Top 3 signs that your job offer may belong in the recycle bin

So during my career I have been lucky enough to get a wide spectrum of experiences at many different companies large and small. Obviously, part of that involves interviewing and negotiating job offers and I've had my fair share of ups and downs so I've decided to share some obvious signs that your shiny new job offer may belong in the recycle bin:

#1 - They aren't willing to work with you on salary
This is especially true if the offer is significantly lower than your current salary. While salary is only one component of compensation and the job itself (think culture, team, product/market, etc.) it is important. Typically salaries are negotiated and the best negotiations are those that end with both sides feeling like they have won. If the company doesn't really give you a good reason for not budging on the salary...think more carefully about your expectations and theirs. Is there a match?

#2 - Executives don't really have a clear picture on the health of the company
This happens more often than you would think especially at smaller companies. I'll never forget the one meeting I had with a CEO of a SaaS company many years ago and I asked him what metrics do you measure and follow to keep a pulse on the health of the company. Instead of ARPU, Active user count, retention rate, etc. I got the following "I get an email whenever someone signs up and I go and research them". I left that meeting feeling like if I took the job I would be like in the middle of nowhere without a map.

#3 - Multiple interviewers complain about a particular employee
This is a big red flag. I had an interview and every interviewer (with the exception of one) pretty much asked how I would handle a micro-managing CEO. Fair questions, but when some interviewers say things like "You'll be successful if you can get the CEO off my back" or "I don't mean to bad mouth the CEO" then those are some challenges that you should think about more deeply.

I'm not suggesting that any/all of these reasons are reasons you should turn down that job. Merely these are reasons to think more deeply about the job offer.