The company culture, projects, priorities, and timelines are defined by a volatile CEO. He's a former software engineer with poor people skills and no training in project management, marketing, design, or content (and it shows).
If you catch him on a "bad day” as we say around the company, your team's budget or personnel might be suddenly slashed, your timeline cut in half without explanation, you might be expected to work late, or you'll just have to endure a tantrum. Nobody's perfect, but for me decency, self-awareness, and people skills are a must for a C-level executive who insists on micromanagement and being so involved in the day-to-day. Your team will be constantly defined by the CEO’s personal mood. Take this and all the other reviews about the CEO seriously: it's a real problem here and he is the reason why I’ve begun looking for jobs elsewhere.
Final recommendation: If you have other comparable offers or can wait, choose somewhere else. If you're an entry level employee coming in you might be fine and be buffered from the CEO. But your projects, your manager, and the unnecessarily aggressive expectations will still be defined by CEO; Managers and CFO just do what the CEO tells them to. If you're someone that may work directly with the CEO, it’s not worth it. But if you do consider accepting an offer here, make sure you first:
1. Negotiate on the salary. Salary offers and benefits packages are low compared to industry standards and work performed (e.g. low % of retirement matching, no severance package, etc.)
2. Interview the CEO and whoever would be your manager and team members about the things that matter to you. How many people have been promoted over the past 5 years? How will you be evaluated? (the performance review process is an unfair mess). Why is the role you’re applying for available? You might not like what you hear. CEO will likely be your last interview-it’s a good time to learn what it’d be like.
3. Talk with as many current and former employees as possible. CEO and CFO can talk the talk, so reach out to those that actually have to live it.
4. Management including CFO walks around the office to see who’s working late. It’s an example of the C-level micromanagement and poor culture, but if you join you'll have to play the silly "stay late" game.
5. Make a plan. Over the past 2 years we’ve seen significant numbers of employees from multiple teams being suddenly let go (same day, no notice) and there is NO severance package. Plan accordingly.
