Your boss can often be the reason you either love your job or dread going to work. According to recent data from Culture Amp, 12% of voluntary employee departures are attributed to immediate managers, and a staggering 28% are due to broader leadership concerns.
While some companies might allow you to switch to another department if you don’t vibe with your boss, many organizations have policies that prevent you from switching roles in your first six or 12 months of employment. This limitation highlights the importance of spotting bad bosses before you accept a job offer.
Moreover, toxic leadership can permeate through an entire organization, affecting company culture and employee morale at all levels. Therefore, it’s crucial that you learn how to spot bad management before you start a new role.
So how exactly do you recognize toxic bosses and poor leaders during a job interview? Let’s explore some strategies to help you navigate this critical aspect of your job search and increase your chances of finding a positive, supportive manager.
How To Identify A Bad Boss When Interviewing
Here are 4 steps you can take during the interview (and job search) to tell whether your potential boss may be toxic:
1. Don’t let your excitement cloud your judgment.
For starters, while landing an interview, especially if it’s with your dream company or you’re currently unemployed, is undoubtedly exciting, you don’t want to let your excitement cloud your judgment or lead you to overlook a potential red flag.
You want to slow down, stay grounded, and approach the interview process with a healthy dose of skepticism.
This isn’t to say you shouldn’t express your enthusiasm during the interview. However, you want to conduct adequate due diligence and look out for signs of a potentially toxic manager before accepting a job offer.
2. Ask thoughtful questions throughout the interview process.
A key part of due diligence should involve asking thoughtful questions during the interview. This not only demonstrates your genuine interest in the company and role but also allows you to gather valuable insights into the organization, team dynamics, and role.
When interviewing with your potential boss, you might ask questions like:
- How would you describe your leadership style? Can you please share an example of your management style in action?
- Can you tell me about a recent change you made because of feedback you received from an employee or your team?
- Can you tell me about the average tenure of your team? What is a step you’ve taken to improve it?
In addition to asking your hiring manager questions, you’ll also want to ask questions of potential future colleagues to learn more about the team dynamics and company culture. When speaking with team members, you might ask questions like:
- What do you enjoy most about working here?
- What is something you wish you would have known before joining the company?
- How would you describe your manager? What are their biggest strengths, and what are their areas of opportunity?
- Can you tell me about a recent project the team worked on? What did your manager do well, and what do you wish they would’ve done differently?
Importantly, you don’t want to ask questions for the sake of asking questions. You want to ask questions that allow you to gain meaningful information and make an informed decision about whether you should join the company, while also allowing the interviewer to learn more about you.
Pay close attention to the answers you receive, as well as what is not said, as these can tell you a lot about the potential working environment and management style of your future boss.
3. Conduct your own research on the company.
An often-overlooked aspect of due diligence is conducting independent research. Many job seekers forget to conduct their own research on a prospective role because they are so excited to land an interview in the first place.
However, independent research is a crucial step in vetting a prospective company before accepting a role.
You can use LinkedIn to see how long the boss tends to stay at a company, and how long their direct reports work for them. You can also get a sense of the company’s overall retention rates.
Please don’t be afraid to reach out to former employees on LinkedIn, as these informational interviews can provide you with insights you wouldn’t be able to get from current staff. Here’s an example of what you can say when reaching out:
Hello [First Name],
I hope this message finds you fabulous. I’m reaching out because I’m interviewing with [Company] for a [Position] position. Are you available to briefly chat about your experience with the company? I’d greatly appreciate your insights. Thank you for your consideration!
Once you connect with the former employee, you can ask questions like:
- What was your experience working at [Company] like?
- How would you describe work-life balance in your role?
- What did you appreciate most about working at the company?
- What do you wish could have been different?
- Why did you ultimately decide to leave the company?
