The interview process was simple. I applied online, had one quick phone screen with the CEO and CTO, followed by a 90 minute in-person interview. The company required a background check prior to the in-person interview and checked all of my references. I started the process with elevated suspicions—very poor Glassdoor reviews are often a bad sign, but worth taking with a grain of salt. I figured I would keep an open mind and might be surprised. I was not. During the in-person interview, conducted in a windowless room in a nondescript building in a dreary business park, most of the first half was the CEO explaining how the company functions and how much I could learn by working there—few details, many generalities. Several times, the importance of 'aligning expectations' was brought up as a matter of key importance. Ironically, it became evident that the role for which I was interviewing was to blend account management, program management, project management, and outside sales—with vague expectations for performance. Despite all, the interview went well and I received an offer. The offer was for straight salary (no bonus, commission, profit sharing) at the lowest possible end of my stated salary range. There would be a salary review in 90 days, but no indication what the outcome of that review might be. The company offered no perks or benefits beyond basic health insurance and the minimum required PTO. They offered no 401k matching. Weirder still, the company pays its employees monthly. Personally I think that's a tough thing to do to your staff when most are hourly employees. Given the drab working conditions, abysmal offer, and general tone of management distrust, I got to wondering why anyone would want to work for this company. So after receiving the offer I asked if I could speak with a couple employees to learn more about the culture. My request was granted and I spoke with a couple senior managers. I asked them each three questions: 1. What makes you excited to work for the company? 2. What is your experience of the performance review process? 3. How does the company reward performance, apart from pay and benefits? The answers I received were frank, but uninspiring. It is evidently a work culture, minimal fun, work is the reward, compensation isn't important. On the plus side, there is minimal office politics, much freedom to work on special projects, and an opportunity to make a big contribution. The punch line: Within about thirty minutes of my calls, asking the above questions, I received word that the CEO and CTO had rescinded the offer of employment.