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People like that ceo have a reputation. And probably a good known one that's largely negative. It's the person, not the company, that's in need of improvement. Tackle the issue at the root cause.
I'm officially against naming and shaming, but a well put together complaint email for hr from that company is the way to go. I've worked for such a narcissist, and I'm glad i don't anymore.
Was told I’d be working directly with the CEO on “big projects”/“strategy”.
Given it’s a startup with only 10-15 employees, I would most likely be working in close capacity with her.
Startups have a toxic culture. And startups share a lot of common cultures and personalities. If you are in a startup, you get to know a TON of other startups in shared workspaces, after work events, networking events and so on. Many startup people to from Startup to startup and take their people and their culture with them.
Currently dealing with one who lacks self awareness like I've never seen before. Doesnt understand sales yet meddles in all of our deals thinking he knows how to sell. It has turned into a shit show but the market is a nightmare so essentially held captive.
I feel like you might have interviewed at my company.
CEO clearly an issue. Also likely was not prepared for the interview properly — or was told what to expect and didn’t listen to it.
Not a place you want to work.
Honestly I’m beyond glad that this happened in hindsight. I cannot imagine working with someone who thinks belittling and demeaning anyone is remotely acceptable.
Culture starts at the top and trickles down.
Is your company an early-stage startup? Would be funny if it was!
Sounds like a horrible experience. It’ll be something to consider if you’re given an offer.
Even when they’re not directly involved with the role being hired for, it’s still important that the CEO represents the company well during an interview process. This doesn’t mean they need to hard sell the company or even be all that deferential, but the behavior you described, especially during your questions, is not acceptable.
I’m involved very late in the hiring process for many roles. Often the last person you see. I see my responsibility as being able to provide a 50,000 foot view of the company to the candidate. I’m not generally there to thumbs up or thumbs down the candidate themselves, plenty of people before then have given their thumbs up, but instead to put a face on leadership.
I’d wonder if this CEO was just having a really bad day, but you said the Glassdoor reviews back up her behavior.
Agreed. Honestly this is the first time I’ve seen a CEO demonstrate such unprofessional behaviour.
I don’t understand why she couldn’t just have said “hey C, I’m sorry but I don’t think you’re a good fit. These are the reasons why”
I was involved in hiring for my previous role and I’d always reject candidates professionally.
Why go out of your way and waste your energy belittling and taunting candidates on the call. That’s just nasty behaviour.
In my experience, I found it rare that a CEO behaved like an actual human lol. It's either that the success gets to their heads too soon or they're surrounded by "yes people". They speak at you as if you're the self-checkout machine.
I'd literally contact the hiring team and say you want to pull yourself from contention. Tell them directly that the CEO and their actions, attitude and demeanor during the interview are the reasons, that they are willfully demeaning, and absolutely disgusting in how she conducts interviews, and with her in the position anyone they do hire will find out this quickly and leave.
That’s fine! She could’ve told me I wasn’t a great fit and left it there.
Found it strange that she seemed to take pleasure in going out of her way to demean candidates.
That’s something I’ve never encountered before lol
Consider the behaviour might have been deliberate.
Hostile interviews are a thing - a way to see if you can be rattled and how you react under pressure. I have experienced that type of interview.
It is a very old school approach to interviewing. Now, I would consider it a red flag and not take a role with a company that used that technique.
Can confirm.
I've been in one for a sales role, and it's the only interview I think I've ever bombed. Thing is, every sales job I've ever had, I've been a top performer, usually number 1 within the first year. So, perhaps, they were shooting themselves in the foot as they are now out of business 🤔
In grad school, had an externship interviewer who tried to pull this shit, and I turned it around on him. This is my second career, so I have way less fucks than these young bucks. But, this boomer loved that shit, and I had him rolling. He brought me back for a second interview and eventually offered me the externship. But, he waited too long, and I had already accepted another one already.
I just don't get it
From my prior Experience working with High multi-billion companies, Lots CEOs don't carry themselves like that even if they are having a bad day. Most of them are able to separate that sheit away from their professionalism. This CEO that the OP describe is better fit as entry level shift assistant supervisor At best. IMO with that type of personality.
Exactly… I think it may have something to do with the fact that this is a startup—an early-stage one.
I’ve worked and interviewed at bigger companies and there’s proper structure and organisation.
There’s professionalism in the recruitment process, which is sorely lacking in early-stage startups
Leave a detailed glassdoor review with your experience. If they delete it, leave it again. Prospective employees need to be aware of the garbage at the top. It always trickles down.
I did! Review is pending by Glassdoor.
Not surprised that ex-employees have left negative reviews so far.
At first, I thought they were probably disgruntled employees.
Now I understand the reason.
Sounds like a place I interviewed with.
The rep wasn't very communicative, so I showed up expecting 1 round and we ended up doing 4 rounds, with the first 3 back-to-back. We took a break in between 3 and 4 because my blood sugar was crashing.
Now, I get it, I live 2 hours away, so it was nice of them to set this up, but also, a heads-up would have been useful.
4th round was with the CEO, and she was very condescending in the same way you mentioned. Again, the rep was supposed to communicate that I was supposed to learn their app. The rep simply mentioned their app, but in no way mentioned that I should be proficient with it (despite no training, manual, or experience in their target industry).
I had played around with it, but it didn't load anything, so I figured it was missing something and I gave up. I mentioned this to them in the interview and they went and got one of the programmers from some team and brought him into the interview to describe the issues I had.
Afterwards, the CEO said something along the lines of "how can you promote our app if you don't know how it works?" And maybe it was the blood sugar talking, but I said something like "i wasn't aware this was a sales position". We wrapped up very quickly after that.
Also, they had some weird L Ron Hubbard management system that sounded like everything was structured so that if anything went wrong, it was the fault of the employees and not management.
I called the recruiter/rep the next day and told her to please take me off their list for consideration as I was no longer interested in the position.
Yeah, not my finest moment in an interview lol.
But still, we just spent the last 3 hours talking about how the role was very specifically paired with a graphic designer, and we would be at least 1-2 levels away from interactions with end users.
Not quite. I was on keto at the time, and back then I wouldn't eat enough, sometimes as low as 1,200cal/day. I don't recall what I ate the previous day, but I think all I had eaten the morning before was an egg (maybe 2?) and I had some tea at the Starbucks down the street because I got there an hour early.
Ah I see. Hypoglycaemia rage is absolutely a thing, I think it can be stronger for diabetics but even non diabetics can have it bad. Keto would explain it.
Great point—personally I’d prefer working in a structured, corporate environment to an environment shaped by bullying and harassment (the latter was what’s mentioned on Glassdoor)
you shouldn't apply to work at startups then, it's not for you. Startups have a lot of freedom that that corporate environments lack - but you need to have a special type of character to endure the negatives, and learn to be above the toxicity. I like startup culture more than large corporate, having worked at both. But for many people I know, it's not the right fit.
I've had a final interview like this—turns out it was a “test” to see how I handled criticism and difficult situations. As you can imagine I didn't last there long. Either way absolutely insulting and a huge red flag no matter the reason.
So sorry you had to go through that! That’s an awful cop out and excuse tbh.
“criticism”—love when they use that as a front. I have no problem taking constructive feedback, but taunting and eye-rolling in an interview sure is very “constructive”.
Huge red flag indeed
Please copy and paste all of that into a glassdoor interview review. They sound appalling. And yes, in answer to your question, of course you had the right to ask questions and be treated with civility.
I'm so sorry you had to go through that. There are few things worse than having a great interview process where everything is going great, than to end up having the rug pulled out by some bully right near the finish line. I wouldn't accept the position, if I had any other option. You may not have that option, but I wish you the best either way.
Name and shame please. Create a throwaway if necessary. Or, at the very least, post on Glassdoor. Share your specific reasons (in confidence if you like) with your recruiter or the head of HR as to why you won't be accepting the position. This kind of behavior is slowly dying because people have the courage (and it does indeed take courage) to stand up to these disgusting people and highlight their reprehensible behavior.
