Red flags to look out for in job descriptions for software developers
Deciding to start looking for a new job can be a very exciting time. You either do it in search for better pay, better work-life balance, escaping a toxic work environment or even going for a career switch.
All reasons are valid and now it’s time to get comfy, update your CV and look at job descriptions on LinkedIn or Cord.
Being a software engineer, you’ll find there’s more open roles than people looking for work out there. Having such a plethora of options is incredibly lucky but also quite overwhelming. A lot of the roles look the same, a lot of the companies sound great.
How can you tell from such a small amount of information if it’s worth applying for this role or the other? Well, in truth, it’s always a gamble! You apply and if you do get selected for the interviews, you must ask all the right questions to make sure it would be a good fit for you. Don’t forget, interviews go both ways.
There are though a couple of things you could look out for in job descriptions that would indicate a role or company isn’t as cool as it looks like.
Vague job duties or responsibilities
If the job description is very vague or doesn’t clearly outline the duties and responsibilities of the position, it could be a red flag that the company is not well organised or that the job itself may not be well-defined.
What does your day to day look like? If you’re a software engineer, will you be working on the features alone? Are you expected to be writing integration tests? Are you going to be the one doing the releases? Is people management part of your responsibilities? Do you have a say on the roadmap? These are all very important questions.
Excessive or unrealistic expectations
If the job description lists a large number of duties or responsibilities that seem unreasonable for the level of the position, or if the company expects you to work long hours or be on call at all times, it could be a bad sign that the company has unrealistic expectations of its employees.
Some examples of how this looks like are:
- We work hard and we play hard
- We’re all a family here
- If you’re looking a for 9–5, this isn’t for you
That last one is a personal favourite of mine, I’ve seen it a few times and have run away faster than ever.
Lack of information about the company
If the job description doesn’t provide much information about the company itself or its culture, this could be your sign that the company is not transparent or that it is not a good place to work.
The first thing I do before I even look at the role description, is understand the company and the product or service they provide. If all I see on the job description or company page are “revolutionising <any business sector>” and “using cutting edge technology”, but no mention of how exactly they’re doing the revolutionising or what is that cutting edge technology, it’s a hard pass from me.
Unclear or unrealistic expectations of work-life balance
If the company has unrealistic expectations of work-life balance or does not offer flexible work arrangements, this is a huge sign that the company is not supportive of its employees’ personal lives.
This would be 24 hours on call, strictly prohibiting working from home or as one company wrote on their job description: “You’re expected to work from 9am to 5pm and for half an hour at 6:30pm to sync up with our colleagues in the US”. Um, no.
Lack of training or support
If the company does not offer training or support to help employees succeed in their roles, it could be a red flag that the company is not invested in its employees’ professional development.
This one is super important, we all need support and if there’s no mention of training budget or some time dedicated to that during the sprint, how are you supposed to keep learning and advance in your career?
These examples come from my personal experience, they may not all apply to you or you might not care for some of those. By all means, take this with a grain of salt, sometimes companies just don’t include everything in the job description so it’s good to have a chat anyway. Except maybe for the “If you’re looking a for 9–5, this isn’t for you”, run away from this one, it isn’t worth it.
