As a recent Adobe Acrobat survey made clear, job seekers view some words or phrases as dead giveaways of trouble ahead.<\/p>\n
More than 130 of you shared your least favorites. (Thank you!) Here’s what you told us:<\/p>\n
Missing pay information<\/p>\n
The majority of respondents said a lack of pay transparency<\/a>, whether by omitting a pay range from a job post or including only an absurdly wide one, was a turnoff in a job post.<\/p>\n “If the salary is too low, it’s only wasting both our time when the company finally reveals it. If it’s too high, I know I won’t be competitive,” said Grant Maxfield. “But when it’s unlisted, I always assume the company is paying below market for the role and trying to cheat or lie to employees.”<\/p>\n Sense of humor<\/p>\n “Unless they are actually hiring a comedian to do stand-up, this is a sign of a workplace that’s dysfunctional beyond repair,” Rebecca Potance said.<\/p>\n Fast-paced working environment<\/p>\n One phrase that stands out to Brian Bissonnette is “fast-paced” working environment. “To me, that means strict quotas. No thanks,” he said.<\/p>\n Related stories<\/p>\n Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know<\/p>\n Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know<\/p>\n Enthusiasm<\/p>\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/placeholder.png\")
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