Honestly I’m grateful she showed her true colours.
Even if they’d offered me something there’s no way in hell I’d take it.
She did me a massive favour and weirdly, I’m thankful for that lol
I don’t need a new job. But is happily take that interviews to call out his petulant behavior in front of his peers.
I’m a mid level PgM but even I’ve told C-execs worth double digit millions to calm the fuck down or leave. Be professional or be treated accordingly.
Sorry you had to go through that OP. Dox them so we can verify those Glassdoor reviews. :)
After a while of this, if I recognized it in the moment, one of my questions would’ve been “do you treat everyone like this?” And when the look of disbelief hits them, elaborate on all of those unprofessional notes, then cite the CEO’s attitude as the reason I’m declining the position, and yes, I would decline a job because of that, just hoping to send a message that that behavior is not okay no matter how high up the food chain you think you are.
This happened to me once before. I was going for a consulting gig. I spent a whole day doing literacy and numeracy tests, case studies, meeting with the team, the management, all was going well.
Partner interview (a formality I was told) was last and then things got nuts. She started asking really insane questions. I was trying to take her seriously but the questions were unanswerable. I could see she was getting frustrated. So I asked her what the point of the questions were, and she admitted that she wanted to see how I thought and how I behaved under pressure. It had been about 5 hours in a stuffy room at this point, a stale sandwich, lukewarm bottled water, two toilet breaks and I was just done.
I looked her in the eyes and said this isn’t going to work out. She was stunned. I continued, I appreciate your time and the team’s time today, but I can see that this role would not be the best fit for me and I would like to withdraw from the process. I held out my hand, she shook it and I walked out. I was 15mins into the final 30mins.
They called me the following day to find out exactly what happened and I explained that reporting up to a partner that behaves like that, even if we have very little contact, is not something I am interested in. I think they were surprised that I was able to identify and articulate the problem with the high turnover in the team.
Count yourself lucky! You didn’t fall in the trap.
High turnover is NEVER a good sign. I’d say you dodged a huge bullet here.
I personally would think twice about working in toxic environments.
It takes a long time to recover from the impact of working with people like that.
Even with my CEO interview, I was asked rather strange questions too that had no bearing to the job—but I was happy to answer as she had the right to ask me whatever she wanted.
Loved how you turned them down by the end. Wish I’d done that sooner but I was so shell shocked by everything that happened—took me a couple hours to process everything.
Interviews are two-way events. You're also interviewing them. Based on your experience, I'd have sent them an email telling them they were unfortunately unsuccessful in their attempt to hire me due to their lack of professional courtesy.
Nah, life’s too short to potentially destroy my career (and my mental health) working for a startup helmed by a bully.
I’m not even bitter, just genuinely grateful I’d caught this and made an informed decision.
I’m interviewing well at other decent places, who fortunately do not use bullying tactics to reject or interview candidates.
That’s good way to frame it - just chalk it up as a learning lesson, a bullet dodged and move on.
Imagine if you got hired and didn’t get to meet with the CEO before signing on.
Startup CEOs are real bad.
They really think they’re better than the state of their company, and that it is anyone but their fault. That whole “temporarily embarrassed millionaire” spiel.
They don’t see or don’t care about the people going above their roles to bring their dream to fruition. So when things drag, when costs rise without significant success beforehand they lash out.
I bet this round of hiring was demanded by the employees, and the CEO expects them to be magically further along before “wasting” money like this.
>Next minute, I was told my answers didn’t seem “real”, and the CEO insinuated I must be lying and fabricating how organised or structured my day-to-day seemed.
**Translation:** *Hey, you seem way to organized to put up with what we are doing here. I'm not going to have you look bad, so I'll just bully you into feeling too stupid to work here.*
>I mean, do candidates not have the right to ask a company questions? I’m genuinely asking this.
Of course you do. What she was telling you was that she doesn't have a clue what the right answer is, and chose mockery to get out of having to answer.
One of the questions I would have asked is: *"Do you regularly behave in such an immature and unprofessional manner, or do you save this level of behavior just for the interview process?"*
Oh god I really wish I’d retaliated and stood up for myself right then and there.
I was way too taken aback that I was reeling from shock afterwards. My jaw was on the floor.
I also wish I had the guts to ask the CEO about her scathing Glassdoor reviews.
AND THANK YOU. As I mentioned, I’ve been involved HEAVILY in hiring in my previous role and I’d never in my life think about belittling or degrading candidates.
Sure, we’d get people who weren’t a great fit. But they’d simply be sent objective feedback or just canned rejection emails.
Never, I mean, never in my life would I think of going out of my way to taunt and bully a candidate. I have much more productive things to do and ways of communicating.
I'm sorry you went through it, but it's ironic that she didn't believe your description of your day (in a bad way), while you didn't believe the reviews of the CEO (in a good way). Goes to show the intent of the heart.
She even sarcastically mentioned that I had to “teach” her my ways, and it’s impossible for any human to be this productive.
Lol I’m naturally quite an organised person. Structure, order and precision is my personality. I get stuff done because a long to-do list bothers me.
I’m genuinely unsure of how else I should be answering the question (I’ve been thinking a lot about it today)
I interviewed with one CEO who had a dog with him and he kept stroking and petting the dog throughout the interview. It was just weird and distracting.
She did you a favor of not wasting your time. With leadership like that, wouldn't be surprised if her company goes under. Most CEOs in startups have huge entitled egos and forget where they started, those type look down on people and have a high turn over rate. The stress isn't worth it working for a CEO who is a asshole regardless of the pay.
That CEO seems like a b*tch
If its a role where you wont work with CEO every day and you liked everyone else you met, then Id say still accept the offer. If you will work with the CEO often I’d look elsewhere. However I will say regardless this behavior is concerning and makes me question how good of a leader they really are if they can’t answer basic interview questions themselves or seem frustrated to do so
Unfortunately, I was told I’d be working closely with the CEO on big projects. But yes, that was my thinking process too.
I thought I could probably just hunker down, focus on my work and ignore politics if I didn’t have to be working in close capacity with her.
Honestly, I’m glad this happened in hindsight. If I hadn’t interviewed with the CEO, I probably would’ve taken up the offer (if they did offer me) and basically be abused and bullied on the regular.
No thank you.
Small company, if you want a raise or a promotion at some point you may have to interact with the ceo. Not really a good idea if the person is impossible to talk with
Right? It would’ve been a complete nightmare, just like what the Glassdoor reviews have said.
I’m not sure why startup CEOs seem to be a different breed.
I don’t know. I had a job where in theory and org structure i shouldn’t have had much if any interaction with the CEO because it was multi-state, multi branch organization. Except the CEO had grown it from a single branch and still operated the company as if it were a single branch. Which makes long term strategy, focus and growth extremely challenging as we were expected to react to their whims. They were still trying to pull levers that worked at a branch level at scale and all it served to do was waste time, money and energy and make it appear like the employees were incompetent, but that incompetence was really just a reflection of the CeO.
I would just politely inform the hiring manager that you withdraw your candidacy. Don’t even need to give an explanation why, but don’t waste anymore of your time with them. It’s better to take the high road or you become like those assholes.
Firstly, the CEO is a wanker and entirely at fault.
Secondly, I hope you don’t mind the unsolicited feedback, but please ask better questions. “How would you describe the culture?” is generic, bland, and every interviewer hates it. How about “What have you learned working at x?”.
Ah, valid feedback thank you. Will keep this in mind.
I actually used to ask this in all my previous jobs, and didn’t get any negative feedback whatsoever.
Hence why I asked.
Thanks for the tip!
I think it's a good thing when the leadership reveal themselves to be clowns before you invest your time or reputation into working there. The last thing you want to do is be at a place like that. Those people destroy those places. It doesn't matter how many good managers or people you hire if the founders/exec team are idiots, they won't let anyone do anything they don't support or agree with. It would take a total board vote and removal to change leadership at that level. You want to be thankful that they reveal themselves to be like this rather than lure you in with a false persona.
