Got a few interviews with ML startups. Just to prepare myself in case there is an offer coming in the future: what are the things you will try to find out before joining a startup? What things could become red flags? More specifically, there are a few weird things I came across. I wonder whether they are really big deals and how should I investigate further if I get an offer and still have a bit of interest in the company: - I asked about people they fire last year and the recruiter started complaining that the person they fired did not do the job at all, was terrible, etc. - The recruiter is a freelancer instead of a full-time employee of the company (is it common?). - I asked about an ex-founding member's (now moved on to a new venture) view on the company, how they think about it now, and how they plan to grow in the future. The recruiter was caught off-guard and repeating some mumble-jumbles. Specifically, the guy didn't recognize the ex-founding member at all, found his quotes strange, and repeated the initial pitch about the company in the beginning of the call. - The recruiters brought the TC upfront in the initial calls. I got figures like 120K max for one, and 150K for another. One even remarked that "we don't pay a lot" which gave me an impression that "if you don't like the number, don't waste our time" but I might be overthinking. Feel free to add more about what you would do/look into after getting a startup offer, so that I can remind myself when it happens. Really appreciate it! 0 YoE, new grad.
Good questions! If you're interested in ML, you should think of Scale. Let me know if you have any questions :)
What do you think about the top review of your company here (the one titled “Avoid!!!”)?
Scary! Lol. Here’s my 2 cents: 1) That’s likely either from some time ago and also from the ops side - not tech. We’ve been non stop hiring and workload has gone down across the board. Operations is much more stressful, but that is completely separate from what you would be doing. 2) Despite what Blind would have you think, I’ve literally not talked to a coworker who is unhappy or overworked. Exciting shit is happening every week here, it’s a really fun company to be at.
How long is the runway. How many experienced people working in your domain (this is the one I regret the most, although my situation is more I ended up working on something different)
Great job. Mature questions from a new grad.
Thanks!