calls or any kind of contact consistently go unreturned without an explanation or if interviews are cancelled at the last minute without an apology, then be wary.
4. If the communication with you is unprofessional or disrespectful, that’s an organisation you do not want to work for.
5. On the day of the interview, if the workplace seems unhappy, then trust your instinct. Don’t take a job without paying a visit to where you’ll be working.
6. Warning signs include unclean, unsafe workspaces, unhappy or angrily worded communication poster signs and the attitude and interactions of the workers there.
7. If the recruiters and hiring managers aggressively distrust you and question your answers in an investigative manner, remember, there’s plenty more of that yet to come. However, there’s another part of the investigative manner to consider here – though, just as you don’t want to make a bad career move, employers too don’t want to hire a bad candidate. Consequently, for some jobs, expect a background check and reference checks. If the job involves working with children, sensitive information or organisation finances, expect a bit more scrutiny.
8. If the job’s duties are unclear, or your interviewers can’t define what success in the role will look like, you may end up having all sorts thrown at you.
9. If they want to hire you right away, without any interviewing or reference checks, be cautious.
10. If you don’t think you’ll get along with your boss or colleagues, think hard before you take on the role.

If all or some of the above 10 things happened, you may want to take your business elsewhere.

Hiring managers, recruiters, and all employers often rely on their instincts when making a decision on whether to hire you or not. So, you should rely on your instinct too.  Trust what your instinct is telling you at the job interview and after the job interview.

Just as well, as a job seeker, you have to remember that job interviews are sales pitches as well as candidate evaluations, and all that glitters at a job interview may not be gold.

Remember, ‘only fools rush in!’ If you have second thoughts about accepting a job, then hold off making the decision and do some more research. The last thing you want is to dive headlong into something you may end up regretting as soon as you dive in.

Now that you have explored the danger sign job interview questions in the Infographic, what else can you add?