What are your red flags when interviewing?

[ryanwanner]

Interviewing potential employees is always a challenge. Will the prospective employee interview well and not work out? Will they be quiet through the interview and turn into the most outgoing person you have? Will you find your next rockstar?

So for this week, let's look beyond what's on their resume or application and talk about the interview itself:

What are some "red flags" you watch for when interviewing a potential employee?

For me in the coffee business, I watch for these things specifically:

• Do they refuse a coffee drink during the interview? If they don't drink coffee, it's going to be tough to get them to taste their creations. If they don't regularly taste things, they won't know if they're doing it correctly.
• Generic "I'd ask the manager" responses to interview questions. I look for people who are problem solvers.
• If they don't clear their interview drink glass off the table or at least ask what to do with it. Self starters are a must!
• Their attire. For my biz you don't need a suit and tie, but if you come in wearing something that looks like you've slept in it for the last five days.... ugh.

Resume and application red flags don't count! We could start a whole other topic on those. I'm talking only things during the interview itself!

[Donnie-M]

@ryanwanner I ask a list of 5 questions when I interview and one of those is:  Tell me about your favorite boss? and the next questions is Tell me about the worst boss you have had.....

If they say...OH I HAVE HAD SO MANY BAD BOSSES....well then, they are the problem not the bosses!

But seriously those 2 questions will reveal red flags about why they left other jobs or why they stayed at other jobs.

My other red flag is if they keep their cell phone out and look at it at all while they are interviewing.  Gotta be able to untether for 20 mins.

[Lovewell]

Yes! We ask about poor job experiences and just let them talk. It is so insightful. 

[sugarlab]

I love letting people just talk! Sometimes I wish I could tell them afterwards like "you probably shouldn't tell us as much as you just did" We all have bad experiences with former employers, but you can talk about them in an appropriate manner for sure. 

[Tamyra_Paunchy]

haha. I bet! I might have to try this one. 

[mksavage]

100% on this @Donnie-M ! I'll often ask them to tell me what they liked/didn't like about their old boss, which is also insightful.

[DinaLRosenberg]

We're looking for people who understand who we are as a brand and have done some research about us prior to the interview. Because we have quite a large social media footprint we're looking for someone that wants to be a part of our team but isn't in it for the "fame" which we get a lot of....

[Lovewell]

THIS! Agree 100%. 

[Lovewell]

What an excellent question! 

Usually if the way they answer some of our questions show they struggle with taking personal responsibility. That usually causes someone to struggle with a growth mindset and the ability to be teachable. 

Another red flag would be that they aren’t totally aware of who we are or what we do. We understand maybe you’ve never been to our shop but we do expect some basic knowledge to know that they can also share in our vision and mission of the business and represent it well on a daily basis. 

Also agree on the attire! That has been HUGE lately. 

[MudFire_Dex]

Astrological placement....no Aries (just kidding) but red flags include being very pushy about our environmental or sustainability measures and studio cleanliness practices. Some people think creative spaces should be messy but we know they need to have a lot of clean studio rules to keep everyone safe. We have a list of specific ceramic related 'no' - non-negotiable type of things. If we feel someone can learn and grow, ok, but if they are drawing hard lines that are in opposition to our belief systems on sustainability, diversity, inclusion - it has to be a no... 

[vinesandrushes]

Parking in the first stall closest to the building for the interview.

[ryanwanner]

Ooh, that’s a good one @vinesandrushes 

[Stacelyn24 · Accepted solution]

In my experience, there are several red flags I look out for when interviewing potential hires:

1. Frequent Job Changes: If a candidate has been hired and has moved through a significant number of salons within a year, it raises concerns about their stability and commitment. Consistency and longevity in previous roles are important indicators of reliability.

2. Discomfort with Requirements and Duties: During the interview, if the candidate seems uncomfortable or hesitant about the requirements and duties outlined for the position, it suggests they may not fully understand or be prepared for the role. Clear and confident responses are essential.

