These Common Job Description Phrases Are Red Flags

If you see one of these phrases in a job description, you might be walking into a nightmare.

We’ve become a nation of job hustlers. People only stay at jobs an average of just over four years these days—and that drops to just under three years if you’re a millennial or younger. And more than half of all workers plan to find a new job in the next year.

That means you’ve likely read a lot of job descriptions, and know that it’s easy to be fooled. A job that sounds great on paper can be a nightmare in real life. The good news? There are clues to watch out for—red flag phrases that point to a toxic work environment or an employer that won't value your time or mental health. Employers can’t seem to stop themselves from using these phrases, and are, in fact, using them more and more often—if you know how to decode the language of job descriptions and spot those red flag phrases, you’ll save yourself a lot of heartache.

“We’re like a family”

There is likely no more transparently toxic phrase in job descriptions than calling a workplace a “family.” It might be intended to evoke a warm, supportive environment, but in reality it usually implies a workplace with zero boundaries and no respect for work/life balance. The phrase often implies an expectation to go beyond your actual duties, to attend non-work events with no additional compensation, and to accept a warm and fuzzy attitude in lieu of actual cash.

"Wear many hats"

There’s a reason we have job descriptions. They protect both the employer, who can point to them if you fail to perform the duties laid out in one, as well as employees—who can point to them when they’re suddenly asked to take on roles they’re not trained for and don’t want.

The phrase “wear many hats” indicates a complete disregard for this key element. It basically means there's no defined role, and you'll be doing whatever needs doing whether you’re capable of it or not. It also pretty clearly means that if you do manage to keep all those plates spinning, you’ll just get more duties and responsibility, most likely with zero extra compensation—after all, you were warned.

“Work well under pressure”

This charming bit of psychological manipulation should send you running for the hills. It’s a variation of a sales tactic: It creates a challenge and a sense of urgency. If you pass up the job, it’s because you can’t handle pressure, not because you don’t want your life to suck—it creates this sense of failure that you want to prove incorrect. The phrase also clearly implies that you’re going to experience a toxic environment where boundaries won’t exist, and any hesitance or pushback will immediately be judged as you wilting under “pressure.” Don’t want to hop on Slack at midnight? Don’t want to come in for an all-hands on Saturday? Skip any job that exalts “pressure.”

"Fast-paced environment"

Hawking a “fast-paced environment” is a tricky phrase that sounds exciting—you won’t be bored! But it’s a classic sign of a toxic workplace. It indicates an environment where stress is glorified. A healthy workplace should want to avoid stressing out its employees, because stress actually lowers productivity and performance. If the job description implies that stress is seen as natural or beneficial, you’ll be miserable—and, worse, you’ll be working for a company that will never understand why it has high turnover and low performance across the board.

"Self-reliant/self-starter"

Any company that puts this in a job description is basically admitting that you won’t get much training or support. You might figure things out and wind up enjoying your work—it’s possible. But it will be entirely up to you to learn just about everything, and failures will be entirely on you. The phrase can also indicate that the company isn’t even sure what your role should be, and wants you to figure it out on the fly.

"Pay commensurate with experience"

Vagueness about compensation is always a red flag. The only reason you want this job is the compensation, so any attempt to obfuscate the pay is a dirty trick from the get-go. Phrases like “commensurate with experience” or “pay is competitive” shift all the power to the employer. You’ll jump through hoops to get through interviews and other steps in the hiring process, and only when you’re psychologically hooked via the sunk costs fallacy do you get to enjoy being lowballed.

“Unlimited potential”

When this phrase is used in conjunction with vague language around salary and compensation, it’s a bright red flag. Phrases like this are usually paired with wildly broad salary ranges, but usually mean you’re going to be offered a low starting rate and all the “potential” involves commissions and incentives you will probably never achieve. There’s nothing wrong with commission-based compensation as long as it’s clearly stated and up-front. But slippery phrases like this are designed to plant the high-end number in your head without committing to anything.

“Rockstar”

As anyone who has ever had a job knows, when your boss calls you a “rockstar” or a “godsend” or any other similarly overblown compliment, you can be pretty sure of two things: One, you just went above and beyond in your work, and two, that compliment is all you’re getting by way of compensation for that extra effort. Using these words in a job description is similar to how poisonous animals in the natural world use bright coloring: It’s a warning sign. It usually indicates that the job will be underpaid and overworked.

“Flexible working hours”

This phrase’s red flag status depends on how it’s used. If there are no other red flags in the job description and the phrase seems to indicate that you can choose your own work schedule within certain parameters, that’s obviously fine. If there are other problematic phrases in that description, however, ask yourself whether “flexible” means your employer is flexible about your schedule, or whether they expect you to be flexible about things like working until midnight or coming on Sundays on a regular basis.