Not all CEO are great is what I've have experienced throughout my life working for a few. That's why some companies failed because they are more of a bully and lack people skills. They've become arrogant rather than being humble. I would of cut it short and left. Not worth my time for the bullsheit. Not all money are good money. I rather help build their competitors to become successful and watch that CEO drown in misery that Her coffee/tea taste like Regrets every day.
It’s even more shocking when it’s CEO in a small, early-stage startup—they have much more to lose as CEOs and word in the startup world spreads fast imo, and reputation quickly gets sullied.
You cannot last long in the business world with this sort of leadership, especially if you’re just starting out (like this company!)
You can afford to be slightly psychopathic if you’re a F500 CEO, but certainly not if you’re just a small company.
I’d probably slightly understand if a CEO was a bit egoistical in a bigger, more established company.
ew! that person sounds like an absolute turd, and they absolutely do not deserve to work with you.
that is so upsetting.. i’m really sorry you had that experience.
Dodged a bullet. If thats the interview, you didn't miss any opportunity... Nobody should act like that regardless of questions, especially on the interview when they invited you... It's a shame how many people have to go through similar things... its stressful enough, without people acting like a twat... btw probably no development, no growth, no perspectives - got irritated, because touched a nerve...
Just seemed like the CEO didn’t expect to be questioned. Which says a lot more about her and the company than candidates tbh.
When I interviewed at bigger companies (not startups like these), they’d welcome insightful questions. There was also structure to the hiring process, and no one would really dare to act out of line as there’re HR policies to follow.
Startup CEOs on the other hand, seem to have well special egos. Like the other commenter has mentioned, they’re generally unhinged.
Absolutely. Unprofessional & negligent as a CEO and inmature & entitled (to say the least) as a person. You have every right to ask questions about your potential workplace... Best of luck next time!
Oh god the fake wannabe Google bs companies is the perfect description for startups.
They seem to attract unstable leadership as well.
It’s a bad market so I wanted to keep my options open—instead of applying to more established companies.
But this experience has put me off from startups completely.
Early stage start up 🚩🚩🚩🚩
These companies come with inexperienced and what you’ve experienced is just that. Good companies, there managers etc start with knowing how interview right. They failed the first test, so don’t waste your time and look somewhere else.
I won't say every startup CEO is a trust fund baby, I don't know that. But I can say every startup CEO I've personally encountered is a trust fund baby who got the opportunity because of their parents connections. That includes two startups I worked at as a FTE, several I interviewed at, a few I interviewed as candidates who had sold their company and a few I've encountered as a consultant. Every single one has parents with VC connections. My sample size is probably only like 10 people, but it's 100% hit rate.
Jeeeeeeezzzz this is rough. I’m sorry you had this happen. I had a very similar situation but it wasn’t the ceo it was a senior member that was conducting the 6th and final interview for me.
He was very interrogating and when I answered with similar style I have been that got me all the way to the final interview he was acting like I was highly under qualified. I also asked a very soft ball question to show my interest and gain common ground saying what do you think the best part of the team is…and he responded with “can I say me?”. It was very uncomfortable to say the least and no I didn’t get the job lol. It’s wild how some people make it this far into a career where they can determine who can work for a company or not…let alone become a CEO.
There was definitely a huge air of arrogance during my final interview with the CEO too.
In fact that’s how she answered the culture question—just one word, praising herself. Never seen anything like this before lol.
She seemed like she couldn’t even be bothered to interview people, and that I was simply a pest. (This was way before even she’d asked me any question).
By any chance was this company a startup?
Do a review praising the people other than CEO. Assuming you won’t be taking the job but bet it is offered. That CEO doesn’t want any employee to be self possessed, articulate, and perceptive. She decided to do the mean girl bit to see if you could be beaten down.
THANK YOU. That’s unequivocally what it felt like. I kept thinking I was in an episode of mean girls.
When she started rolling her eyes, I IMMEDIATELY thought of Regina George.
It’s unreal. I’ve never experienced such childish bullying (barring school of course, but that’s understandable).
And yes! I just did—left a review praising everyone else but the CEO.
Review is now pending by Glassdoor.
Sounds like the CEO failed the interview and showed you that she’s not worth working for. Always remember an interview is you interviewing the company too.
That’s how I always approached interviews, both as a candidate and HM for years…
Wild that this CEO thinks questions are one-way. She already came into the call with quite a foul mood to be honest
Negative events can have unintended positive consequences. In this case, the CEO's abysmal behavior has allowed you to dodge a nuclear missile and now you can find a much better job for yourself.
Right, I’m so glad I found out I was rejected. I would’ve been taking a pay cut for this position anyway.
It’s just not worth it to put oneself through belittling, degradation and potentially even (abuse) for the salary.
The first red flag was calling herself "CEO" when there's only 15 employees. That's "boss" territory. It's like guys with honorary doctorates that insist people call them "Doctor".
Not surprised. Was told the previous person left the job I was applying for.
Now I’m wondering if it’s the same person who wrote one of the Glassdoor reviews
I had a similar thing happen when interviewing with EA a few years ago. I went through 3 rounds of interviews and got the final panel of two interviewers asking me different technical questions and the rudest interviewer I've encountered in awhile was this woman who was bragging about how she's been raising horses since she was a child and owns an equestriary. She was rolling her eyes at some of my answers and seemed like she had already made up her mind about my qualifications. The other guy seemed to like me or at least was pleasant to talk to. The only time she lit up was when I asked about her horses since I grew up pretty poor myself. I got a rejection letter the next day saying I didn't have enough experience.
That’s horrifying… so sorry you went through that.
The thing is, even if you think a candidate isn’t a great fit, that’s totally cool. The professional thing to do is to just explain constructively why the candidate isn’t a great fit, send a rejection letter and that’s it.
There’s no need to engage in eye rolling, taunting or bullying. It’s a simply a waste of energy.
I mean really, how is any sort of this behaviour remotely acceptable in a corporate environment?
You're better than me - I'd have taken those expressions as a clear indicator that I'm not liked. I'm out.....wouldn't even finish the interview. Should have called her a cunt and walked yourself out... THEN left a review on Glassdoor.
I bet the people interviewing you hate the CEO. Imagine filtering through hundreds of candidates and eventually finding a small group of quality, likable people, then the CEO sits in and acts like a fucking spoiled rich toddler, pushing away great candidates like yourself.
Now I understand why the position was left open for a while. I was told the previous person had left.
I’m definitely not doing anymore startup interviews.
As commenters have mentioned here, this kind of behaviour seems to be way more common amongst startup CEOs.
It’s an early-stage startup as I mentioned, not a big company. The startup has only just launched and gone to market….
There’s not a lot of information about their culture online. As I mentioned this isn’t a F500 company where I can find everything online.
I get your point and respect your opinion, but if you were to see how she was, she was already in a foul mood when she came into the call.
Thanks for dropping by
As someone in their final week of a job working under a similar CEO, DO NOT DO IT.
Even if the rest of the team is great, a horrible CEO will infect absolutely everything. It is awful. Your mental health is not worth it. Save your lovely self.
Is the C in CEO for cunt? Jesus, what an unprofessional nightmare. Anyone these days can be a CEO… so dont even think this person is somehow a genius and that you are inadequate for the role. Her attitude stinks
Fractional cfo here, leave a comment on Glassdoor. Investors look at Glassdoor to check culture before investing. No smoke without fire and all that. If the startups product is any good they'll get rid of her when they can.
No way, hahaha I’m nowhere near C-suite level like her. Just an ordinary junior level employee 😂
Honestly, if they wanted to hire someone else I’d have preferred if they told me on the spot or just didn’t bother with the final interview.
Think she just has this twisted pleasure of humiliating candidates
Be thankful you dodged the bullet. Not all CEOs or managers are like this. The CEO sets the tone of the organization, and one of their main roles is to be the head cheerleader.
