Real talk - there are probably an infinite number of "red flags" in our world. Signals that potential candidates get from recruiters that the recruiter in question (or the company itself) may not be a great place to engage with. To avoid shooting yourself in the foot, may we offer this list of bad habits, "oof" moments, and downright questionable tactics for you to peruse? Perhaps over a cup of coffee - or, something stronger. Because some of these are truly cringe-worthy.

So, without further ado, a growing list of red flags sourced from across the community. I started with three of my own, and then asked for input on LinkedIn. And wow, did people deliver. Enjoy.

• "You're PERFECT for this job!" nope. Not in the first message. This is a terrible way to start a cold outreach and so many recruiters do it. Color me SUSPICIOUS. Maybe my background aligns with what you're looking for and you want to learn more. I can dig that. Perfect? Please.
• "The compensation is competitive!" Compared to what? Recruiters should be ready to have an honest, transparent conversation about compensation, ideally in the first call or at least prior to formal interviews. (shameless plug for my Salary FAQs - https://lnkd.in/grf89vCT)
• "I can't tell you about our interview process" Inspired by my friend Katrina who posted about this today - candidates should know EXACTLY what they're getting into as early in the process as possible. Also companies should HAVE a relatively clearly defined process - if you don't know exactly what you're looking for, how can you decide if a candidate has it?
• "Hi {First NAME},"
• I don't know if this is a common practice but twice now within the last week (I'm on the hunt) I've had a follow-up call (after I've gone through the interview process) with two companies who didn't call to offer me the job, but only to ask how bad do I want the job (by a series of weird questions.. I know what they're getting at).
• This opportunity is "hot" and you need to respond to it "now" because it "won't last long".
• Red flag 1 - no job it’s an invitation to apply to thousands of jobs on their website
  Red flag 2 - harder to see after I deleted it but he was pointing towards finance /tax roles. I haven’t done finance roles since 2012:

• Any recruiter that anxiously demands a copy of your resume. It's a nice to have before a discovery call so the recruiter has a guide to understand your career journey, but it shouldn't be an ultimatum for an initial call.
• One thing which really bothers me is if independent recruiter/headhunter contacting me about a job offer, but are not telling who the company is they are recruiting for. "A client of mine, a well known AAA company, is looking for XY and I think you would be a good candidate." Finding a good job is not only about finding the right job, but more important finding the right company for you (culture, market, products etc.). So knowing which company a recruiter/headhunter is recruiting for would be very helpful.
• Once got told "the other candidates are all getting $18/hr, so you should feel LUCKY that we're offering you $20/hr," when negotiating pay.
• One of many other Red Flags: "This is an urgent need and we plan to hire quickly...."
• Asking a candidate for their salary requirements but then not confirming whether or not this is in range for the position.
• I now look at "competitive compensation" as a huge red flag. I'll decide if it's competitive thanks ;) Too many times I'm told and it's competitive only to find out it's less than my current comp.
• "I would bet my life that you're not looking for a new job right now" works great, because there's nothing to bring people out of hiding like being wrong on the internet.
• Missing the "what's in it for me" factor in outreach messages. I've received so many which made me ask "why would I want to leave my current job for that?" and those are the ones I wouldn't bother to respond to.
• Candidates should be weary of a 'Contract, hireable' job that is described as a Contract-to-hire by the recruiter. The former could maybe kinda convert to perm one day in the future if the stars align and the hiring manager get's head count and budget and their director approves and on and on.
• BIGGEST red flag is when there isn't a salary or pay range attached to the job post, or when you ask about it, they refuse to tell you. *buzzer sound* Don't waste the other person's time. [Sensing a tend here]
• 1.) Swearing in the ads. I've seen a few obviously Millennial run company where they're, "looking for a kickass sales person!" That's not cute; it's cringey.
  
  2.) "Rockstars". Just don't.
  
  3.) Selling it based on the, "beautiful office/Friday afternoon beerfest in the lobby/Foosball table!". How about just pay, train, and treat people better? I see this just before the reviews about how out of touch, toxic, and dead-end the company is.
  
  4.) A billion nonsense steps: I came across one recently where the person wanted you to submit a video of you talking about yourself, and essay about what yada yada all means to you, and about 5 other steps just to be a Receptionist. It's no wonder 2 months later they still can't find anyone.
• “I was very impressed by your resume and background” — this is such a red flag that makes me realize they’ve copied and pasted this a thousand times and haven’t actually read my resume (otherwise they wouldn’t ask for it immediately after I respond). I completely understand that recruiters are under a ton of pressure, but I have had a couple who have changed my life… and it didn’t start with a copy/paste.
• Shotgunning me every vacancy you have. I can accept you being wildly off three times. The 4th time, I'm asking you to stop contacting me. The 5th time I'm blocking you... or your company.
• Pitching me a junior role that's several levels too junior, based on an old resume that they scraped back in the 2000s.
  
  ...and then, when corrected on that point, asking to supply candidates to me.
• The litany starts with recruiters sending unsolicited texts in parallel with leaving voicemails on each phone line they can find AND also emailing me (often multiple emails from different members of same recruiting team). I kind of got the point after the text message... you are boundary-challenged/desperate to fill the role.
• True story:
  
  Recruiter: I'm recruiting for a Senior C# developer
  
  Me: I've never used C#. I'm more of a Unix guy. My main language is Go.
  
  Recruiter: Oh, in that case, how about this Android role?
  
  Me: <block>
• My favorites are the emails from recruiters who ask you to send them your SS#, DOB etc. up front for immediate submittal. We all know that a lot of companies require this information to accept a profile but, without at least an up front conversation??
• "We have good benefits." It's not enough to say that you offer health insurance, many candidates are looking for good benefits for not only them but their family as well. Be open and honest about what that looks like, it's a deciding factor for some candidates.
• "The salary is competitive!" Compared to what?
  "Your salary will compete with your bills."
• Oh, I’ve had some game playing with recruiters and salary. More than once I’ve been told they hadn’t figured out a salary range for: reasons. I kinda can’t wrap my head around that.
• "Let's hop on a phone call to discuss the job..." Um, can you send a job description first so I know what we'd be talking about?
• "Can you do some work for us before you start?"

This, by the way, is an ongoing conversation - if you'd like to add more, or want to see the whole thing, feel free to check it out here.