By Patrina Pellett, PhD (Follow me on LinkedIn)

I help a lot of PhDs, post-docs, professors, aspiring MSLs, MSLs, and Medical Affairs leaders with their job search or transition. I get a lot of calls like this, "Hey, I am thinking about taking this role. What do you think?" I always give folks my number 1 best job search tip: pay attention to red flags.

My Job Search Tip: Pay Attention To Red Flags

A red flag during a job search is anything that makes your spidey sense activate and signals to you that something about the team, company culture, etc might not jive with you. It is something that makes you feel weird or not good. Think of small signals that indicate the company culture may not align with your values.

Why is the best job search tip? Because you will spend a majority of your time working for this company. You owe it to yourself and your general well-being to determine if it is a good fit. What many people fail to recognize in their job search is that they should interviewing the company and team. Not the other way around.

A Red Flag That I Ignored

Here's an example. During the interview process for a job I applied for, I had a bad interview call. I didn't mess up the call or anything like that. What happened was that the interviewer made me feel like crap. He was belittling and just kind of mean. I hung up and felt really bad. Like a big dark cloud was hanging over me. The bad feeling lingered for a couple of days.

Instead of me listening to this huge red flag, I ignored it and accepted the job. That guy continued to make me miserable the whole time I worked there! He wasn't targeting me or anything. The culture was just not a good fit for me and I did not enjoy my time there. And that's sad! Everyone should be working for a company and team that makes them feel passionate and motivated.

Pay Attention to Your Red Flags

Your red flags will be different than mine. The point is to pay attention to them! When something feels weird during your job search, don't shrug it off. Ask yourself if it is something you can tolerate because it will not go away if you take the job.

If that red flag is a deal breaker, it is 1000% ok to not take a job because it isn't a good fit for you. You will thank yourself later. You deserve to have a job and work on a team that makes you feel alive! Spend your time doing something where you feel like you are thriving.
  

Want to Avoid Red Flag Roles?

In the Aspire MSL Program, we teach aspiring MSLs how to:

✅ Spot cultural misalignments during interviews
✅ Ask the right questions to assess team dynamics
✅ Build a job search strategy that leads to better offers, not just any offer

If you’re in the application stage, you’ll also benefit from:

• Resume Mastery → Make sure your resume attracts the right roles

• LinkedIn Lab → Get recruiters coming to you instead of chasing jobs

Reach out on LinkedIn if you want to know more about how I formulate my interview questions to see if the company culture/team aligns with my values. It is tricky to determine a good fit, but so important!