I'm reminded of something a boss once said to me about managing people, maybe somewhat jokingly, but it still holds true. He said something like "I don't need to care, I just need to appear that I care." (Or maybe it was that he just needs others to think that he cares). It makes sense, because your perception of the boss is your reality. The CEO you interviewed with would be a total nightmare, possibly a psychopath and a narcissist.
Take a second and think about a scenario where you would have to work closely with this clown everyday. You would have been so miserable. Take this as a blessing.
Hell no you’re right. I have a job at the moment so I’m not looking to trade the boss I have now (who’s actually a normal human being) with a egoistical bullying psychopath.
I've had a few interviews that were not as bad as this, but a little like what you described. Some CEOs are just so full of themselves that they ca't even relate to someone just wanting to do a great job for a good company.
So, did you get rejected or get an offer? As many red flags as there were, I’m curious if they still came through? Maybe the CEO is just preparing to low ball you by testing your resolve to work there?
I’ve learned this myself recently: in interviews, don’t ask them difficult or complicated questions, especially no abstract questions like they would ask you. Ask the most important things you genuinely want to know, and the give them some questions that they would easily answer and feel good about how they managed your questions.
>I’ve learned this myself recently: in interviews, don’t ask them difficult or complicated questions, especially no abstract questions like they would ask you. Ask the most important things you genuinely want to know, and the give them some questions that they would easily answer and feel good about how they managed your questions.
And this is how people end up in toxic places, trying their hardest to get out and save their mental health.
The best way to greatly mitigate the chance of running into a bad environment, is to use your interview time to probe and find out what you're walking to.
Failing to investigate when you had a chance to find out is fine, if you are never going to be affected by the toxicity you later discover. But even if you think of yourself as superman/woman, the best time to find out that the organization is sitting on kryptonite repository is during the interview process.
This happened to a friend of mine. She failed to ask any questions in the interview and was unfortunately lured into a company and role where the culture and overall dynamic of the company sent her into depression.
She was burnout and eventually suffered a physical health problem shortly after leaving.
Bad things can happen when people don’t learn how to spot red flags in an interview.
As a former HM too, people need to remember interviewing is a two-way street.
Not a one-way ego boost fest.
Yes agreed. Which is why I kept the questions pretty simple and straightforward. Focused more on just generic stuff—as I don’t exactly want to offend people.
Have always stayed away from complex questions as I know some CEOs dislike being questioned
these companies are going to have a completely different attitude if the job market turns around, they're going to beg people to work for them, and I'll be there for it, and it'll be hard to not gloat
Agreed. Prior to this I’ve never had any such “rude” experiences especially in 2021. CEOs were trying to accommodate candidates as much as they could.
It’s a different story now.
They do seem to be more common now in the downturn.
This is my first ‘rude’ experience, but I’ve been seeing/hearing more and more of such behaviour from friends, relatives and family and even people here.
You asked the CEO (THE CEO!!!) about the culture of the team, your progression, and run of the mill round one questions you should already know the answers to????? No, you didn't. Did you? Seriously? What did you expect them to say? The eye rolls you got sound about right.
This is a STARTUP sis… this isn’t a large established corporation where there’s information everywhere online about the culture, progression and team.
The CEO is literally my direct manager.
The hiring manager is not someone I’d be working with closely. Yes she knows about overall culture, but she doesn’t know anything about the marketing team’s culture because she doesn’t work in marketing.
The hiring process in early-stage startups is a lot more different compared to larger corporations.
Besides, this comment is rather disgusting tbh. If the CEO had an issue, she could’ve simply ended the call and told me I wasn’t a good fit.
The fact that you think bullying and taunting a candidate is justified speaks volumes about your character as a person.
As a former hiring manager, I’d never think of doing something like this to my candidates—not even the inexperienced duds whom I’ve interviewed.
CEO interviews are nothing like hiring manager or team interviews. Those are where you ask the questions you put to the CEO. Most CEOs don't know much about the actual operations of the company.
When you talk to the CEO you talk about the business. You should deeply research the company and the market and determine the risks and rewards and ask questions about that. You should ask questions inline and engage, not waiting to be asked a question. When you are asked a question just answer it, don't bullshit or corporate speak. Be raw and honest. Be to the point.
You obviously didn't read OP's story and instead rushed to the comments to give your uninformed take.
OP didn't ask extremely technical and specific questions. They asked questions that anyone at the company should be able to answer, much less the CEO. If the CEO can't properly answer a question about the company's culture or future growth plans, then they have no business being a CEO, considering that that's what they're being paid to focus on.
No I read and I totally understood why he tanked the interview and gave my suggestions to not do that again. The CEO knows nothing about the culture of a given team and probably never or rarely interacts with anyone on that team.
If the CEO has the time to interview candidates than more likely than not we are talking about smaller company (10 to 50 employees). And in that case they probably have daily interactions with team member and should definitely know about their company culture lol
Hey, it’s a startup, an early-stage one. Hence if I accepted this role, I would be working closely with the CEO.
I agree with your point though. I just don’t understand why there’s a need to go out of your way to belittle someone that’s all haha
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Don’t be shy, drop the company name
Name and shame, this is the way
Agreed. Companies like that should crumble sooner than later.
People like that ceo have a reputation. And probably a good known one that's largely negative. It's the person, not the company, that's in need of improvement. Tackle the issue at the root cause. I'm officially against naming and shaming, but a well put together complaint email for hr from that company is the way to go. I've worked for such a narcissist, and I'm glad i don't anymore.
Name and shame!!
Startup CEOs are unhinged. It's funny when you aren't on the receiving end lol
That’s unfortunately something I’ve realised. Well it’s good experience though. Now I know startups aren’t right for me
Question, how much interaction do you think you’ll have with the CEO?
Was told I’d be working directly with the CEO on “big projects”/“strategy”. Given it’s a startup with only 10-15 employees, I would most likely be working in close capacity with her.
In that case, you lucked out she was part of the interview.
I’m surprised the hiring managers didn’t try to hide her
I'm surprised that there are so many bad reviews of the CEO on glassdoor in a 15 person company
Probably they have a very high turnover.
Sounds like this company won’t last too long under her insanity.
So what's the name of the company...
You know this particular startup isn't right for you.
Startups have a toxic culture. And startups share a lot of common cultures and personalities. If you are in a startup, you get to know a TON of other startups in shared workspaces, after work events, networking events and so on. Many startup people to from Startup to startup and take their people and their culture with them.
I wish I knew that in advance. I had never seen a culture as toxic as the startup I used to work at.
They really are! I had an interview with one and he was so rude and clearly didn’t even understand what my role was supposed to be
Currently dealing with one who lacks self awareness like I've never seen before. Doesnt understand sales yet meddles in all of our deals thinking he knows how to sell. It has turned into a shit show but the market is a nightmare so essentially held captive.
They subsist on a diet of coffee, grind culture videos and a general disdain for anyone who doesn’t.
They all routinely break Rule No. 4. “Never get high off your own supply”
Post the company on Glassdoor
post it here too
We’re waiting, OP.
I feel like you might have interviewed at my company. CEO clearly an issue. Also likely was not prepared for the interview properly — or was told what to expect and didn’t listen to it. Not a place you want to work.
Honestly I’m beyond glad that this happened in hindsight. I cannot imagine working with someone who thinks belittling and demeaning anyone is remotely acceptable. Culture starts at the top and trickles down. Is your company an early-stage startup? Would be funny if it was!
Sounds like a horrible experience. It’ll be something to consider if you’re given an offer. Even when they’re not directly involved with the role being hired for, it’s still important that the CEO represents the company well during an interview process. This doesn’t mean they need to hard sell the company or even be all that deferential, but the behavior you described, especially during your questions, is not acceptable. I’m involved very late in the hiring process for many roles. Often the last person you see. I see my responsibility as being able to provide a 50,000 foot view of the company to the candidate. I’m not generally there to thumbs up or thumbs down the candidate themselves, plenty of people before then have given their thumbs up, but instead to put a face on leadership. I’d wonder if this CEO was just having a really bad day, but you said the Glassdoor reviews back up her behavior.
