Singaporeans share shocking job interview red flags that made them walk away: ‘The interviewer told me they’re going to work me like a slave’

SINGAPORE: Most people only spot a company’s “red flags” after they’ve already started the job, but career coach Amanda Augustine, a resident expert at Resume.ai, says candidates can actually pick up on warning signs during the interview itself.

Speaking to CNBC, Augustine said that no matter how attractive a job looks on paper or how solid the company’s reputation is, a bad interview experience can be a preview of what’s to come. In her words, if the interview and hiring process already feels off, chances are the day-to-day work won’t be much better once you’re in.

She pointed out a few things to watch for: hiring managers who can’t clearly explain the role, interviewers who dodge tough questions, or a visibly tense workplace during in-person visits.

Her advice is for candidates to take these signals seriously and decide if the company is really the right fit.

Meanwhile, Singaporeans have also been sharing their own “red flags” and interview horror stories online, after a Reddit user, “Medical_Lecture_5922,” posted on the r/asksg forum, asking: “What’s the biggest red flag you’ve seen during a job interview?”

They then shared their own experience, writing: “During an interview, I asked why the position was vacant. The interviewer laughed and said, ‘You’re actually replacing the third person in this role this year.’ He meant it as a joke, but the room went awkwardly silent after that.”

The interviewer practically talked them out of taking the job

In the thread, one Redditor shared what might be the most confusing interview of all time.

Instead of selling the role, the interviewer spent half an hour listing all the reasons they should avoid it.

“The interviewer spent 30 mins telling me why I shouldn’t join their company. Tell me they’re going to work me like a slave, they’re understaffed, things like that. The day after the interview, they rejected me. Waste of my time.”

A hiring manager wouldn’t let them finish a sentence

Another user recalled interviewing at a well-known local investment firm, where the hiring manager kept cutting them off

“The hiring manager kept interrupting me (quite rudely too, like ‘ok ok ok no. no. stop’) and trying to make me say the ‘correct’ answer. He was clearly looking for textbook answers, and at one point, he said, ‘I like you, so I’m trying to help you.’ 

“That’s not how investing works, and I could never work under someone who thinks otherwise. Was a blessing in disguise, though, ended up at a much better shop with an amazing boss and being paid much more.”

HR manager fell asleep during the interview

One candidate said they had already explained to HR that they were applying for jobs because they had been laid off.

“The HR called me and asked me the reason I was applying. I decided to be honest and said I was laid off, thinking she would just acknowledge it and move on. Nope. She probed for how many months and all even though I wasn’t comfortable. Was it 2 months…? Was it 3 months…? Was it 4…? I kinda brushed her off with a yeah..yeah.”

During the interview itself, however, they were stunned when the HR manager appeared to fall asleep on camera.

“Like point blank, video on, head nodding and all. Just never snore only. There were only 3 people in the call, I was quite dumbfounded.”

The candidate added that despite being promised an update within a week, they never heard back.

“Didn’t get emailed the result of the interview,” they said. “At that point, I was indifferent already. Championship calibre HR lady.”

When “flexible role” means doing absolutely everything

One Redditor said they noticed that the job duties being discussed during the interview looked very different from the ones listed in the job advertisement.

“I asked them about the difference, and they were like, ‘this is a all-can-do job,’ which basically means they’ll pay less, but you’ve got to do everything not stated in the job description.”

They were asked an astrology question

Another user shared a rather unconventional interview experience that took place at a café.

Instead of discussing skills, experience, or career goals, the interviewer asked for their sun sign, moon sign, and rising sign to assess their personality.

“It was an informal interview at a cafe,” they said. “The interview lasted so long, the cafe kicked us out (politely).”

We are like family here

One user shared that during an interview for their first job after university, the hiring team told them that the company was like a “family.” 

Back then, they took it as something warm and reassuring and accepted the offer, thinking it meant a supportive workplace. They stayed for three years… and quickly realised it wasn’t exactly the wholesome “family” vibe they were sold.

“During that three years, so many people left. Some even came after me and left a few months later. Incompetent boss, unwilling to take feedback, SOP kept changing, backstabbing colleagues. Yeah, they sounded normal to some of you, but as my first job, I didn’t feel that was normal.”

Lack of professionalism

Another commenter brought up a different kind of red flag: pure lack of professionalism from the start. They said a hiring manager scheduled a video interview in the evening, then just didn’t show up and later said he forgot. It got rescheduled to a weekend, but the same thing happened again. When the interview finally did happen, the manager reportedly turned up in a singlet.

“The boss clearly just played soccer/ was exercising and said, ‘Oh, this is a screening call to see if I’m suitable for the firm,’ as I looked at him in my office attire. Total lack of any decency and professionalism and a waste of my time.”/TISG

Read also: ‘It just creates more work’: Singaporean employee says AI is ‘nowhere near as good as bosses think it is’