5 Reasons Why You Should Not Take That Job

It's a crazy world we live in. While thousands of grad students are jobless back home (African countries) to the point of taking ANYTHING - any decent job that pays, the grad students abroad screen for jobs. Why? Because not every 'job' that looks good is actually good or safe.

People may have told you, Just do whatever it takes to get hired: decorate your resume (i.e. LIE), make yourself look good (i.e. load it with stuff that you did years ago or skills that you've heard about but never tried).

These are 5 signs (RED FLAGS) that says, "Run! Don't take that job!" - especially if you're interested in a White collar (corporate and permanent) job.

1. Things Are Moving So Fast!
You don’t want an employer to string you along for months or go silent for weeks on end, but a too-rapid selection process is a big red flag. If your gut is telling you the people interviewing you are less interested in you as a teammate and more in filling the open requisition with any warm body at all, run away.

2. What’s the Job Description Again?
If you go on a job interview and no two people in the mix have the same idea about what the job is, be wary.Too much uncertainty in the role definition makes a job undoable, and virtually guarantees that somebody will be unhappy with your performance if you step into the job. Hold out for a company that knows what it needs in a new hire and is willing to commit to it in writing.

3. The Company Plan is Fantastic, But I Can’t Tell You What It Is.
Worthy employers pay the market rate, and they’re not afraid to tell you what the company package is going to look like, down to the nickel. If they promise to give you a bonus, but they can't explain when, how, or what the bonus is, that's a RED flag.

4. Sorry, That Information is Classified
When you’re a finalist for a new job, you should be invited to meet your teammates. You should get the information you need to make your decision, should you get the job offer. If someone balks when you ask for information that will help you decide whether or not to come on board, flee.

5. We Need a Bit More Information, And a Pint of Blood
When you’re proceeding through a Selection Pipeline, your natural assumption is that the people on the other side of the equation like and trust you. When they start asking you for proof of various things (a W-2 or payslips to prove your last salary, for instance) you know that these are people who don’t trust themselves to make a good hire. If they ask for more than paperwork or fingerprint, to blood sample, that's your clue - RUN!!

Hope these helps job-seekers. Courtesy of Liz Ryan (Forbes contributor).

Happiness Chidinma Opara's readers, are there any other RED FLAGS that can help job-seekers based on your past experience?