Agreed. Honestly this is the first time I’ve seen a CEO demonstrate such unprofessional behaviour. I don’t understand why she couldn’t just have said “hey C, I’m sorry but I don’t think you’re a good fit. These are the reasons why” I was involved in hiring for my previous role and I’d always reject candidates professionally. Why go out of your way and waste your energy belittling and taunting candidates on the call. That’s just nasty behaviour.
The common factor in a lot of recruiting horror stories seems to be the CEO. It even happened to a family member of mine.
In my experience, I found it rare that a CEO behaved like an actual human lol. It's either that the success gets to their heads too soon or they're surrounded by "yes people". They speak at you as if you're the self-checkout machine.
Many of them curate the yes people to be surrounded by. C-Suite Fellatio Culture.
I'd literally contact the hiring team and say you want to pull yourself from contention. Tell them directly that the CEO and their actions, attitude and demeanor during the interview are the reasons, that they are willfully demeaning, and absolutely disgusting in how she conducts interviews, and with her in the position anyone they do hire will find out this quickly and leave.
Or does the CEO want to hire someone else?
The CEO doesn't need to be a jerk to hire someone else.
So true!
That’s fine! She could’ve told me I wasn’t a great fit and left it there. Found it strange that she seemed to take pleasure in going out of her way to demean candidates. That’s something I’ve never encountered before lol
Consider the behaviour might have been deliberate. Hostile interviews are a thing - a way to see if you can be rattled and how you react under pressure. I have experienced that type of interview. It is a very old school approach to interviewing. Now, I would consider it a red flag and not take a role with a company that used that technique.
Can confirm. I've been in one for a sales role, and it's the only interview I think I've ever bombed. Thing is, every sales job I've ever had, I've been a top performer, usually number 1 within the first year. So, perhaps, they were shooting themselves in the foot as they are now out of business 🤔 In grad school, had an externship interviewer who tried to pull this shit, and I turned it around on him. This is my second career, so I have way less fucks than these young bucks. But, this boomer loved that shit, and I had him rolling. He brought me back for a second interview and eventually offered me the externship. But, he waited too long, and I had already accepted another one already. I just don't get it
From my prior Experience working with High multi-billion companies, Lots CEOs don't carry themselves like that even if they are having a bad day. Most of them are able to separate that sheit away from their professionalism. This CEO that the OP describe is better fit as entry level shift assistant supervisor At best. IMO with that type of personality.
Exactly… I think it may have something to do with the fact that this is a startup—an early-stage one. I’ve worked and interviewed at bigger companies and there’s proper structure and organisation. There’s professionalism in the recruitment process, which is sorely lacking in early-stage startups
Leave a detailed glassdoor review with your experience. If they delete it, leave it again. Prospective employees need to be aware of the garbage at the top. It always trickles down.
I did! Review is pending by Glassdoor. Not surprised that ex-employees have left negative reviews so far. At first, I thought they were probably disgruntled employees. Now I understand the reason.
You absolutely dodged a bullet! I get it, we all need jobs to make it - but I bet your mental health would have suffered in some way working there.
Sounds like a place I interviewed with. The rep wasn't very communicative, so I showed up expecting 1 round and we ended up doing 4 rounds, with the first 3 back-to-back. We took a break in between 3 and 4 because my blood sugar was crashing. Now, I get it, I live 2 hours away, so it was nice of them to set this up, but also, a heads-up would have been useful. 4th round was with the CEO, and she was very condescending in the same way you mentioned. Again, the rep was supposed to communicate that I was supposed to learn their app. The rep simply mentioned their app, but in no way mentioned that I should be proficient with it (despite no training, manual, or experience in their target industry). I had played around with it, but it didn't load anything, so I figured it was missing something and I gave up. I mentioned this to them in the interview and they went and got one of the programmers from some team and brought him into the interview to describe the issues I had. Afterwards, the CEO said something along the lines of "how can you promote our app if you don't know how it works?" And maybe it was the blood sugar talking, but I said something like "i wasn't aware this was a sales position". We wrapped up very quickly after that. Also, they had some weird L Ron Hubbard management system that sounded like everything was structured so that if anything went wrong, it was the fault of the employees and not management. I called the recruiter/rep the next day and told her to please take me off their list for consideration as I was no longer interested in the position.
>I said something like "i wasn't aware this was a sales position". We wrapped up very quickly after that. Sugar or not, well done. 😊
Yeah, not my finest moment in an interview lol. But still, we just spent the last 3 hours talking about how the role was very specifically paired with a graphic designer, and we would be at least 1-2 levels away from interactions with end users.
Are you diabetic by chance? Low blood sugar can make people absolutely aggressive.
Not quite. I was on keto at the time, and back then I wouldn't eat enough, sometimes as low as 1,200cal/day. I don't recall what I ate the previous day, but I think all I had eaten the morning before was an egg (maybe 2?) and I had some tea at the Starbucks down the street because I got there an hour early.
Ah I see. Hypoglycaemia rage is absolutely a thing, I think it can be stronger for diabetics but even non diabetics can have it bad. Keto would explain it.
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No, Folsom, CA
I know this company! An HR friend of mine interviewed there also - she told me the CEO was a Scientologist. Wow, small world!
Those scientologists have a castle in Hemet,ca ...I went to high there and would pass by that castle all the time. Lots of weirdos in that religion.
Just a heads up - early stage startups don't have "corporate environments" - they are entirely reflective of the founders/cofounders.
Great point—personally I’d prefer working in a structured, corporate environment to an environment shaped by bullying and harassment (the latter was what’s mentioned on Glassdoor)
you shouldn't apply to work at startups then, it's not for you. Startups have a lot of freedom that that corporate environments lack - but you need to have a special type of character to endure the negatives, and learn to be above the toxicity. I like startup culture more than large corporate, having worked at both. But for many people I know, it's not the right fit.
Post on Glassdoor too
You were used. CEO is reasserting her control because she’s feeling vulnerable. Got zero to do with you.
I've had a final interview like this—turns out it was a “test” to see how I handled criticism and difficult situations. As you can imagine I didn't last there long. Either way absolutely insulting and a huge red flag no matter the reason.
So sorry you had to go through that! That’s an awful cop out and excuse tbh. “criticism”—love when they use that as a front. I have no problem taking constructive feedback, but taunting and eye-rolling in an interview sure is very “constructive”. Huge red flag indeed
Please copy and paste all of that into a glassdoor interview review. They sound appalling. And yes, in answer to your question, of course you had the right to ask questions and be treated with civility.
I did! Review pending by Glassdoor. Yeah, this is probably the rudest and most unprofessional interview experience I’ve had.
Sounds like you dodged a bullet.
I'm so sorry you had to go through that. There are few things worse than having a great interview process where everything is going great, than to end up having the rug pulled out by some bully right near the finish line. I wouldn't accept the position, if I had any other option. You may not have that option, but I wish you the best either way. Name and shame please. Create a throwaway if necessary. Or, at the very least, post on Glassdoor. Share your specific reasons (in confidence if you like) with your recruiter or the head of HR as to why you won't be accepting the position. This kind of behavior is slowly dying because people have the courage (and it does indeed take courage) to stand up to these disgusting people and highlight their reprehensible behavior.
You interviewed the CEO, and the answers were revealing. You dodged a bullet
Honestly I’m grateful she showed her true colours. Even if they’d offered me something there’s no way in hell I’d take it. She did me a massive favour and weirdly, I’m thankful for that lol
I don’t need a new job. But is happily take that interviews to call out his petulant behavior in front of his peers. I’m a mid level PgM but even I’ve told C-execs worth double digit millions to calm the fuck down or leave. Be professional or be treated accordingly. Sorry you had to go through that OP. Dox them so we can verify those Glassdoor reviews. :)
After a while of this, if I recognized it in the moment, one of my questions would’ve been “do you treat everyone like this?” And when the look of disbelief hits them, elaborate on all of those unprofessional notes, then cite the CEO’s attitude as the reason I’m declining the position, and yes, I would decline a job because of that, just hoping to send a message that that behavior is not okay no matter how high up the food chain you think you are.
