I think everyone has a story or at least knows someone who has a story about a boss who totally deflated their motivation and robbed them of their passion or even went as far as making them ill with their poor leadership skills and typical behaviour. There is nothing worse than landing that dream job only to find out that your boss is a far cry from the coach, leader and mentor you were hoping for.
Now, there are some ways you can test the waters in the interview stage before you accept a role that can help you “smoke out” a potential bad boss (cause they obviously aren’t going to come out and tell you!)
Trust your gut! You know you best and if you feel that after meeting this person that it might be a bad fit with them or the environment then it may be necessary for you to do more research.
In 3 Ways to Spot a Terrible Boss in a Job Interview and How to Spot a Good and Bad Boss in Your Job Search authors Jaquelyn Smith and Lynn Taylor (respectively) give us guidance on what to look for
We’ve taken the best from both of them along with our own experience to give you 5 things to look out for.
1. Your left waiting in the lobby with the receptionist
You arrive 10 minutes early like every good candidate should and then wait and wait and wait some more. Now of course emergencies happen and people are busy but if you are waiting out in reception and not a single person has come by or called the receptionist to explain the delay and apologize then there may be a lack of respect coming from that individual. If this does happen and you eventually get called in gage the attitude of the apology before giving them the strike.
2. There is no “u” or “I” in team
Listen carefully to how the prospective boss refers to the work you will be doing and his or her team and their role in it. Do they take credit personally for the role in the team? Is everything “you, you, you”? Like you will be handed the responsibility and be on your own without guidance and mentorship? Of course there are questions that will be answer with “you” or “I” but just make sure they aren’t the ones that should be answered with “we” or “the team”.
3. They can’t put their smartphone down
It is great to know that if you ever need this person that they will be easy to get ahold of but not so great when you are trying to have a conversation with them. Of course we are referring to the person who can’t look away from the screen of the phone. Not only is it rude and disrespectful to you but it is also an indicator of how they will be in meetings with you and others. And if the interviewer answers the phone while interviewing you I’d look elsewhere!
4. They struggle with the hard questions
Of course you’ve prepared some questions for the interview to assess if this role is as good as it sounds on paper and the team is a fit for you; pay attention closely as to how these questions are answered and what is said. Does he/she struggle to answer them? Are they avoiding the real answer and skirting around it?
If you need some inspiration for hard questions here are a few topics you should focus on:
- turnover rates,
- how long people stay in given roles,
- what their career path has been
5. Your gut says “RUN”
Trust your gut! You know you best and if you feel that after meeting this person that it might be a bad fit with them or the environment then it may be necessary for you to do more research. Meet with people on the team and ask them the hard questions. Do you know anyone who has worked with this person before? (be discreet and carefully phrase your questions in case it gets back to them)
What has your experience been with bad bosses? Was it in hindsight? How could you have known during the interview – share your tips with us.