Re:Ask HN: How do detect a crappy boss / toxic environment w...
by lucideer on Friday April 08, 2016 @05:55AM
(#11453611)
Some of these are spot on, but some are a little absolutist.
> -If respect isn't reciprocal, run.
Yes, in theory, but this is deceptively difficult to judge accurately on first impression. Some good people are naturally less immediately personable than others and misconceptions are common.
> -If the hiring/interview process is needlessly complicated, run.
This is a bad sign in terms of the company as a whole, and could indicate that you'll need to wade through some needless bureaucracy in your prospective job from time to time, but this is relatively common in bigger companies and doesn't necessarily indicate anything negative about the actual team/leader/interviewer you'll be directly working with/under on a daily basis.
> -If a pattern exists of mistakes (forgot to call, etc),run.
Worth considering, but it seems a little picky to say a hard no based on this alone. Some of the best technical people I've worked with are not necessarily 100% organised administratively 100% of the time.
Re:Ask HN: How do detect a crappy boss / toxic environment w...
by lucideer on Sunday April 10, 2016 @01:22PM
(#11467150)
I understand your distinction, but I'm talking about first impressions. They're not the same, but can still be easily confused until you spend a bit of time with someone.
> -If respect isn't reciprocal, run.
Yes, in theory, but this is deceptively difficult to judge accurately on first impression. Some good people are naturally less immediately personable than others and misconceptions are common.
> -If the hiring/interview process is needlessly complicated, run.
This is a bad sign in terms of the company as a whole, and could indicate that you'll need to wade through some needless bureaucracy in your prospective job from time to time, but this is relatively common in bigger companies and doesn't necessarily indicate anything negative about the actual team/leader/interviewer you'll be directly working with/under on a daily basis.
> -If a pattern exists of mistakes (forgot to call, etc),run.
Worth considering, but it seems a little picky to say a hard no based on this alone. Some of the best technical people I've worked with are not necessarily 100% organised administratively 100% of the time.
> -If they're not paying attention [0], run.
This happens far too often. Fully agree. Run!