Should You Take the Job? 3 Red Flags

Most of my candidates are getting multiple offers. I liked this article by Fast Company on red flags to help you decide which jobs to turn down. Here are three red flags:

1. How was the company’s hiring process? Was it super long, complicated, and/or political? Yeah, things like that might continue internally. You can at least tell if interviewers had aligned expectations, culture, and vision (necessary for success at the job).
2. Why is the position open? You need to judge whether the reasons the last person left would apply to you. Ideally the company created the position due to growth since you want to join a dynamic company with an expanding market, which leads to #3.
3. Is there a growth path? Join a company where you can grow your skills. If the industry is not dynamic or the responsibilities for this position are super rigid, it may not make sense to join, especially with the array of choices out there for you. A short stint doesn’t look good on your resume (you want to show a track record of continued growth, not instability), though an exception could be you want to get a very specific experience (e.g., pick up a new industry, take a company public, or get it acquired, etc.).