1. The interviewer is very late and doesn't apologize for it.
Rude. It is worse if the interviewer is also going to be your boss.
2. The interviewer speaks ill about the person whose job you’d be taking.
It shows their poor character. Also, if they routinely speak ill about a person no more there, it will happen to you too. Makes you feel thrice about that company, right?
3. The interviewer hasn’t gone through your resume.
What's more, the interviewer just flips through the resume in front of you. No homework was done, and they don't seem to be interested, just want to fill up a position ASAP.
You may also take this as an opportunity to shape the interview answers, portraying yourself in the best light. Consider this: Even if you got the job, how long would you continue in a job they seem to be interested in?
Another possibility: They have already decided on some, but want to be polite about it.
Similarly, if the interviewer checks email during the interview, this is another 'not interested' sign.
4. The interviewer can't or won't explain the job properly
This shows two things; They are not serious about the position or just want to fill a position and later see how it goes. It happens a lot in startups, who want to have a marketing team but are still in two minds about the marketing plan for the next year as they have lots to do on other front.
5. The company has high attrition, or a toxic culture.
You research online (Glassdoor, Linked in, Google the phrase 'company x layoffs') and find the company fires as much people each month as it hires people every month. Also check if the online reviewers talk about the work culture being 'too aggressive'.
In this case, it is also suggested you ask the interviewer how long did your predecessor stay in the job, as well as the one before.
6. The company's online reviews are mostly negative
Online reviews tend to have reliability problem. A disgruntled worker may talk about Company X on Glassdoor or linked or elsewhere, if you come across more of such negative reviews ('company is in trouble', 'people are jumping ship', 'no one likes the new CEO' etc, they may give you reason to pause and think.
You can try to bring the important issues during the interview, asking tactfully about the issue- 'what is the company culture like?' and then asking other stuff discreetly, depending upon the response to first question about company culture.
7. The interviewer asks you personal questions.
Remember this: You’re there to talk about the job, not how many times you go to church each month, or how many times you have been married etc. Young people often makes this mistake in their interviews, taking the interviewer to be their best friend, eagerly sharing stuff about their personal life, personal beliefs of habits- Avoid the 'Wow, how nice this person is, so interested in me!' syndrome.
Thank you for reading.
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