I applied for the Controller position at this company a couple months back. I’ve gone through the whole process. They asked some good questions and I talked to quite a few cool people there. I did receive a verbal offer but the title was changed to a lower position without changing the job description. The title was downgraded from Controller to Assistant Controller while job requirements and expectations stayed the same. I’m a licensed CPA with 9 years’ experience and worked at a tech company as an Assistant Controller for 3.5 years. I have multiple years of experience as an Accounting Manager. I felt there are a few things they could've improved on: - Communicate to your candidate promptly about changed title/role instead of putting the candidate through the full process and then changing it last minute. My meeting with CFO/COO, Ning Wang, finished more than 3 weeks ago and all the feedback I received was “we like you a lot”. Then I was arranged to talk to future direct reports and future peers to get a feel of cultural fit. With the expectation of getting the CONTROLLER role, which was originally why I pursued this position, I was rather disappointed when I heard that they wanted to offer me an Assistant Controller position and potentially be promoted to Controller later after "proving myself". - Risk is a 2-way street and we’re taking a chance on each other. I would suggest to not put all the risk on the candidates to prove themselves to the company to grow to the role if you are not sure about them. Don’t downgrade the title and keep all the responsibilities the same. If that were the course to be taken, a detailed timeline needs to be mapped out and documented in writing instead of taking somebody's word for it. It starts the relationship with a distrusting nature and won't have a positive long-term outlook after joining on those terms. - Don’t ask questions in an attempt to figure out the candidate’s age, marital status and plans around having kids during the offer stage. I believe it’s a misconduct or even illegal per California Labor laws, especially it’s the CFO/COO of the company asking those questions. - Last but not least, don’t ask your candidate to “trust” what you said or the company culture when YOU, as a CFO/COO of the company, are doing all the above to your candidate during the offer stage. Actions speak louder than words. You gotta show it in your own actions to convince people and lead by example! I’m taking a lot of risk on my career by making a lateral movement to a company that is a lot smaller than my current one, which could potentially be a demotion. I did a counter proposal to have the title changed back to the original job title of Controller which matches the original job responsibilities, but they turned down. The experience was OK and I hope these changes are implemented so that the company can find the right candidate.