Is it red flag when the interview tell you to look for other opportunities in their company?

Question

I had a first round of an interview related to diagnosis module in Adaptive Autosar as a software developer position. The interviwers were a team leader and manager. First conversation was introduction and then they asked me couple of questions related to my resume. Everything was going good.

They asked me that if I have any question and I asked them what would be my job profile and what work I will be doing in this role. I got detailed answer. My next question was what is diagnosis module (I already told them I don't have any experience in automotive sector). They explained me about the module in detail. Later, the team leader commented that I can also look for other opportunities in their company. I little bit paniced but didn't say anything. He also told me that he wanted to ask me why I was applying in Diagnosis module team and he got the answer as I already asked them what that module does.

They told me that I will get the email for second round of interview.

Note that I kind of researched about the diagnosis of a car but I wanted to know more in detail about the that module in context of their product. Probably I didn't frame the question correctly.

I would like to know that will it has impact on their decision to call me for a second interview?

PS: beside this fiasco, I believe, I had a decent impression.

Answer 1

They told me that I will get the email for second round of interview.

That means you didn't disqualify right out of the blue.

Later, the team leader commented that I can also look for other opportunities in their company.

As a recruiting interviewer, you usually don't want to miss an opportunity to hire a good fit for the job. You might not be the one they're looking for because you lack some abilities in this particular field, but they may keep an eye on you because they think you could be an asset in another team.

Of course, we can't read their minds, it could just be a kind of polite way to say: "please look around for something else". But don't be too negative about that because, as you said: "beside this fiasco, I believe, I had a decent impression."

Answer 2

We can't read minds, but if I had said this, it would mean I thought you were worth hiring but might not be the best candidate for this particular position. That certainly isn't a "red flag" as I would use the term!