which can hurt your self-esteem / motivation for the next interview.
So if you see red flags and have other options that look more promising, walk away.
It makes sense if employers sold employees to other employers, but it falls apart in the standard labor market.
If I am currently employed and job searching, it is because my current employer is a lemon, not me. The prospective employer should be focused on determining my value to them. Everyone has some value (possibly negative, in extreme cases) and if we both agree then we should both be happy.
In this context, an employer could be a lemon for a million different reasons.
A good employer assumes that only bad employees are left in the market. As do good employees think that only bad employers are looking via job ads.
Hence more and more god jobs are filled via referrals from fiends etc. I basically think the same about job ads. Why bother applying?
But the market for lemons does not describe the labor market. Good companies grow and need more employees. Good employees do not get market-competitive salary adjustments and thus look for different jobs. It's the complete opposite!
There are exceptions, without a doubt.
EDIT - and let me also say that if the market for lemons accurately describes the labor market, why is it that tech is the only industry with such broken hiring practices?
Yes. But it is incredibly hard to get into a good company.
"and let me also say that if the market for lemons accurately describes the labor market, why is it that tech is the only industry with such broken hiring practices? "
In other "tech" industries it is the same. How do you get into a blue chip company?
1. contacts of your parents
2. contacts of your professor at University
3. you work for a start-up that they buy
In my experience this is true for 9/10 people I know.
I did my PhD in NYC and I once was asked in an interview for a med-sized medical company what the street name in Brooklyn is with all the hipsters. Think deeply what could be the reason for such a question.
Did you answer "all of them"?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Market_for_Lemons
"until this point, we didn't even talk about money"
Big mistake. For years I was desperate for a job (STEM PhD). Now it would be my first question to ask. And I ask this on the phone before I would even bother to go for an interview. But again, now I don't need your shitty job. Chances are, you need me more than I need you.
I remember when I talk to a company once on the phone. Besides that I did not really like the salary, I realized I would not be able to do the job since it was basically two jobs and their chances of success were much slimmer then they were assuming. Didn't bother to go on. But the HR guy said, please apply, worst thing that can happen is that we don't hire you. WRONG. Worst thing that can happen is that I get treated disrespectful in an interview and that I waste time. Most companies value your time with zero.
And if you applied already you ask in the first phone interview why they think you are suited for the job. You would be surprised how many people have you come in without ever having looked at your resume and then tell you that you are not a good fit based on your resume in the interview. It is basically the first time they look at it.