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Interviewing for a job is a two-way street. As such, candidates are evaluating the potential position and employer - and should keep an eye out for any red flags. On a new Ask the Expert edition of the HigherEdJobs Podcast, HR expert Kathleen Hermacinski joined co-hosts Kelly Cherwin and Andrew Hibel to discuss how job seekers can spot these red flags.

A summary of the conversation is below. We hope you'll find it helpful in your job search.

Kelly Cherwin: Let's dive into our question from one of our listeners. What advice would you give to a job seeker on how to spot red flags from an employer or recruiter in an interview? Kathleen, what are your thoughts on this?

Kathleen Hermacinski: Well, first, there are red flags, yellow flags, and green flags. If the recruiter or search committee hiring manager or anybody you're referencing talks negatively about the institution or about the previous person in the position you're interviewing for, that's a red flag. They might have some grudges or some preconceived notions or biases towards the position and, therefore, you. Are they comparing you to the previous person who was in the role? You may just not get a fair shake at it, especially if it's the hiring manager talking negatively about the institution or the position that somebody's going to be directly working with. And you want to understand is that the culture that you want to go in and are you being set up for success?

Another red flag for me is poor recruiting processes, and that's hard for me to say as a recruiter [with] my background, because sometimes the HR recruiter or the recruiter for the department or division can get overwhelmed. But if there are multiple reschedules or strong delays within the interviewing process, that is a red flag to me because it could mean disorganization. It could mean that they're not sure what they're doing with the position, and they're kind of hanging on to candidates to potentially change the position. It could be that they have finalized one or two other candidates, but in case they don't accept the offer or they don't pass a background check, we're going to hold you and bring you along as the third candidate. But there's a delay. So it's kind of a red flag that you might not be one of their top two choices, like are you holding on to second place as well? So if the other finalist is going into a background check and you haven't heard anything for two weeks, then that's a red flag if they're not checking in with you at all.

A red flag for me, which I think we've referenced in another podcast, the state of Illinois in 2025 is implementing a pay transparency Act. So, in the state of Illinois, like other states, including California, Oregon, New York, etc., you are required to post the compensation when you post the job. However, for those that are currently not doing that are legally required to do that, if we're not discussing compensation until the end of the search, that is a red flag for me. Are they trying to string you along as a candidate, get you really interested, and then try to drop you with a low price? Mostly you don't want to waste your time if you have, as a candidate, salary expectations that are so far out of the realm of what the institution is offering. You don't want to waste institutions' time and you don't want to waste your time. So discussing compensation at first -- green flag, discussing after the first interview -- yellow flag, discussing at the end -- Red flag.

I think this goes without saying, but I will say it -- inappropriate questions. There are just certain questions you are legally not allowed to ask candidates. Now again, as an HR professional with recruiting in my background, training every single search committee member and search chair and hiring manager can be difficult. But, for example, you can't ask a woman how old she is, if she wants to have kids, or if she's going to get pregnant. You can't ask a guy if he's a super involved dad, or does he have cancer or genetic issues in his background. How old is he? When is he going to retire? So on and so forth. So if you're getting asked inappropriate questions or questions that feel like it's on the edge of inappropriate, so to reference a woman who maybe wants to have kids, they're not going to necessarily ask like, are you pregnant right now? But what's your family life like? What is your work-life balance like? What do you do outside of work? Trying to get specifics of -- are you going to be that person that works 12 hours instead of the 8 hours? Because you don't have the kids commitment that's there.

Cherwin: I like how you put that -- questions are kind of on the edge or maybe bordering inappropriate. I've talked about this before in a previous podcast, but the interviewer asked a very vague question. He said, "Please tell me something you believe in." I wondered if he was baiting me to go political or something? So, I just kept it very, very neutral. But yeah, that was a little bit of a yellow flag for me. I was just like, "I don't think navy blue and black match -- I don't think you should wear those together," because I wanted to stay far away from anything that was controversial.

Hermacinski: It was a borderline question, and I think you answered that well. And depending on what season you're at in your career, a younger, emerging career professional may take that belief and say, I am this religion and kind of go with that broad answer that you're referencing. Personally, I like navy and black together, so I would disqualify you as a candidate. I'm kidding.

I would also say obviously in an interview, the employer and hiring manager or search committee is asking questions with the expectation that the candidate is asking questions in return. A red flag here is if it's vague answers -- if we're vague on expectations, [especially when] you're asking a very straightforward question.

Why is it vague? Why is the job description not specific enough where you can give a straight answer? What else is going on in the background? So being able to have very specific expectations and very specific answers to your questions, I think, is crucial because that's a green flag. Vague answers to questions is a red flag.

Andrew Hibel: What we're talking about here is an ideal situation. Sometimes folks are looking for a job, and particularly in today's day and age, this is a privileged position to be in when you're evaluating red flags, yellow flags, and green flags. Sometimes getting a job is just what you need. We do get feedback from people [that say] "I really don't have a choice but to take a job because I really need one," "I need one for my family," "I need one because I have been without a job for a period of time." We understand that. What we're talking about here is really when you have those ideal situations. But I do want to add that, sometimes even in those pressure situations where you have to take it, you need to make sure that it does make sense. I guess what I would say instead of going through a bunch of unique examples, I think the first thing I want to put out there, that's just a huge red flag: when the position is open of who you're reporting to.

It's not necessarily a bad reflection on the organization, but you literally don't know what situation you're getting yourself into. You do not know who you'll be reporting to. You do not know what sort of culture that person will desire, and you do not know if your skills are ones that they actually value within a team.

Hermacinski: Overall, I would say as long as the employer has open lines of communication as to why. "We're looking to fill this position of the manager, [but] we're also filling this. This is our timeline on it." [A candidate] can ask what kind of candidate [the employer is] looking for [in that supervisor role.] I'll put it as an orange flag -- if we can add a fourth category that it's not quite yellow, not quite red-- because it could still be a good opportunity where the person being hired in without a manager may have, depending on the institution, some say about who they're going to hire as their boss, depending on where the timeline is. It could be a concern, absolutely. But I don't think it's something that's so dire that it would warrant you not to apply or accept a position. But I do think [there is a ] culture aspect, you don't know what that manager is going to look like -- and you'd make a really good point, Andy. I just think [it's more of an] orange flag.

I think one other red flag that is talked about in the DEI space but should be in the full higher education space, is microaggressions -- little bits of words or actions that kind of feel like maybe you're marginalizing a person of color or a person of a different national origin, gender, or gender identity. Be cognizant. Are you picking up on those cues? Your gut may pick up on certain things that your listening ears are not, and if you see those microaggressions, really think about that. This could be a great opportunity -- the dream job, dream location. But are you going to be happy with the culture in that area if you're already picking up on microaggressions that are offensive?

Listen to the full episode below, and remember, if you have job search or career question for us, submit it for a chance to have one of our higher ed experts answer it.