1. If you see recurring ads for the same position, it’s probably not a good idea to walk into that place. 

2. Look out for ads that tell you how much you could earn and not how much you will. These places will just chew you out for very little money. 

3. When they talk about flexible hours, ask what they exactly mean by that? You don’t want to working hours after your shift’s over. 

4. Multitasking is a good thing if you get paid for all the tasks. Be very wary of recruiters that want you to do this, and that, and that and will still only pay you peanuts. 

5. When they say, ‘you’ll get to learn a lot’, that’s your cue to run away. That just means you are going to be living at your office because not only you will be working way too much but also they won’t even pay you enough to make rent. 

6. ‘We are a family here’. That’s the biggest red flag in the history of red flags. That just means, there are is no proper chain of command and god forbid, you get caught on the wrong side of some old fashioned favouritism. 

It’s a worse red flag than the time the British came here looking for spices. Someone should have gone, ‘you don’t even eat spices’. But they didn’t and it took 200 revolutions around the sun for it to kind off, sort off, set on the empire, a little bit.

7. If the recruiter is really trying to sell you how awesome the job is, it probably isn’t. 

8. If the employer bad mouths the last person who did the job, they are going to do the same for you.  

9. Do your research. Pissed off employees, non-payment of dues, working hours, etc need to be thoroughly checked. If former employees didn’t like the job, you most likely won’t either.

10. If other employees look funny or get hesitant while answering the question, ‘how do you like the company’, there’s your answer. Thank the person and leave. 

11. If you are getting referred to as ‘bro’ a lot and by way too many people, this will be like a gym: sweaty, disgusting and just way too many dudes. 

12. If there is only one woman in an office of say, 20-25 employees, that might also be considered an unsafe workplace. You don’t want to play mom or any other relative to dozens of man-children. 

13. Run out the moment they say, ‘it’s a competitive environment’. You will end up having no life. 

14. If you see or hear former or current employees whinging about never getting leaves, you know you are in the wrong building. 

15. If your boss posts ‘inspirational’ and ‘CEO mindset’, posts, anything praising Elon Musk or Jeff Bezos ever on LinkedIN, you gotta run. 

Now, this is a pandemic market. So it’s not easy to say no. And if you have to take the job at all costs, do it. What do I know? But if you are spoilt for choice, you can afford to be more careful.