TL;DR: Unless you’re desperate for a job, think twice before joining. The interview process started off strong. I had four interviews with the engineering team and really enjoyed those conversations—they were smart, respectful, and even allowed candidates to use AI tools, which was interesting. Things went downhill during my final interview with the CEO, Yin Wu. She joined the call 15 minutes late due to another meeting, which already set an unprofessional tone. The conversation began fine, with questions about my background and feedback from past colleagues. The turning point came when she asked me to rank what matters most to me in a job. I honestly ranked work-life balance above company mission. She didn’t comment much, but I could tell this was not what she wanted to hear. When I asked about negative Glassdoor reviews and the reported layoff of the entire engineering team in late 2024, she explained it was a “strategic decision” because the team was too junior. The part that shocked me was when she admitted that she can’t guarantee this wouldn’t happen again. As a candidate, that was alarming. Who encourages someone to join while also warning they could be laid off just as easily? I followed up about work-life balance. Her response: “Everyone has a different definition for work-life balance.” For her, as a mother of three very young kids, meeting their basic needs comes first, but all other time goes to work. She openly said that at a startup like Pulley (founded in 2019 btw), working beyond normal hours is expected if deadlines require it. While I respect different perspectives, I found it disheartening to hear a CEO normalize overwork and imply family comes second to the job. She closed the conversation by telling me I need to figure out what type of company I want to work at. I didn’t get the chance to remind her that her team reached out to me. It was clear from her tone that the process would not move forward. I left disappointed but not because I didn’t get the job, but because the engineering team I met seemed genuinely great, and they deserve better leadership. Based on this experience and what I’ve read from past employees, I strongly caution software engineers: job security is uncertain, and leadership does not prioritize healthy work culture.