Hiring managers need to avoid these job interview red flags for candidates
Posted 6th March 2025 • Written by Hailey Mensik on www.worklife.news • • • • • •
Hiring managers pay close attention to the red flags job candidates give off during interviews. That might include frequent job hopping or resume gaps, or dodging questions around why they left their past role.
But what about the red flags hiring managers are giving off to candidates?
In order to attract the best staff, here are some red flags hiring managers might be giving off themselves during interviews that they should try their absolute best to avoid.
Multiple date changes, dodgy timing
The Great Resignation that came following the pandemic drove many companies and HR teams to tweak their own hiring practices to better attract staff amid tight competition. Many sped up their processes to ensure greater timeliness with hiring. Now that employers are back in a position of more power, they’ll have to make sure they remain timely and communicative to not lose out on needed talent.
Constant rescheduling is one big red flag, said Cristiano Winckler, director of operations at Somebody Digital.
“Repeatedly changing the interview date shows a lack of respect for your time, and can reveal that the company wouldn’t respect your time if you got the job, either,” Winckler said.
Drawn-out interview process
Lengthy hiring processes that include meeting with people at multiple levels of an organization over the course of months should also be a red flag for candidates.
Unreasonable take-home assignments
One interview behavior that can send red flags and lead candidates to online platforms to warn others about their experience are long take-home assignments. In many fields it’s traditional for some sort of testing to happen in the interview process to gauge someone’s relevant skills. But lengthy, quick-turnaround assignments can turn candidates off.
Questionable salary range
Recent pay transparency legislation has led many more companies to share salary information in job postings. But salary ranges too wide can be a red flag to potential employees.