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How to tell when an employer is not for you

Written by: Charlotte Rogers
Published on: 27 Dec 2019

Employer not for you Hero Image

Sometimes a job comes along that you may think is perfect for you, you have the skills and the hours may fit around your home life, but the company is not a good match. Finding an employer that fits your needs, as well as the job itself can not always be as easy as it seems. If you don’t need to focus on the financial side of things, and you find that an employer isn’t for you, it may be best to try and keep looking. Your place of work is meant to make you feel comfortable and be a place you want to wake up for, if you’re worried about this being a problem, take some time to reconsider your options. Here are a few tips on how to recognise if an employer is just not for you.

The interview process is unorganised

An employer’s hiring process can be a reflection of how they are as a business and how they work on a day-to-day basis. Whether the employer has been rude, unprofessional or late, you probably want to think twice about working for a company where people work like this. An interviewer should show up and do all of the same things that they expect from you and as a hard-working employee, you probably deserve better than what they are offering. How you are treated in the interview, is probably how they would treat you as an employee, so ask yourself whether you are happy with that treatment or not.

Unreasonable working hours

Some employers can expect too much from their employees. They need to understand that where your career is important, you have other things happening in your life that should not be over looked. You need a company that is going to respect your other responsibilities and understand that where you are a loyal employee, not everything is about work. Some employers may give you a set number of working hours for the week and then insist that you should stay late or even hint that you will be working more hours than stated to get the job done. Make sure you understand what they are asking of you in the interview, and if it just all seems like too much, it may be a good idea to start looking elsewhere.

The benefits are not for you

Some companies will spend time in the interview talking about all of the benefits that you may get in addition to the job and your annual salary. Sometimes these things are there to make the company sound better than it actually may be. Don’t be fooled by this. They may offer free drinks on Friday afternoon or season ticket loans but is this really what you want? Do you want flexible hours that they do not offer? Or the ability to earn extra holiday? Ask yourself what is really important and see if they will work around your needs. More often than not, the benefits are not worth taking a job you will not be happy in.


Have they asked you inappropriate questions?

There are some questions in an interview situation that you may just not want to answer. Whether that be because you are unprepared or simply where not expecting the question to come up. Either way, they should not make you uncomfortable. Inappropriate questions can include things like, are you married? Or do you have children? These types of questions have nothing to do with your skills and ability to do the job, so in theory should not be asked. However, they sometimes come into conversation, so it’s probably best to stay away from a company that puts you into an uncomfortable situation.

Read online reviews

There are cases where you may feel like the interview has gone really well and you like what you have heard so far. However, we all know that things can sometimes be overexaggerated in an interview environment. The employer may be saying things about work load or company culture that are just not true – you never know. Before accepting a job, you may want to talk to some of the other employees and ask for their opinion of the work place. If this is not an option, you can go online and find the company reviews. Websites like Glassdoor also give past and current employees the ability to anonymously rate and talk about the company they work for. It may be worth giving some reviews a read before you make up your mind.

There is no clear description of the job

Job descriptions can sometimes be a little vague and being invited to an interview can leave you wanting more. In a first interview it can be important to ask the interviewer about the job and what the role actually entails in a little more detail. If they are still being a bit unclear or don’t seem to know exactly what they are talking about, you may want to rethink this job. The employer should know exactly what the job entails, how many hours and things like holiday allowance. Some job seekers also want to know if the company is good with career progression and if they allow internal hires etc. You want to know whether you are going to be making good progression or sitting in a dead-end job. So, if they are beating around the bush, the job may be too good to be true.