4. Reflect on the overall interview process.
Lastly, you want to zoom out and assess the entire interview process, not just your conversation with the hiring manager, to gain a comprehensive understanding of your new potential manager and workplace. To gain an understanding of your prospective boss’s management style and the company culture, you might want to ask yourself questions like:
- How did you feel during each stage of the interview process? Did you feel empowered and respected, valued for your expertise and skills, or rushed and pressured? Were you comfortable asking questions?
- What was your prospective boss’s communication style like? You can learn a lot about someone’s management style by observing how they communicate with you – and their colleagues – throughout the interview process. Take note of both their verbal and nonverbal communication, as well as their active listening skills.
- If they had to reschedule, how was it communicated? Did you feel like your time was respected throughout the process? (Remember that aspects of scheduling may be outside the hiring manager’s control and that a lot of communication is facilitated through the recruiter. However, the overall handling of logistics can provide a lot of insight into the manager’s working style.
Tip: Document your reflections shortly after each interview, while the experience is fresh in your mind, as your judgment can become clouded with the excitement of receiving a job offer.
This holistic evaluation of the interview process can provide you with valuable insights into your prospective manager’s communication style and the overall company culture. While not always the case, particularly if the company is using an external recruiter, the hiring process if often a reflection of the company’s day-to-day operations.
What Are Some Signs Of A Toxic Boss?
While a toxic boss can be more challenging to spot in a job interview, since they are often on their best behavior when meeting candidates, a few signs to watch out for include:
- They have unrealistic expectations for the role or simply don’t understand it. For example, they may describe responsibilities that should be split among several positions.
- The turnover on their team is unusually high, or a lot of employees have left in a short period. This might indicate dissatisfaction with the boss’s management style or a poor culture.
- They have micromanagement tendencies, which can be indicated by strict oversight, excessive check-ins, and lack of delegating.
- They dominate the conversation, rather than creating a two-way dialogue that allows you to ask ample questions. This is often a sign of their day-to-day communication style.
Important: One of these signs isn’t necessarily indicative of a toxic boss. However, you’ll want to proceed with caution and ask ample follow-up questions if you notice multiple signs of a potentially problematic manager.
How Do You Spot A Good Boss During An Interview?
Now, how do you know whether you’re speaking with a potentially good, or great, manager during the interview process?
Start by considering what qualities you value in a boss, and then develop a system to evaluate managers against them. I often encourage clients to develop a rubric to guide their job search efforts and assess opportunities. Your rubric might include:
- In my next position, I need a boss who… (e.g., provides clear expectations and regular feedback)
- In my next position, I want a boss who… (e.g., supports professional development opportunities)
- In my next job, I can’t have a boss who… (e.g., micromanages or lacks communication skills)
Keep in mind that your preferences and requirements will differ from other job seekers and may evolve throughout your career
Fortunately, many of the steps you take to evaluate a potentially toxic boss or organization can also be used to seek out a good manager and ideal job.
Expert Tips For Dealing With A Bad Manager
Despite your best efforts throughout the interview process, you may still find yourself working with a difficult manager or under poor leadership. If you end up in a toxic workplace, please know that you have many options:
Seek Insights
- Connect with colleagues who have worked with the manager previously.
- Learn about potential pitfalls to avoid and strategies that have worked for others.
Adjust And Adapt
- Give yourself enough time to adjust your approach to your boss’s leadership style and expectations, within reason.
- Protect yourself and maintain your boundaries while trying to find common ground.
Provide Feedback
- Choose appropriate moments in which to give your manager constructive feedback.
- Start small and wait until you’ve built trust with your manager and learned how they tend to respond to feedback.
Consider HR Involvement
- Weigh the pros and cons of going to human resources for support, guidance, or intervention.
- Be aware that this step can sometimes result in unintended consequences, so you’ll want to approach it carefully.
If all else fails, you can always look for a new opportunity externally, especially if you’re in a toxic work environment and need to escape.
On a final note, please feel free to reach out or schedule a consultation if you’d like support with the process of finding a new job where you’re respected. You deserve it. I’m here for you! You’ve got this!
