How do I know if a company is worth joining?
Judge it on the work, the money and the person you would report to, in that order. Ask what the team shipped in the last six months, what happened to the last person in the role, and speak to someone who has left. A strong brand is not evidence of a good job.
Judge the work before the company
The best predictor of whether you will stay is what you actually spend a Tuesday doing. That is set by your team and your manager, not by the logo.
A strong brand tells you about a company's marketing and its ability to attract applicants. It tells you almost nothing about the team of six people you would join, which is the unit that decides your experience.
Questions that get real answers
Vagueness in response to a specific question is itself the answer. A manager who cannot name what their team shipped recently has told you something useful.
- What did the last person in this role do next, and why did they leave.
- What has this team shipped in the last six months.
- Who decides what goes on the roadmap.
- When was someone last promoted on this team.
- What would you change about working here.
What you cannot find out
You will not know whether your manager is good until you have worked for them, and no amount of research closes that gap. Accept the risk and check the things that limit the downside instead, such as notice terms, whether the company has run layoffs in the last two years, and how much of your offer is cash rather than equity.
How we do it
We monitor the applicant tracking systems of a curated list of companies directly and record when each posting first appeared and when it stopped appearing. That leaves a visible hiring history, including how long a role has stayed open and whether the same role keeps coming back.
Updated 2026-09-06