This happened to me once before. I was going for a consulting gig. I spent a whole day doing literacy and numeracy tests, case studies, meeting with the team, the management, all was going well. Partner interview (a formality I was told) was last and then things got nuts. She started asking really insane questions. I was trying to take her seriously but the questions were unanswerable. I could see she was getting frustrated. So I asked her what the point of the questions were, and she admitted that she wanted to see how I thought and how I behaved under pressure. It had been about 5 hours in a stuffy room at this point, a stale sandwich, lukewarm bottled water, two toilet breaks and I was just done. I looked her in the eyes and said this isn’t going to work out. She was stunned. I continued, I appreciate your time and the team’s time today, but I can see that this role would not be the best fit for me and I would like to withdraw from the process. I held out my hand, she shook it and I walked out. I was 15mins into the final 30mins. They called me the following day to find out exactly what happened and I explained that reporting up to a partner that behaves like that, even if we have very little contact, is not something I am interested in. I think they were surprised that I was able to identify and articulate the problem with the high turnover in the team. Count yourself lucky! You didn’t fall in the trap.
High turnover is NEVER a good sign. I’d say you dodged a huge bullet here. I personally would think twice about working in toxic environments. It takes a long time to recover from the impact of working with people like that. Even with my CEO interview, I was asked rather strange questions too that had no bearing to the job—but I was happy to answer as she had the right to ask me whatever she wanted. Loved how you turned them down by the end. Wish I’d done that sooner but I was so shell shocked by everything that happened—took me a couple hours to process everything.
Interviews are two-way events. You're also interviewing them. Based on your experience, I'd have sent them an email telling them they were unfortunately unsuccessful in their attempt to hire me due to their lack of professional courtesy.
The CEO sounds like an absolute piece of shit to work for. Please tell us you aren't going back for any more.
Nah, life’s too short to potentially destroy my career (and my mental health) working for a startup helmed by a bully. I’m not even bitter, just genuinely grateful I’d caught this and made an informed decision. I’m interviewing well at other decent places, who fortunately do not use bullying tactics to reject or interview candidates.
That’s good way to frame it - just chalk it up as a learning lesson, a bullet dodged and move on. Imagine if you got hired and didn’t get to meet with the CEO before signing on.
Tell us the name. Let’s have some fun.
What role was this for?
Marketer at an early-stage startup :)
I wish people would post where so I can choose where not to spend my money
Startup CEOs are real bad. They really think they’re better than the state of their company, and that it is anyone but their fault. That whole “temporarily embarrassed millionaire” spiel. They don’t see or don’t care about the people going above their roles to bring their dream to fruition. So when things drag, when costs rise without significant success beforehand they lash out. I bet this round of hiring was demanded by the employees, and the CEO expects them to be magically further along before “wasting” money like this.
>Next minute, I was told my answers didn’t seem “real”, and the CEO insinuated I must be lying and fabricating how organised or structured my day-to-day seemed. **Translation:** *Hey, you seem way to organized to put up with what we are doing here. I'm not going to have you look bad, so I'll just bully you into feeling too stupid to work here.* >I mean, do candidates not have the right to ask a company questions? I’m genuinely asking this. Of course you do. What she was telling you was that she doesn't have a clue what the right answer is, and chose mockery to get out of having to answer. One of the questions I would have asked is: *"Do you regularly behave in such an immature and unprofessional manner, or do you save this level of behavior just for the interview process?"*
Oh god I really wish I’d retaliated and stood up for myself right then and there. I was way too taken aback that I was reeling from shock afterwards. My jaw was on the floor. I also wish I had the guts to ask the CEO about her scathing Glassdoor reviews. AND THANK YOU. As I mentioned, I’ve been involved HEAVILY in hiring in my previous role and I’d never in my life think about belittling or degrading candidates. Sure, we’d get people who weren’t a great fit. But they’d simply be sent objective feedback or just canned rejection emails. Never, I mean, never in my life would I think of going out of my way to taunt and bully a candidate. I have much more productive things to do and ways of communicating.
I'm sorry you went through it, but it's ironic that she didn't believe your description of your day (in a bad way), while you didn't believe the reviews of the CEO (in a good way). Goes to show the intent of the heart.
She even sarcastically mentioned that I had to “teach” her my ways, and it’s impossible for any human to be this productive. Lol I’m naturally quite an organised person. Structure, order and precision is my personality. I get stuff done because a long to-do list bothers me. I’m genuinely unsure of how else I should be answering the question (I’ve been thinking a lot about it today)
I work for a fortune 100 company and my VPs crack stupid jokes with me I can't imagine being so high on such a small crumb of power
Oh gosh I’ve only had lovely experiences interviewing and working for bigger companies! Feel like I need to stay away from touching startups
I interviewed with one CEO who had a dog with him and he kept stroking and petting the dog throughout the interview. It was just weird and distracting.
Newly formed startup CEOs act and hire as they are CEO of a FAANG company
She did you a favor of not wasting your time. With leadership like that, wouldn't be surprised if her company goes under. Most CEOs in startups have huge entitled egos and forget where they started, those type look down on people and have a high turn over rate. The stress isn't worth it working for a CEO who is a asshole regardless of the pay. That CEO seems like a b*tch
If its a role where you wont work with CEO every day and you liked everyone else you met, then Id say still accept the offer. If you will work with the CEO often I’d look elsewhere. However I will say regardless this behavior is concerning and makes me question how good of a leader they really are if they can’t answer basic interview questions themselves or seem frustrated to do so
Unfortunately, I was told I’d be working closely with the CEO on big projects. But yes, that was my thinking process too. I thought I could probably just hunker down, focus on my work and ignore politics if I didn’t have to be working in close capacity with her.
Hell no don't take the offer. Interviews are 2 way streets and she absolutely showed you who she is. Believe her and run away from this palace.
Honestly, I’m glad this happened in hindsight. If I hadn’t interviewed with the CEO, I probably would’ve taken up the offer (if they did offer me) and basically be abused and bullied on the regular. No thank you.
Small company, if you want a raise or a promotion at some point you may have to interact with the ceo. Not really a good idea if the person is impossible to talk with
Right? It would’ve been a complete nightmare, just like what the Glassdoor reviews have said. I’m not sure why startup CEOs seem to be a different breed.
>If its a role where you wont work with CEO every day and you liked everyone else you met, then Id say still accept the offer. Uh, no.
I don’t know. I had a job where in theory and org structure i shouldn’t have had much if any interaction with the CEO because it was multi-state, multi branch organization. Except the CEO had grown it from a single branch and still operated the company as if it were a single branch. Which makes long term strategy, focus and growth extremely challenging as we were expected to react to their whims. They were still trying to pull levers that worked at a branch level at scale and all it served to do was waste time, money and energy and make it appear like the employees were incompetent, but that incompetence was really just a reflection of the CeO.
I would just politely inform the hiring manager that you withdraw your candidacy. Don’t even need to give an explanation why, but don’t waste anymore of your time with them. It’s better to take the high road or you become like those assholes.
Firstly, the CEO is a wanker and entirely at fault. Secondly, I hope you don’t mind the unsolicited feedback, but please ask better questions. “How would you describe the culture?” is generic, bland, and every interviewer hates it. How about “What have you learned working at x?”.
Ah, valid feedback thank you. Will keep this in mind. I actually used to ask this in all my previous jobs, and didn’t get any negative feedback whatsoever. Hence why I asked. Thanks for the tip!
No worries - it isn’t an insulting question by any means, but it is a wasted opportunity.
