‘I hate working here. If I knew what it was really like, I would never had accepted this job!’ – ever felt that way? There’s nothing worse than accepting a new job, making a start and realising the company culture isn’t a good fit, the things you were promised at interview don’t materialise or there’s just a general lack of support for staff. There’s some things about a company you won’t find out until you start, but there’s red flags you can spot throughout the hiring process that can help identify these kinds of companies to make sure you don’t waste your precious time and energy on them!
Is the company always advertising for roles? Ask yourself why. Is it a great expansion and the team needs to grow to cope with new business, or is this a role that was advertised a few months ago? If it seems like they have a high turnover rate, beware! They could lack the skills to recruit the right people, meaning you won’t have the right team around you to do a good job, or the culture is one where even the strongest ones can’t handle it and leave. Whatever the reason, where a company is constantly re-advertising the same or similar roles, steer clear.
Have you read those company reviews? What were the comments? There’s always going to be those negatives where people have left an organisation, after all, no one leaves a job they love where they are valued and treated well for no good reason! But, what do those reviews say about management support, training opportunities or even support during probation? If you ask about the culture in and interview and you get responses that show a lack of understanding or knowledge, stay away. We spend most of our waking life at work and there’s nothing worse than being stuck somewhere that you feel doesn’t match your values or doesn’t encourages you to progress.
Too many managers? A lot of organisations like to call everyone manager – they feel it makes people feel special or somehow motivates them to do more work for less money, but be careful of those organisations who do genuinely have a lot of management levels. Where there’s a lot of management, it shows they may not fully trust their employees to carry out tasks unaided. Also, if there’s lots of managers, where do the resources go? Does the company place more importance on the managers than the staff at your level? How does stuff get done if things have to go through too many levels of management? Too many managers usually means lots of people to sign off on things, which usually means things move slowly and change is hard to implement.
What about career prospects? Did the interviewer mention any programs or support they offer staff to move up the ladder or learn new skills? If your interview leaves you feeling they lack the ability to support you and your long term goals, walk away. If they can’t point to examples of how they have supported previous staff, then what chances do you think you will have? This could be a company that wants someone who is happy to plod and stay in the same role for a long period of time. If you have career goals then this company is not for you. Don’t waste time working for someone who won’t support your goals for the future.
What about the company’s long term goals? Has anyone discussed those? If you can’t seem to get an answer at your interview about how the company see’s it’s future or any long term plans they have, they either don’t have long term goals, or they aren’t communicated well to staff. Either of those issues should be a huge red flag. A company with no goals isn’t the place to work. Every business should be looking to improve and grow, no matter the industry, so if they don’t have those goals, then it’s not going to be a great place to work. On the other hand, the company could have amazing expansion plans, but if the people running the interviews don’t know about them, what does that say about the company’s ability to communicate to staff? And if they can’t communicate something as important as their goals to staff, what else don’t they share?
Have you caught them in a lie? Did your initial interview mention a great benefits and bonus package, but now you’re on your second interview you’ve been told you misunderstood and that won’t be available at your level? Maybe the working hours are wrong or the salary package isn’t quite what was initially discussed. If you’ve been lied to during the recruitment process, this should tell you all you need to know about the company you’ll potentially be working for. Don’t waste any more precious time on this dead end!
Finally, listen to your gut. Sometimes, interviews just don’t feel right. Either the interviewer made an off hand comment or a member of staff you met made you feel uncomfortable. Whatever the reason, if your gut tells you something’s wrong, no amount of promised money, bonuses or a great job title will make any difference. Pay attention to the warning signs and don’t end up in a job you’ll regret accepting.
How can The Wage Shop help?
Job hunting is hard, so follow our tips and make the best of every opportunity available to. Don’t forget once you’ve landed that role, The Wage Shop are on hand to make sure you’re paid correctly, on time and manage all your tax and national insurance requirements. So you can focus on working hard and getting settled into that new role.
We also offer a Payment Advance service so you can access your money when you need it so you can be ready for the first day. Whether that means a new suit or coffee’s to soften up the new colleagues, we’re here to help.
Head over to the website for more details, or Contact Us to register.