‘However they treat you as a customer is how you can expect to be treated as an employee’: Career coach reveals how to spot red flags in potential employers

A man went viral on TikTok after recounting an experience with a company that can be seen as red flag in a potential employer.

User Braxton Wood (@workforreal) is a career coach who typically posts advice content on a variety of different topics to his 288,000 followers. This time, Wood uploaded a video on how to spot red flags in a prospective employer.

“I just experienced something that you can do to spot a red with potential employers,” Wood says, starting the video. Wood explains how he signed up for a consultation service, going through a three-step process.

“First, a qualification process, second, talked to an appointment center, and third talked to a sales guy," he says in the clip. The first two processes assured Wood that “they provided the exact same service he was looking for.” However, it went downhill after Wood had to speak to the sales guy.

First, the sales guy didn’t show up on time to the appointment, but then he called half an hour after the scheduled appointment, Wood says. After Wood called out the sales guy on his lateness, the guy made excuses, such as the call time is equivalent to a “window” like how when “a cable guy comes to your house.”

It goes even further downhill. The sales representative allegedly told Wood what the company does and the services it provides. The discrepancy: it had nothing to do with Wood’s qualifications, the TikToker claimed. Then, the representative was passive-aggressive attacking Wood’s decision-making. According to Wood, that was the last straw. He hung up on the representative out of anger and that’s how he came to the realization of sketchy employers.

"If you want to sniff out a bad employer, put yourself through their process, pretending to be what their ideal customer is and see how they treat you," he concludes. "Because however, they treat you as a customer is how you can expect to be treated as an employee.”

@workforreal Here’s how to test an employer for red flags BEFORE they hire you. #careertiktok #jobhunt #careeradvice #careertiktok ♬ original sound - Braxton Wood

The video racked up over 67,000 views with many viewers agreeing with Wood; many pointed out how the employee is often treated worse than the customer.

“Great advice but it’s likely they’ll treat the customer better than they’ll treat an employee,” one viewer pointed out.

“You can guarantee they'll treat the employees so much worse. good advice,” a second agreed.

“Worse because if they treat a customer like that they treat their employees worse,” another concurred. 

Others shared their experiences with toxic work environments and how being treated as a customer is a reflection of how the company treats its employees.

“Great advice. I had a similar experience with Northwestern Mutual. started as a customer and later an employee. Both were terrible experiences,” one person shared.

“I interviewed so many companies for a new job. one did this and I said pass, this isn't a environment I want to work with to the guy,” a second commented.

“I wish this video came out soon," a third wrote. "I got fired because I was sick with a cold and when I went to that store the manager was so rude when I was a customer."

The Daily Dot reached out to Wood for comment via TikTok comment.

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