Recognizing a toxic boss at the interview stage is not that easy.
Firstly, many people are simply not interested in this, especially if the applicant urgently needs absolutely any job.
He agrees to anything just to start earning money, so he doesn’t get hung up on psychological aspects.
Secondly, the toxes themselves are quite smart and savvy individuals. They can masterfully juggle words and win over their interlocutor. And their negative personal qualities will only emerge after a certain time.
Fortunately, not all employers are excellent psychologists and experts in human souls. Some can be easily identified and refused to work for them.
How to do it
Pay attention to the time. Of course, this doesn't happen often, but if a potential boss invites you for an interview too early or too late, it's an unpleasant and alarming call.
This indicates that this person deliberately violates other people's boundaries, he has no sense of tact, and he doesn't care about the time of the future employee.
Typically, such bad bosses force their subordinates to work overtime, give out additional (unpaid) tasks, disturb them on weekends, ruin their vacations, etc.
Look at how the manager communicates with the existing employees. If they are openly afraid of him, then the atmosphere in the office is, to put it mildly, unhealthy from a psychological point of view.
After such work, emotional people can literally fall ill with a nervous breakdown. Or completely lose their communication skills.
Be wary if your boss is late for an interview. Of course, situations can be different and no one is immune from force majeure. But five minutes is one thing, and an hour or more is quite another.
So the boss kind of hints in advance that the workers are his slaves. And he has the right to manage their time and desires at his own discretion. An adequate employer will certainly apologize and explain the reason for being late.
Observe the way the boss talks about his institution and the people working there.
Competent and decent leaders always try to emphasize their merits, talk about their successes, achievements, certificates, and a well-coordinated team.
Tox will certainly start to highlight only the shortcomings: competitors, lazy employees, unprofessionalism, internal investigations and other negative aspects.
Assess the potential boss as a person. If he is sarcastic, devaluing, interrupting, asking uncomfortable and too personal questions, then the applicant has every right to simply get up and leave the office.
A true professional will always behave with restraint and correctness, even if the person really does not suit him in some respects. He will bring the conversation to a logical conclusion and thank the interlocutor for his time.
By the way, so-called stress interviews are also toxic in their type: justifying themselves with an imaginary stress test, they simply humiliate a person.
Earlier I talked about how to understand whether a friend will repay a debt.
