6 Signs That The Job Offer Isn't For You
Before a relationship takes a sour turn, there are always warning signs. Now whether or not we want to notice them or pretend that they don't exist that is another story. If you have every dated someone that was fine as hell but also turned out to be trifling as hell, nine times out 10 there were all kinds of red flags being thrown left and right. Unfortunately, that smile, that body, or that money blinded you.
The same happens when we are looking for a new job.
Often, during the job hunt and interview process, there are so many red flags that are thrown your way but you don't notice them because the idea of just getting a job (hell ANY job) looks so attractive.
Maybe you have put in more job applications than you can count, and finally after countless interviews and cover letters, you were offered the position (about damn time). However, as anxious as you are to say yes to the job, you may want to rethink it.
Now I get it -if you are looking for a job, it isn't just for fun. Who really enjoys being drilled in interviews and wearing uncomfortable suits? You have bills to pay, a family to feed, and goals to be met so when that offer comes your way, you feel obligated to say yes. Nonetheless, as desperate as you may be, you have to have faith in the job hunt process, know your worth, and truly consider what is best for you and your professional development.
When you are looking for a job, you have to remove your blinders so that you can clearly see what is best for you. During the job hunt or interview phases, if you spot any of the signs below you may want to run far, far away:
1. Your interviewer has no respect for you or your time
We all know that if you are late to an interview it is unacceptable, so the same standard should occur for the interviewer. I've interviewed with a company where the interviewer was over 15 minutes late to meet with me. This was so annoying because I had taken off to complete several interviews and run a few errands so for me every minute counted. Being on time is a sign of respect. If you have enough respect to be on time for the interview, the interviewer should have the same. On the same note, if the interviewer reschedules your interview more than once, that is a bad sign as well. This shows signs of disorganization and you shouldn't want any part in that.
width="500" height="280" />
2. Employees are dropping like flies
A high turnover rate at a company is never a good sign. This shows a sign of a negative work culture, team, or company. The last thing that you want to do is walk in a negative work environment and be tempted to get on the job hunt (again). During your interview, ask about the position that you are applying for and inquire why it is open. Figure out if it is a brand new position, a position that someone resigned from, or one that someone was promoted. This is a great question to ask at the end when it's time for you to ask your questions.
3. The interviewer knows nothing about you
Sadly, there are times when interviewers have scheduled interviews but are “too busy" to look at the resume. Someone scheduled them to interview someone, so hey, here they are.
width="547" height="307" />
If the interviewer didn't take time to review your resume, it will be obvious in the interview. This should make you question their hiring process. This shows a lack of passion and thought on behalf of the company. Are they just interviewing to fill a quota or are they interviewing because they are desperate? Or are they truly concerned about hiring smart and selecting the best candidates for the position?
4. The Commute Is Too Much
The average person spends 8 to 10 hours a day at work so the last thing that anyone wants to experience is an exhausting commute to and from work. Sometimes traffic is inevitable but on the same note, traveling to and from work shouldn't feel like a road trip.
An exhausting commute can equal bad mood and a loss of focus - both of which will not yield great results for you at work and off of work.
5. They have a bad reputation
Before you accept a job offer (or really before you submit an application) do a quick search on the company. Look at company reviews on Glassdoor or Indeed to see what people are saying. If you see more bad than good, you may want to reconsider. Remember, if it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck…
width="500" height="281" />
6. The Company Culture Doesn't Feel Right
Before the interview or accepting a job offer, look online and try to get an idea of the company culture. During the interview phase, don't shy away from asking plenty of questions so that you can clearly gauge what it's like to work at the office and for the company. You are going to be spending most of your day at the job and this company will play a major role in your development so it is important that it is a good fit for you.
In the end, always listen to your intuition, your gut feeling, your first thought. Trust yourself and your thoughts and make the decision that feels right to you. If it doesn't feel right and your gut is telling is no, decline the offer. Remember, this is your career and you deserve what is best for you.
Get more career tips and tricks by visiting our xo Business section!
Brittani Hunter is a proud PVAMU alumni and the founder of The Mogul Millennial, a business and career platform for Black Millennials. Meet Brittani on Twitter and on the Gram at @BrittaniLHunter and @mogulmillennial.
ItGirl 100 Honors Black Women Who Create Culture & Put On For Their Cities
As they say, create the change you want to see in this world, besties. That’s why xoNecole linked up with Hyundai for the inaugural ItGirl 100 List, a celebration of 100 Genzennial women who aren’t afraid to pull up their own seats to the table. Across regions and industries, these women embody the essence of discovering self-value through purpose, honey! They're fierce, they’re ultra-creative, and we know they make their cities proud.
VIEW THE FULL ITGIRL 100 LIST HERE.
Don’t forget to also check out the ItGirl Directory, featuring 50 Black-woman-owned marketing and branding agencies, photographers and videographers, publicists, and more.
THE ITGIRL MEMO
I. An ItGirl puts on for her city and masters her self-worth through purpose.
II. An ItGirl celebrates all the things that make her unique.
III. An ItGirl empowers others to become the best versions of themselves.
IV. An ItGirl leads by example, inspiring others through her actions and integrity.
V. An ItGirl paves the way for authenticity and diversity in all aspects of life.
VI. An ItGirl uses the power of her voice to advocate for positive change in the world.
Let’s make things inbox official! Sign up for the xoNecole newsletter for daily love, wellness, career, and exclusive content delivered straight to your inbox.