3. Punctuality: Arriving late for the interview is a major red flag. Punctuality is crucial in our industry, and tardiness during the interview process reflects poorly on their time management and reliability.

These factors help me gauge whether a candidate is a good fit for our salon and our commitment to providing excellent service and a stable working environment 🙂

[phillipsrw]

@ryanwanner, great question. At interview we are looking to clarify two key aspects, are the candidates suitably qualified (academically and or experience wise) to do the job and will they fit in with our team. So at interview we are looking for red flags that may be an issue with these requirements.

We try to identify firstly has the applicant written their own CV, these days applicants can outsource their CV writing to cv writing companies. It's not a deal breaker but a cv written by the applicant can offer so much more insight into their character, personality and abilities to do the job than a highly polished, sometimes soulless and sterile cv. After reading the cv a couple of considered questions can help clarify this at interview.

A difficult question to resolve at interview is can the applicant be annoying to work with? The applicant may be great on paper and interviews well but for example may take 30 minutes, with extreme slow crunching to eat an apple while at their desk. You don't want to loose existing teams members because of annoying habits/ways. So how do you resolve this at interview, what questions can you ask to alleviate possible concerns? I'm yet to answer this question.

[RuckusDonuts]

In no particular order:

- Is this someone I would enjoy being around? I don't care how experienced you are if you're an @$$ you're not working here.

- Do they have a long history of short employments?

- Are they quick to make/find excuses/reasons IE "It wasn't my fault that...."

- Are they glued to their smartphone?

- Is their social media presence something a microcosm of all of the above?

- Do they not have any questions for me?

Basically the answer to #1 usually answers most of the others. It's all about team chemistry & I am not gonna accept anything less than someone who would be a good fit on that level, period. 

[mksavage]

I am loving this thread @ryanwanner -- and the red flags you shared! I'm bookmarking this, haha.

Attire, punctuality, and confidence are all big ones for us. But one thing I've learned to pay attention to is someone who references "drama" in their old job. Almost especially if they talk about how they "hate drama." The people who are paying attention to the drama and talking about it? Almost always the ones who cause it, haha. 

I also am very cautious with people who will eagerly share stories about how terrible their last manager/employer was, and cite that as the reason they're leaving. They tend to be the kind of people who will blame everyone else, without being able to own their own experience or performance.

[mksavage]

I am loving this thread @ryanwanner -- and the red flags you shared! I'm bookmarking this, haha.

Attire, punctuality, and confidence are all big ones for us. But one thing I've learned to pay attention to is someone who references "drama" in their old job. Almost especially if they talk about how they "hate drama." The people who are paying attention to the drama and talking about it? Almost always the ones who cause it, haha. 

I also am very cautious with people who will eagerly share stories about how terrible their last manager/employer was, and cite that as the reason they're leaving. They tend to be the kind of people who will blame everyone else, without being able to own their own experience or performance.

And weirdly, I'm cautious with both people who "absolutely adore" our coffee shop AND those who have never been there before. The ones who think Savage Goods is "so cute!" and love sipping coffee here generally don't like actual restaurant work (because we are a full-blown restaurant -- it can be dirty, hard, fast-paced work), which is interesting.

[JUYBoutique20]

Things I look for in an interview:

-How they are dressed...are they put together well, or do they look like they didn't care about being presentable?

-Are they knowledgeable about my shop, or is it just a job you're wanting?

-Are they personable?

-Are they job hoppers?

[sugarlab]

Oh red flag for me is how they interact with the FOH staff when they arrive. I haven't done in person interviews since before COVID, but I always would try to listen for how they presented themselves to a potential future coworker. If my team got any weird vibes, they would tell me and I'd try to be on the look out for it. I very much lean into the 'hire for personality, train for skill" as much as I can. If they are super talented but I can tell they might not take critique well or just not vibe with the team, it just isn't going to work out.