Tell-tale signs of a bad organizational culture that can be spotted during the job interview

Some tell-tale signs of a bad organizational culture that can be spotted during the job interview

 

• Body Language: Is the interviewer constantly shifting in his/her chair? Is the interviewer  paying more attention to his/her phone than the interviewee? Is the interviewer avoiding eye contact? Is the interviewer  rifling through papers when the interviewee is talking?
• They put a lot of pressure on you to take the position. They are trying too hard to close the deal. The more the interviewee questions about the potential job (once an offer has been made), the more irritated they become, and they force the selectee to make a quick decision.
• The interviewer is late. The interviewer doesn’t respect the interviewee's time to show up on time, and then when he/she sits down to conduct the interview, it appears he/she hasn’t even looked at the interviewee's resume.
• Word Choice: When they ask the interviewee a question, do they begin the sentence with a negative message? Are the scenarios they ask the interviewee to answer all negative scenarios?
• The company has a history of high turnover. Make sure you do research in advance. There are several sites where you can find out information on a company, sites such as Indeed and Glassdoor. You can also go to various sites to see if the company has been sued by employees and why, sites such as Justia, Lexis Academic, EDGAR (SEC filings).
• Extreme Friendliness: Sometimes the potential supervisor who appears to be extremely nice will end up being one of the worse bosses ever.
• Self-Absorption: Does the interviewer appear to be more concerned with telling you about him/her than hearing about you, your experiences, and your skills? Does he/she question the answer you provided for a particular question, as if to indicate your answer was wrong?
• Trust Your Gut: If something doesn't feel right to you about the job, more times than not, your gut is right.