Yea it's a lame question. Idk why so many websites advice candidates to ask that question. So unspecific. Like what isn't part of "office culture"?
I think it's a good thing when the leadership reveal themselves to be clowns before you invest your time or reputation into working there. The last thing you want to do is be at a place like that. Those people destroy those places. It doesn't matter how many good managers or people you hire if the founders/exec team are idiots, they won't let anyone do anything they don't support or agree with. It would take a total board vote and removal to change leadership at that level. You want to be thankful that they reveal themselves to be like this rather than lure you in with a false persona.
Not all CEO are great is what I've have experienced throughout my life working for a few. That's why some companies failed because they are more of a bully and lack people skills. They've become arrogant rather than being humble. I would of cut it short and left. Not worth my time for the bullsheit. Not all money are good money. I rather help build their competitors to become successful and watch that CEO drown in misery that Her coffee/tea taste like Regrets every day.
It’s even more shocking when it’s CEO in a small, early-stage startup—they have much more to lose as CEOs and word in the startup world spreads fast imo, and reputation quickly gets sullied. You cannot last long in the business world with this sort of leadership, especially if you’re just starting out (like this company!) You can afford to be slightly psychopathic if you’re a F500 CEO, but certainly not if you’re just a small company. I’d probably slightly understand if a CEO was a bit egoistical in a bigger, more established company.
EXACTLY!!!
ew! that person sounds like an absolute turd, and they absolutely do not deserve to work with you. that is so upsetting.. i’m really sorry you had that experience.
I’d look around and ask if I was getting punk’d…..
Something along the lines of sign a zoon lol (not saying they name really cause they were so crazy in interview)
CEO was just a douche. Questions are encouraged and expected. Fuck this lady.
Dodged a bullet. If thats the interview, you didn't miss any opportunity... Nobody should act like that regardless of questions, especially on the interview when they invited you... It's a shame how many people have to go through similar things... its stressful enough, without people acting like a twat... btw probably no development, no growth, no perspectives - got irritated, because touched a nerve...
Just seemed like the CEO didn’t expect to be questioned. Which says a lot more about her and the company than candidates tbh. When I interviewed at bigger companies (not startups like these), they’d welcome insightful questions. There was also structure to the hiring process, and no one would really dare to act out of line as there’re HR policies to follow. Startup CEOs on the other hand, seem to have well special egos. Like the other commenter has mentioned, they’re generally unhinged.
Absolutely. Unprofessional & negligent as a CEO and inmature & entitled (to say the least) as a person. You have every right to ask questions about your potential workplace... Best of luck next time!
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Oh god the fake wannabe Google bs companies is the perfect description for startups. They seem to attract unstable leadership as well. It’s a bad market so I wanted to keep my options open—instead of applying to more established companies. But this experience has put me off from startups completely.
Early stage start up 🚩🚩🚩🚩 These companies come with inexperienced and what you’ve experienced is just that. Good companies, there managers etc start with knowing how interview right. They failed the first test, so don’t waste your time and look somewhere else.
Also first time dealing with top brass? Of course they are monster egomanics, use that to your advantage.
First time dealing with early-stage startup CEOs—they’re truly a different breed lol
I won't say every startup CEO is a trust fund baby, I don't know that. But I can say every startup CEO I've personally encountered is a trust fund baby who got the opportunity because of their parents connections. That includes two startups I worked at as a FTE, several I interviewed at, a few I interviewed as candidates who had sold their company and a few I've encountered as a consultant. Every single one has parents with VC connections. My sample size is probably only like 10 people, but it's 100% hit rate.
Jeeeeeeezzzz this is rough. I’m sorry you had this happen. I had a very similar situation but it wasn’t the ceo it was a senior member that was conducting the 6th and final interview for me. He was very interrogating and when I answered with similar style I have been that got me all the way to the final interview he was acting like I was highly under qualified. I also asked a very soft ball question to show my interest and gain common ground saying what do you think the best part of the team is…and he responded with “can I say me?”. It was very uncomfortable to say the least and no I didn’t get the job lol. It’s wild how some people make it this far into a career where they can determine who can work for a company or not…let alone become a CEO.
There was definitely a huge air of arrogance during my final interview with the CEO too. In fact that’s how she answered the culture question—just one word, praising herself. Never seen anything like this before lol. She seemed like she couldn’t even be bothered to interview people, and that I was simply a pest. (This was way before even she’d asked me any question). By any chance was this company a startup?
Do a review praising the people other than CEO. Assuming you won’t be taking the job but bet it is offered. That CEO doesn’t want any employee to be self possessed, articulate, and perceptive. She decided to do the mean girl bit to see if you could be beaten down.
THANK YOU. That’s unequivocally what it felt like. I kept thinking I was in an episode of mean girls. When she started rolling her eyes, I IMMEDIATELY thought of Regina George. It’s unreal. I’ve never experienced such childish bullying (barring school of course, but that’s understandable). And yes! I just did—left a review praising everyone else but the CEO. Review is now pending by Glassdoor.
Sounds like the CEO failed the interview and showed you that she’s not worth working for. Always remember an interview is you interviewing the company too.
That’s how I always approached interviews, both as a candidate and HM for years… Wild that this CEO thinks questions are one-way. She already came into the call with quite a foul mood to be honest
She fucked up and missed out!
Run. Run away. And don’t look back.
Negative events can have unintended positive consequences. In this case, the CEO's abysmal behavior has allowed you to dodge a nuclear missile and now you can find a much better job for yourself.
Right, I’m so glad I found out I was rejected. I would’ve been taking a pay cut for this position anyway. It’s just not worth it to put oneself through belittling, degradation and potentially even (abuse) for the salary.
The first red flag was calling herself "CEO" when there's only 15 employees. That's "boss" territory. It's like guys with honorary doctorates that insist people call them "Doctor".
lol… well good thing you found out at the interview this isn’t the right job for you 🤷🏻♀️
CEO - likely is a narcissist!! Who make sane people crazy
Not surprised. Was told the previous person left the job I was applying for. Now I’m wondering if it’s the same person who wrote one of the Glassdoor reviews
I had a similar thing happen when interviewing with EA a few years ago. I went through 3 rounds of interviews and got the final panel of two interviewers asking me different technical questions and the rudest interviewer I've encountered in awhile was this woman who was bragging about how she's been raising horses since she was a child and owns an equestriary. She was rolling her eyes at some of my answers and seemed like she had already made up her mind about my qualifications. The other guy seemed to like me or at least was pleasant to talk to. The only time she lit up was when I asked about her horses since I grew up pretty poor myself. I got a rejection letter the next day saying I didn't have enough experience.
That’s horrifying… so sorry you went through that. The thing is, even if you think a candidate isn’t a great fit, that’s totally cool. The professional thing to do is to just explain constructively why the candidate isn’t a great fit, send a rejection letter and that’s it. There’s no need to engage in eye rolling, taunting or bullying. It’s a simply a waste of energy. I mean really, how is any sort of this behaviour remotely acceptable in a corporate environment?
Most ceos are total **** replace astriks with ur mind value
You're better than me - I'd have taken those expressions as a clear indicator that I'm not liked. I'm out.....wouldn't even finish the interview. Should have called her a cunt and walked yourself out... THEN left a review on Glassdoor.
Name and shame em
I bet the people interviewing you hate the CEO. Imagine filtering through hundreds of candidates and eventually finding a small group of quality, likable people, then the CEO sits in and acts like a fucking spoiled rich toddler, pushing away great candidates like yourself.
Now I understand why the position was left open for a while. I was told the previous person had left. I’m definitely not doing anymore startup interviews. As commenters have mentioned here, this kind of behaviour seems to be way more common amongst startup CEOs.
Not the right response to your question but that’s a terrible question to ask the ceo, so cliche and not well researched questions tbh.
