The biggest red flag in a job interview, according to a founder—and what impresses her most

CNBC

20-07-2025

Jaclyn Johnson has big plans for her business.
She started hosting events for women entrepreneurs in 2011 and formally launched her company, Create & Cultivate, in 2015.
In the last decade, the founder has scaled the business to host 2,000-attendee gatherings, sold the company for $22 million, bought it back, brought on a new CEO and built the "Coachella for career women" — a two-day festival with programming that includes Doechii, Ciara, Aeysha Curry and Paige DeSorbo.
Johnson, 40, is now Create & Cultivate's chief creative officer. When she hires someone, she looks for someone who can move fast and work with big ideas for the startup.
One of her favorite interview questions to ask a prospective hire is, "What's a time that you put a fire out?"
Her goal is to see how someone operates and solves problems when thing don't go exactly as planned. "People who are able to flex and move and adapt quickly are always great for a startup environment," Johnson says.
Johnson also appreciates people who aren't afraid to discuss when things go wrong, or mistakes they've made and how they've since reflected on them. "My green flags are people who can come to an interview and also talk about the good, the bad, the ugly," she says.
On the other hand, Johnson says her biggest job interview red flag is someone who shows up unprepared and doesn't understand the role or the company.
"Doing your due diligence before you do an interview is so important," Johnson says. To check this, she asks another question to gauge how much the candidate understands about the company's work, and more importantly, what they think about the work being done.
For instance, if she's interviewing someone for a marketing role, she'll ask, "What do you like about the marketing we're doing? What do you think we could do better?"
"I'm always so impressed when someone has real feedback to offer on the business and the company," Johnson says. Meanwhile, "if they have no clue about your business or even what's going on or what you're doing, I think that is a red flag."
Create & Cultivate's team is lean: In the time since Johnson's return, the company has grown from fewer than 10 employees to about 15 now. When they're not on-site at events, staffers work fully remotely across New York City; Boston; Washington, DC; Nashville; San Diego and elsewhere. The company also works with a network of agency partners.
Johnson says hiring for the right fit and qualifications is crucial as a remote team. Some of her considerations include, "What kind of energy do they bring to the team through Zoom, which I know sounds crazy, but it is [important]," she says. "How is the energy and how do they connect with you, online and offline? What does that look like? You're trying to create that culture."
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