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Job Interview Red Flags That Can Save Your Sanity
How to spot toxic workplaces before they damage your mental health and professional growth
After surviving multiple layoffs and working across startups, government contractors, and Fortune 100 companies as a designer, I’ve learned that the most dangerous workplaces often present themselves as dream opportunities. The companies that shattered my confidence and damaged my mental and physical health were the same ones that promised “revolutionary” work environments and “unlimited growth potential.”
Here are the red flags that would have saved me years of professional trauma — if I’d known to look for them.
The CEOzilla Pattern
The first major warning sign is when executives micromanage design decisions they have no expertise in. I call this the “CEOzilla” trap — leaders who choose paint colors and fabric swatches for office spaces while claiming they want innovation and creative leadership.
During one interview, the CEO spent fifteen minutes going into detail about his new office’s interior design and why he believed user research was unnecessary because “Steve Jobs never did user testing.” (Apple actually conducts extensive user research, but that’s another story.)
