The red flags every job seeker should watch for in 2023

Your mom was right: there’s plenty more fish in the sea. And no, we’re not talking love interests, we’re talking JOB LISTINGS. This is not a drill candidates! With 10 million job listings currently floating in the USA’s hiring pool, now’s your moment to snap up the catch of the day! But how to find the career of your “wildest dreams” amongst the “should’ve said no” job opportunities?

You know we gotcha, be on the lookout for these five red flags in 2023 and choose better!

There Is No Mention of the Culture

Knowing a company's work culture has definitely become more important over the last few years - everything is about alignment, we want to date and hangout with people who have similar values as we do and that craving has seeped into our work life too.

The company’s culture should somewhat match your culture too – nothing beats a workplace where everyone’s passionate about the future potential of the company, and their careers! Bonding with your coworkers over the mission, instead of what milk’s still not being stocked in the lunch room, is always a win.

So what to do when a job description doesn’t mention anything about their culture? Run! Consider it a warning sign that the company has (at worst) less than favorable missions, values, and beliefs or, (at best) they haven’t established any... which is, weird?

Very Vague Visuals of Your Role

If you have to read the job description twice, in slow motion, just to unpack exactly what the position entails – you’ve discovered our next red flag. Job titles and descriptions should always align and give you a clear idea of what a typical day will look like in the role.

And if the job title is Social Media Management, but you’ve spotted them sneaking in duties like graphic design, copywriting and customer service, just know that your New Years’ resolution of “work-life balance” will no longer be guaranteed. Swipe “thank you, next” and continue your search. Green flags only please!

There Is a Lack of Inbound Marketing

Now, you might be thinking, “What does their marketing have to do with me?” Everything! Inbound marketing, specifically, is all the efforts the company puts into being resourceful and relatable.

From blog posts to newsletters, to any marketing material with their brand name on it – the company’s mission and values often reflect in the content that they put out. Their inbound marketing efforts should make you want to work with them, and if it doesn’t? It might not be a match made in hiring heaven.

It’s All About What You Can Do for Them

Yes, of course, a job is by definition, a specific role that an employee fulfills in exchange for a salary. However, if the job listing is looking more and more like a chaotic grocery list of “urgent” tasks and “when’s the earliest you can start?” vibes – it’s likely not going to live up to your ideal career expectations.

Sometimes it helps to think of a job like the latest “it girl” skincare product we’ve seen on TikTok. Does the listing feature the ingredients and benefits that makes it worth exploring? When testing the product (in say, a job interview) does it stand up to the hype? What are the reviews? Landing a job should be an equal transaction – you should be selling yourself, but they should also be selling the role back to you.

We are in our, “healthy work-life balance” era! That means, we are not deliberately ignoring the red flags and assuming that they will turn into red roses. We are no longer thinking, “But maybe I can change them 🥹!” What you see is what you get.

Our advice? Take your time getting to know a company before applying – this is your sign to be picky! …and don’t be that applicant applying for any listing that has your job title on it. Read it before swiping right (you’ll thank us later).