It’s been nearly twenty years since India.Arie’s crown anthem, “I am not my hair,” gave Black women an affirmation to live by. What followed was a natural hair revolution that birthed a new level of self-love and acceptance. Concerns around how to better care for our hair birthed an entire new generation of entrepreneurs who benefitted from the power of the Black dollar. Retailers made room for product lines made for us, by us, on their shelves, and we further affirmed that though our hair doesn’t define us, it is part of our unique self-expression.
Today, that movement has turned into a wig uprising where Black women are able to experiment with colors, styles, and more without causing irreparable damage to our hair. It could even be said that we’ve arrived at a new level of acceptance: one that does not equate love of oneself to one’s willingness or lack thereof to wear her hair the way others deem acceptable. Not even other people who look like us.
However, as with Blackness itself, the issue of Black women’s hair is layered.
On the surface, it’s nothing more than a matter of personal preference. However, in a deeper dive, issues of texture, curl pattern, and of course, proximity to social acceptance, as well as other runoff streams from the waters of racism and patriarchy, rear their heads. The natural hair movement, though a wide-reaching and liberating community builder, also gave way to colorism and often upheld mainstream beauty standards.
Sometimes, favoring lighter-skinned influencers/creators with very specific hair textures, the white gaze leaked into our safe space and forced us to reckon with it. Accurate representations of natural hair in various states of being—undefined curls, kinks, and unlaid edges—are still absent from brand marketing. Protective styles, though intended to provide breaks from styling for our sensitive hair, have become a mask to help our hair be more palatable. A figurative straddle of the fence in order to appease the comfort of others in the face of our hair’s power.
And then there’s the issue of length.
Giphy
As a woman who has spent much of the last decade voluntarily wearing her hair in many variations of short hairstyles, from a pixie cut to a curly fro and a sleek bob, what I’ve gleaned throughout the years is that there is a glaring difference between how I am treated when wearing my hair short than when I opt for weaves, extensions or even grow it out slightly longer than my chin.
The differential treatment comes from women and men alike and spans professional and personal settings, including friends, coworkers, and industry peers.
What has become abundantly clear is that long hair is often conflated with beauty, softness, and any number of other words we relate to femininity in a way that short hair is not. That perceived marker of the essence of womanhood shows up in how I am received, communicated with, and complimented.
Even more so than texture, length has a way of deciding who among us is deserving of our attention, affection, and adoration. Whether naturally grown or proudly bought, the commentary around someone’s look or image greatly shifts when “inches” are present.
When it comes to long hair, we really, really do care.
In an effort to understand whether I had simply been misinterpreting the energy around my hair, I decided to take my findings to social media. I began with two side-by-side photos of myself. In both pictures, my hair is straightened; however, in one, I am wearing my signature pixie cut, and in the other, I am wearing extensions.
I posited that treatment based on hair length is a real thing, and what followed was confirmation that I was not alone in my feelings. “Long hair, like light skin, button noses, and being thin are all forms of social capital,” one user commented. “Some Black women enforce the status quo too, why wouldn’t we?”
Courtesy
This also brought to mind the many times celebrity women (like most recently Beyoncé's Cécred hair tutorial) have done big reveals of their own natural tresses in an attempt to silence any doubt that Black women are able to grow their hair beyond a certain length. Of course, we all know that to be true, so why do we still feel the need to prove it so?
The responses continued to pour in from women of all skin tones, who felt that hair length played a role in people’s treatment of them. “When I have short hair I always feel like people don’t treat me like a woman, they treat me like a kid,” another user commented. “When my hair is long I get a lot more respect for some reason.”
From revelations about feeling invisible to admitted shifts in their own perceived beauty, Black woman after Black woman poured out her experience as it relates to hair length. Though affirmed by their shared realities, knowing that reactions to something so trivial have become yet another hair battle for Black women to fight was disheartening. Though we continue to defy gravity and push the bounds of imagination and creativity by way of our strands, will it always be in response to the idea that we are, somehow, falling short?
Unlike more obvious instances of hair discrimination, the glorification of longer length is sneakier in its connection to Eurocentric beauty standards. Hair commercials, beauty ads, and even hip-hop music have long celebrated the idea of gloriously long tresses while holding onto the ignorant notion that it is inaccessible for Black women.
Even as we continue to fight to prove our hair professional, elegant, and worthy in its natural state to the world at large, we’ve also adopted harmful value markers of our own as a community. It’s evident in how we talk about who has the right to start a haircare line and which influencers we easily platform. It’s evident in the language we use to identify those with long hair versus short hair. And it’s painfully obvious in how we treat one another.
It makes me wonder if India.Arie’s brave rallying cry, almost two decades old in its existence, will ever actually hold true for us. Or will we just continue to invent new ways to uphold the harmful status quo?
Let’s make things inbox official! Sign up for the xoNecole newsletter for love, wellness, career, and exclusive content delivered straight to your inbox.
Feature image by Willie B. Thomas/ Getty Images