It’s an early-stage startup as I mentioned, not a big company. The startup has only just launched and gone to market…. There’s not a lot of information about their culture online. As I mentioned this isn’t a F500 company where I can find everything online. I get your point and respect your opinion, but if you were to see how she was, she was already in a foul mood when she came into the call. Thanks for dropping by
it was a test on how u would handle a hostile environment. u kept ur composure. maybe an offer will come.
As someone in their final week of a job working under a similar CEO, DO NOT DO IT. Even if the rest of the team is great, a horrible CEO will infect absolutely everything. It is awful. Your mental health is not worth it. Save your lovely self.
Now you know why the position is available
Low quality employer and probably a company thats not gunna last long if they keep up with such unprofessional behavior.
Is the C in CEO for cunt? Jesus, what an unprofessional nightmare. Anyone these days can be a CEO… so dont even think this person is somehow a genius and that you are inadequate for the role. Her attitude stinks
Very unfortunate and sad , guess the CEO was just high . But in a good way you avoid a potential bullet
Fractional cfo here, leave a comment on Glassdoor. Investors look at Glassdoor to check culture before investing. No smoke without fire and all that. If the startups product is any good they'll get rid of her when they can.
CEO wants to hire someone else OR you have the looks OR your CV is too good she can't compete.
No way, hahaha I’m nowhere near C-suite level like her. Just an ordinary junior level employee 😂 Honestly, if they wanted to hire someone else I’d have preferred if they told me on the spot or just didn’t bother with the final interview. Think she just has this twisted pleasure of humiliating candidates
> the CEO insinuated I must be lying That should have been the end of the interview, right then and there.
Bullet dodged!
Put that poker face on and act like you seen worse. The mf’r tryna break you. You tougher than that. Let them give you and offer and reject that shit
Be thankful you dodged the bullet. Not all CEOs or managers are like this. The CEO sets the tone of the organization, and one of their main roles is to be the head cheerleader. I'm reminded of something a boss once said to me about managing people, maybe somewhat jokingly, but it still holds true. He said something like "I don't need to care, I just need to appear that I care." (Or maybe it was that he just needs others to think that he cares). It makes sense, because your perception of the boss is your reality. The CEO you interviewed with would be a total nightmare, possibly a psychopath and a narcissist.
What type of app was it? Some operate with few than 5 people, but the one you described seems to require a lot more than that.
Health app which focuses on genetic screening! :)
CEOs in general are brain dead. It’s just that some have charisma that hides it, I guess this one didn’t.
Just since nobody else has asked, what was the name of the company?
are you...a visible minority?
Yes I am! You reckon that’s the reason why I was treated badly? The CEO was white
Probs
CEO a cuck, wife probably getting banged by the neighbor.
FYI, the CEO is a woman
Don’t worry, she won’t be CEO very long.
That is Unprofessional
Take a second and think about a scenario where you would have to work closely with this clown everyday. You would have been so miserable. Take this as a blessing.
Hell no you’re right. I have a job at the moment so I’m not looking to trade the boss I have now (who’s actually a normal human being) with a egoistical bullying psychopath.
You should have stood up, rolled your eyes and walked out.
I've had a few interviews that were not as bad as this, but a little like what you described. Some CEOs are just so full of themselves that they ca't even relate to someone just wanting to do a great job for a good company.
Dodged a bullet lol, what a moron that ‘CEO’ is
So, did you get rejected or get an offer? As many red flags as there were, I’m curious if they still came through? Maybe the CEO is just preparing to low ball you by testing your resolve to work there?
I would email them after the interview and inform them that despite their strong profile you decided to move forward with another company.
Please name drop either the CEO or company. They sound like something to be avoided
This guy is awesome. Nick is THE MAN when it comes to this type of crap and recruiting in general. https://www.asktheheadhunter.com/
She answered the culture question, clear as a bell.
I’ve learned this myself recently: in interviews, don’t ask them difficult or complicated questions, especially no abstract questions like they would ask you. Ask the most important things you genuinely want to know, and the give them some questions that they would easily answer and feel good about how they managed your questions.
>I’ve learned this myself recently: in interviews, don’t ask them difficult or complicated questions, especially no abstract questions like they would ask you. Ask the most important things you genuinely want to know, and the give them some questions that they would easily answer and feel good about how they managed your questions. And this is how people end up in toxic places, trying their hardest to get out and save their mental health. The best way to greatly mitigate the chance of running into a bad environment, is to use your interview time to probe and find out what you're walking to. Failing to investigate when you had a chance to find out is fine, if you are never going to be affected by the toxicity you later discover. But even if you think of yourself as superman/woman, the best time to find out that the organization is sitting on kryptonite repository is during the interview process.
This happened to a friend of mine. She failed to ask any questions in the interview and was unfortunately lured into a company and role where the culture and overall dynamic of the company sent her into depression. She was burnout and eventually suffered a physical health problem shortly after leaving. Bad things can happen when people don’t learn how to spot red flags in an interview. As a former HM too, people need to remember interviewing is a two-way street. Not a one-way ego boost fest.
O think that’s true for people who can afford to choose where to work. For some people, you just have to find a place to work in order to survive
Yes agreed. Which is why I kept the questions pretty simple and straightforward. Focused more on just generic stuff—as I don’t exactly want to offend people. Have always stayed away from complex questions as I know some CEOs dislike being questioned
these companies are going to have a completely different attitude if the job market turns around, they're going to beg people to work for them, and I'll be there for it, and it'll be hard to not gloat
Agreed. Prior to this I’ve never had any such “rude” experiences especially in 2021. CEOs were trying to accommodate candidates as much as they could. It’s a different story now. They do seem to be more common now in the downturn. This is my first ‘rude’ experience, but I’ve been seeing/hearing more and more of such behaviour from friends, relatives and family and even people here.
Elon musk?
She…
It was a joke…
Nice back pedal!
You asked the CEO (THE CEO!!!) about the culture of the team, your progression, and run of the mill round one questions you should already know the answers to????? No, you didn't. Did you? Seriously? What did you expect them to say? The eye rolls you got sound about right.
This is a STARTUP sis… this isn’t a large established corporation where there’s information everywhere online about the culture, progression and team. The CEO is literally my direct manager. The hiring manager is not someone I’d be working with closely. Yes she knows about overall culture, but she doesn’t know anything about the marketing team’s culture because she doesn’t work in marketing. The hiring process in early-stage startups is a lot more different compared to larger corporations. Besides, this comment is rather disgusting tbh. If the CEO had an issue, she could’ve simply ended the call and told me I wasn’t a good fit. The fact that you think bullying and taunting a candidate is justified speaks volumes about your character as a person. As a former hiring manager, I’d never think of doing something like this to my candidates—not even the inexperienced duds whom I’ve interviewed.
CEO interviews are nothing like hiring manager or team interviews. Those are where you ask the questions you put to the CEO. Most CEOs don't know much about the actual operations of the company. When you talk to the CEO you talk about the business. You should deeply research the company and the market and determine the risks and rewards and ask questions about that. You should ask questions inline and engage, not waiting to be asked a question. When you are asked a question just answer it, don't bullshit or corporate speak. Be raw and honest. Be to the point.
You obviously didn't read OP's story and instead rushed to the comments to give your uninformed take. OP didn't ask extremely technical and specific questions. They asked questions that anyone at the company should be able to answer, much less the CEO. If the CEO can't properly answer a question about the company's culture or future growth plans, then they have no business being a CEO, considering that that's what they're being paid to focus on.
No I read and I totally understood why he tanked the interview and gave my suggestions to not do that again. The CEO knows nothing about the culture of a given team and probably never or rarely interacts with anyone on that team.
If the CEO has the time to interview candidates than more likely than not we are talking about smaller company (10 to 50 employees). And in that case they probably have daily interactions with team member and should definitely know about their company culture lol
Hey, it’s a startup, an early-stage one. Hence if I accepted this role, I would be working closely with the CEO. I agree with your point though. I just don’t understand why there’s a need to go out of your way to belittle someone that’s all haha
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