🐋 Watch out for these company red flags

How to mutually interview companies + New roles for Internal Comms @Meta, Design Apprentice @Uber, Creative Strategy @Square, and an exclusive sales role in NYC @Free Agency for Tech Pod community

Jun 02, 2022

Hello, Tech Pod! 💦

Companies use interview questions to detect red flags, toxicity, and inconsistency in candidates.

They’re thinking: do they habitually complain? Can they own up to mistakes? Do they gossip? Did they leave their previous jobs on good terms? 🤔

But, guess what — you should be doing the same thing towards the company.

You should be thinking: do they respect employees’ work-life balance? Do they have a toxic work culture? Do they stick to their value statements? Is there high turnover?

SO, this week we’re breaking down how to mutually interview companies.

Let’s get into it 🕵️

1. Red flags to watch out for 🚩🚩 👀

First things first: hiring teams present the company’s idealized self — their glittering mission and value statements, company culture, and sweet benefits packages.

It’s your responsibility to read between the lines to detect the reality of their culture and the position/department you’re being interviewed for.

Some things to watch out for ⬇️

No one has been on the team very long: with the exception of super-new startups, this can be a sign that they’ve experienced high employee turnover from unhappy employees.
Overloaded job description: when responsibilities encompass multiple roles it could mean you’ll be responsible to take on of unrelated work without a way to evaluate performance or a path to promotion.
They’re distracted: an interviewer who continually multitasks may indicate the company overworks employees, that they don’t respect you, the role, or that the company is not generally enjoyable. (However, them taking notes is a good sign, and quick and infrequent pauses to respond to messages are normal.)
Excessive pressure to be available ASAP: desperation from the hiring manager could hint at a high turnover and/or a lack of boundaries or that they care less about getting the right applicant and instead just need someone immediately. (But, a clean and fast process that feels intentional is great!)

2. The buzzword controversy 🙄

“We’re looking for a hungry, self-starting, marketing rockstar to go all-in for our #fam”

On the lighter end, using buzzwords is an easy way to make a job sound exciting, fun, and meaningful… even when it’s not.

(Moderate amounts of buzzwords and overhyping have become standard practice, but watch out for an over-reliance or abundance of them).

However, buzzwords can be used to mislead problematic parts of the role and culture.

Here are some examples and what they could mean:

We wear many hats — we’re understaffed and overworked
We’re like a family — we don’t have boundaries
Must be willing to go all-in — no work-life balance, sacrifice wellbeing
Note: These terms are often used by well meaning teams! But it’s worth pausing to dig into what they’re saying when buzzwords are used: “what does that look like here” or “could you explain more of what you mean by [buzzword]?”

3. Questions to ask

You already know to have questions prepared for the “do you have any questions for us?” part of the interview.

Beyond what you’ve prepared to ask about your role, include at least one of these to investigate their company culture.

How was the previous person successful/unsuccessful in the role?
One of the best ways to uncover a toxic culture is by learning how the role became available. Why did the person leave? If they trash talk or make passive-aggressive comments about the person… it’s a big 🚩
What do you like most about working here?
If they fumble or take a long time to answer it’s probably because they don’t. And if they don’t, why would you?
[How would you describe the culture?]
Be creative here — lots of interviewers hate getting this question. 😅
Here are some alternatives:
- What are some of the ways the company celebrates success?
- How is conflict resolved?
- What makes you proud to work here?
Dig into vague buzzwords like “synergy,” “cross-functional,” and “#workfam” to this to get to a transparent answer.
I noticed Glassdoor reviews that mentioned [gossip culture from the top, micromanaging, racial/gender bias, etc] could you tell me more about that?
First of all, you should be reading these reviews before interviewing. Keep in mind that low ratings can be overblown by disgruntled employees, and many positive ones could be manufactured by the company. When looking at reviews, focus more on patterns you’re seeing and address those. If they dodge the question or talk in circles it’s a big 🚩

Onto the internships and job opportunities!

Our top pick for new grads 👨‍🎓

Account Executive, Free Agency
Free Agency is a NYC-based startup that has raised over $15M from top VCs, including Maveron, Bloomberg Beta, and Resolute Ventures. Also on their cap table? Kevin Durant’s Thirty Five Ventures and Kygo’s Palm Tree Crew!
Free Agency is bringing Talent Agents to tech. Athletes like LeBron and Durant and entertainers like Zendaya have teams and agents that manage the “business side” of their careers, so why shouldn’t the rest of us talented professionals?
They’re now looking to hire a number of early sales hires in New York City — and are prioritiy-reviewing Tech Pod readers with this link:

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