I interviewed back in Oct/Nov 2024 and ultimately accepted the role, but left after 3 months. There were several red flags during the interview process that I wish I’d acknowledged more at the time.
The process itself was extremely long, with at least 6 stages, most of which were with the co-founders. I then met the broader team once during an onsite visit.
One of the most notable parts of the process was being asked to create an onboarding presentation and conduct a mock onboarding session walking through the product. This required me to learn the entire product before starting. Initially, I was given incorrect access by one of the co-founders, so I completed the exercise based only on what I could see at the time. I had spent significant time preparing and felt confident in my delivery, but afterward I was told it was not satisfactory because I had not demonstrated parts of the product I had not been given access to. When I flagged this, she apologized, but instead of evaluating me on what I’d presented based on the access I did have, I was asked to redo the entire exercise.
Additionally, after I had already invested significant time in the process, one of the co-founders asked whether I would be willing to work for several months unpaid as a “trial” period before being formally offered the role. I declined as I was already employed, and while this was understood, I found the request very unusual.
Overall, while I chose to accept the role, I do wish I’d taken these signs more seriously and backed out.
