- Annual leave policies vary across the globe. “But wherever you are, employers who are stingy with annual leave might risk driving away talent,” a new report that uncovers the biggest job advertisement red flags warnings.
Earlier, we heard from a CEO who said that over-eager job seekers are a big red flag. Now, candidates are biting back and sharing what’s putting them off applying in the first place.
The resume advice platform, StandOut CV, surveyed over 1,000 Americans to find out the “biggest job advert ick”—and it turns out employers who boast about their minimal annual leave as a perk on their posting are driving people away. Over 65% of workers described said it was a major red flag.
The amount of annual leave employees are legally entitled to varies from country to country. In the United States, it’s up to the discretion of the employer how much leave their employees get—most workers get 5 to 9 days off after one year of service. Meanwhile, in the U.K. the minimum holiday entitlement is 28 days.
“But wherever you are, employers who are stingy with annual leave might risk driving away talent,” the report warns.
Perhaps surprisingly, knowing they’ll be destined to taking the fewest vacation days possible is more off putting for job seekers than not knowing how much money they’ll actually earn to book said holidays.
The top 5 job ad red flags
- Job offers the minimum amount of annual leave allowance
- Required or heavily encouraged applicants to like other employees' social media content
- No salary information available
- 'About us' page or company's board lacks diversity
- If a job advert or interviewer said 'we're like a family'
It’s not just job ads that are driving a wedge between businesses and potential new hires. Even the “about us” page is under scrutiny, with an obvious lack of diversity putting people off.
Hiring managers should also tread with caution when using buzzwords on their website, social media platforms, or job postings. Aside from the fact that numerous Gen Z and millennial employees have no clue what many traditional business sayings and acronyms even mean—they’re make or break for job seekers.
Really, phrases associated with hustle culture might not be as motivational and inspiring as people think. According to StandOut CV, job ads asking for a "winner’s mindset" or for new hires to “hustle” or “work hard, play hard” risk losing out on a third of applicants. On that note, refrain at all costs from referring to employees as "family"—unless you run a family business, of course.
Hiring managers: Take a shower
Then there’s the interview itself. According to job seekers, a smelly interviewer (76.8%), a group interview (70.2%), or being called the wrong name (68.1%) are the biggest red flags.
The study also highlights that hiring managers who joke with interviewees or, worse still, give them a nickname without asking, risk putting them off the role. Meanwhile, offering in-person candidates a drink after trekking to your office doesn’t go unnoticed either.
For virtual interviews, hiring managers should avoid speaking to someone else off-camera or conducting the chat without their camera on if they want to entice talent.
Meanwhile, if you haven’t determined after 3 interview rounds whether the candidate is right for the job—they’ll make the decision for you. Over half of applicants said that’s the point at which they’ll retract their application out of frustration.
It could even explain why a growing number of unemployed Gen Zers are now just ghosting hiring managers after enduring endless rounds of interviews.
Hiring managers and CEOs, Fortune wants to hear from you: What are your hiring red flags? Do you have any make-or-break questions or unusual hiring tests? Get in touch Orianna.Royle@fortune.com
