'I ran away' | Top five 'red flags' candidates look out for in the interview process

For a prospective candidate, those first few meetings with a potential employer are a huge indication of whether the culture of a business is a good fit.

Essentially, deciding if a workplace is right for you comes down to a few factors. One is the ethics of the employer. Are they environmentally and socially responsible? Do they care for equality and welcome diverse talent?

The second is more of a ‘feeling’ or ‘sense’. This largely comes down to how employees are acting, whether people seem happy and engaged, whether the senior leaders and hiring managers seem like good people. Reddit’s R/Antiwork subreddit is full of workers talking about getting ‘bad vibes’ from interviews. Safe to say, none opted to take the job.

Clearly, there’s no fudging culture. Talent can tell if they’re being lied to, or if a promise of strong culture and a nurturing environment are false. And this makes all the difference. According to data from TeamStage, 88% of job seekers say that a healthy culture at work is vital for success. And what’s more, 86% of job seekers avoid companies with what they deem to be a negative initial experience.