cofounder is 24/7 overbearing micromanager that relegates marketing, engineering, product, etc leads into glorified project managers. he demands tons of up-front tasks definitions and creates urgency with arbitrary and transparent fear tactics. basically, I want out. obvs I gotta learn to vet leadership better, but how do I spin a 4-month stint in a leadership role like this? help me minimize the lose-lose here.
I think it’s totally okay to say something about how it wasn’t a cultural fit. Don’t send a negative message about the co-founder, or CEO. As long as they aren’t acting unethically or harassing people or something else, they might be just reverting to a poor management style under the stress of their position. The valley is a small place and your future employer might also contact them as a reference or through a back channel. Be cool and professional on your way out and don’t let your emotions show.
This isnt good advice. They/I would dig into what exactly wasnt the fit so it doesnt get reproduced in my org.
I don’t follow - Why would it be a bad thing if you vetted a candidate harder because you believed a previous culture clash led to his or her departure? Maybe the candidate was the problem in the previous role, maybe it was the management. It doesn’t necessarily mean the issue will happen again in your company as a hiring manager.
Just leave it off your resume if you’re worried about it.
When leaving any company especially if it's not a culture fit it's ok to be honest and real, if you think the founders can't handle it then make it about where your passions and success factors align. In SV many startups are about fit not just ability and expertise, this is very known and also understood.
Focus on it not being a culture fit but really think about and mention what you learned from the experience. How will you not make the same mistake again? What makes you sure that you will fit into the company you are applying to now?
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Is your question about managing the leaving process, or managing how you message the short stint to future employers during interviews?
Messaging
Hopefully you're in SV or interviewing at places with experience talking to/hiring small startup candidates. If that's the case my understanding is that companies know that the smaller the company the more important cultural fit is, and the more likely short stints are Advice I've seen in the area is: 1) be honest, don't lie in any harmful way 2) do not air dirty laundry - say things like cultural fit or management styles not meshing, not "CEO was crazy" Other options include: - the job I interviewed and agreed to shifted by the time I actually started, I tried to make the best of situation but it's not working - the commute turns out to be non manageable - travel expectations indicated after starting were more than I agreed to