4 Statements You Never Want To Hear On A Job Interview

I had my long-anticipated job interview this morning and although I feel very confident in my “performance”,  some of the comments from the interviewers were quite troubling.

Sometimes we go into interviews so eager for an offer that we don’t pay close attention to the clues that the interviewers give about the kind of job we might be getting ourselves into. 

Here are 4 statements that you never want to hear in a job interview.  Unfortunately, I heard all 4 of them today…

1. We’ve really had trouble keeping this position filled over the past 5 years.
2. This department has one of the highest turnover rates in the organization.
3. The physicians in this department are extremely involved in the day-to-day operations of the clinic.
4. To be successful in this organization, you really need to be thick-skinned.

If you market yourself as a change-agent and you are looking for your next big challange, these kinds of statments may sound very sexy.  But, if you are looking to get out of a bad situation and into a good one, it’s extremely important that you listen to the cues from the interviewers since it is the only window into this potential new job you’ll have.  In my case, today, my interviewers were so caught up warning me about the scary doctors I’d be working for that they hardly spent any time telling me about the actual functions of the job.  This left me with a feeling that the most important function of the job is managing the tyrant physicians, not the day to day operations of their busy clinic.  Through their explanations of what their struggles with keeping this position filled, I was able to glean that the physician leadership micro-manages the organization (almost always bad because physicians are good being physicians and really bad at managing) and that their frustration level at times reaches a point of actually yelling at the staff.  And although I’m sure it is possible to be successful in this role (these physicians probably just need to have their expectations managed and be able to trust that the job will get done), it will certainly require a person who is extremely patient and willing to brave the turbulence until trust is established. 

Have you had a job interview where the interviewer made some “red-flag” comments that you overlooked?  How did that translate when you took the job?  I’d love to hear about it – maybe your comment will help me reconsider their offer for a second interview.