A «toxic work environment» could mean anything from «my boss screamed at me every day» to «I felt uncomfortable that I was expected to work,» and it’s impossible to tell which is true if you weren’t there. 

Have you ever been on a first date where the person kept talking about their «crazy ex.» If you have, alarm bells probably started going off in your head, and for good reasons! A lot of people who claim to always date crazy people are the actual crazy people themselves. Now, there is always a chance that someone who claims to have a crazy ex actually did. If you’re one of those people, it’s best not to bring that up within the first couple of dates with someone new. They might see that and think you’re either not over your ex or that you demonize all the people you’ve dated after it didn’t work out, regardless of whether that’s true. Most first dates are with people you don’t know very well, and you have to deduce their vibe from what little information you have. 

The same goes for job interviews. If you’re badmouthing your company at the first chance you get, the interviewer might assume that you do that with all of the companies you’ve worked for. As unfortunate as it is, you want to seem like someone who would never dare criticize a company when you’re interviewing. If you can get through a 30-minute conversation without raising any red flags for the employer, your chances of getting the job increase.