The job market has been rough on tech leaders lately, and picking the wrong company can cost you a year or two of your career. In this episode, Bob Galen and Josh Anderson each share their top 5 things they look for when evaluating a company during hiring. (Bob brought 6, plus 3 more he doesn't care about.) Every item on both lists comes from a job that went sideways.
We discuss:
Why Josh now asks to speak with the CFO before accepting a role, and how to tell when a comp package tied to revenue goals will never pay out
The one question that shows how open a company is about its numbers: "How often do you share revenue, profit goals, or margin with the team?"
How to tell whether a company's culture is real: everyone you interview describes it the same way, or they admit it's missing and want you to build it.
Why you should research the founders' career paths, and how someone who came up through sales handles a crisis differently than someone from engineering
Why Bob, after 20 years of believing title didn't matter, now fights for a seat at the leadership table
"Is it me or is it us?" Bob's test for spotting ego on a leadership team
Why a company with zero pain is a red flag if you're the kind of leader who likes to fix things
What it tells you when nobody in your interview loop can tell a story about vision, failure, or success
Connect with Bob Galen:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bobgalen/
Newsletter: https://bobgalen.substack.com/
