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Job interviews are comparable to beauty contests, where you meticulously dress in your finest attire, apply lipstick, and ensure there are no remnants stuck in your teeth. Your objective is to deliver a remarkable performance, akin to a beauty queen, with the hope of being acknowledged and emerging victorious (since nobody enjoys losing beauty contests). However, despite always striving for success, there are instances when the contest simply isn’t suitable for you. Perhaps the competition heavily favors talented tap dancers, which isn’t your forte. Deep down, you recognize that withdrawing from the competition is the right choice, as winning seems unlikely. Nevertheless, your ego refuses to accept defeat (after all, who willingly wants to lose?).
I’ve experienced my fair share of unsuccessful interviews (attributable to my own shortcomings). These memories replay in my mind like a distasteful YouTube video whenever I contemplate the process of interviewing. In hindsight, it becomes evident where I went wrong, but during the actual interview, clarity is not always attainable.
We’ve all been there, the mismatched job interview. Or maybe it is just the job from hell and you need to run for the hills (I’ve got a story for that too). Maybe you figure it out in the first round of interviews or perhaps a later round. The point is, you need to know when it is time to leave the interview process. If you don’t, at best you will be disappointed by a rejection even though you know you are not right for the job. At worst, you may make it through the final round and maybe even be offered the (wrong) job – can you say no then?
We've all been there, the mismatched job interview. Maybe it's just the job from hell and you need to run for the hills. The point is, you need to know when it's time to leave the interview process.Click To TweetWarning signs that the job is not for you
- Recognizing the Job from Hell – If the interviewer is telling you that the job has very long hours, low pay, and little chance for promotion, would you still take the job if offered to you? You might if you are out of work and desperate. Absent that, you should run for your life. Take a look at the office as you walk in (and out). Do people look happy or do they look suicidal? There are generally warning signs that the job is a mistake, don’t accept the award just to win the beauty contest.
- The Impossible Dream – One question you should always ask is “Is why is this position open?”. If the answer is it’s a new position, great. If not, ask what happened to the person who had the role before. If they have a negative view of the person or they left under unusual circumstances it could be a warning sign. Ask “If you hire the best person for the role and they are highly successful, what have they done in the first year to meet your expectations?“. Do the expectations sound reasonable, or would you have to be Superman to be successful?
- Love the Job but did not connect with the Manager – So you’ve been through several rounds of interviews, but you don’t really feel good about your potential new manager. Sometimes personalities just don’t click. You could ask to meet again, or perhaps see if you can talk (discretely) to people who know this individual. But without any additional information, the answer is obvious, go with your gut feeling and don’t take the role.
- Can You Do the Job? –
Your resume looks like a good match for the job description. You get called for the interview and it is going fairly well, but as the interview process continues, you begin to worry that you don’t actually have all of the skills for the job. Now we all have our doubts from time to time, sometimes it is because we are taking that leap to the next level in our career. But sometimes it is real, and only you know if the new job will be a bridge too far.
5 (Obvious) Signs the Company is not right for you
- You are not comfortable with the company’s industry;
- The company is in the middle of a scandal;
- There have been many recent changes in senior management;
- Employee ratings are not favorable;
- The company will only hire you as a “temp to (potential) perm” (meaning no benefits).
- 4 Signs of Bad Employers: The Waiter Rules for Companies
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