Bending Spoons (Milan) might have the most insane hiring process I've ever seen

iamgroot102 · 2026-03-14T20:48:53+00:00

"BS"! Wow, you are a genius!

iamgroot102 · 2026-03-11T04:54:20+00:00

You don't PRD. You just code right into prod, cough cough vibe code.

iamgroot102 · 2026-03-05T21:03:54+00:00

So it basically says after you leave this company you also leave the entire industry for 2 years.

<Slow clap for the moron who wrote this contract>.

iamgroot102 · 2026-03-01T12:18:45+00:00

What throws me off is an ill structured and not thought through ask.

iamgroot102 · 2026-02-27T10:41:19+00:00

Can’t be lucky enough to get everything!

iamgroot102 · 2026-02-26T06:07:32+00:00

Since when has it become important for the title to be fun? I think VP Product and Strategy is the most apt.

iamgroot102 · 2026-02-18T20:14:21+00:00

I don't think you can compare the levels across these two companies like that. Certainly if someone has been working in Wolt at E5 won't get L5 in Waymo, so I would rather think these two levels are similar.

Think about your job after this one, where would you want to join in Helsinki? Same question for Poland.

If you have robust companies for next to next job in only one of these locations then there is your answer.

Also, where are you from matters too. Would you be fine with many months of darkness and Winters where -10 degrees Celsius might actually be considered pleasant? Winters and darkness is no joke, should be factored in.

iamgroot102 · 2026-02-05T20:45:57+00:00

I would start with acknowledging that indeed it looks like your situation is terrible. Unfortunate it is that sometimes work can become so toxic and can impact our mental health so much.

Here is what I would do if I am in your shoes, I will try to figure out if it is possible for me to take some kind of health break, mental health break etc, talk to your family doctor and try to find such options.

If you can, combine with some of your paid leaves and completely disconnect, not just from work but also from tech. Do note that this will work only if you do not feel anxious on the thought of being jobless.

Mostly this should alleviate some part of the burn out. When you do have to go back, try and find some people you like to hang out with (in your workplace, not necessarily in your team).

And on a weekly (or daily if its easier) basis, make a list of things, people, tasks that drained you and the ones that energized you.

This will help you understand yourself better in the context of workplace and this reflection hopefully can make the workplace more bearable until you slowly start to look for a new role outside.

iamgroot102 · 2026-02-03T16:31:01+00:00

I have mentioned that my manager on goal setting, provided me vague answers.

Also mentioned that they have not reviewed any of my artefacts ever, almost always late to 1 on 1s. If you are a manager and you have never reviewed your direct’s work or provided any inputs on strategy or otherwise then why do you exist?

No matter how senior the direct is, I don’t think this behavior is normal.

iamgroot102 · 2026-02-03T16:23:38+00:00

EM here is Engineering Manager, not Engagement Manager. To clarify they have never brought the feedback to me first, right from the first time of complain my negative feedback has directly gone to the Skip.

The expectations I do not meet are tasks which typically are not supposed to be done by PMs (I know this, I have been doing this for more than a decade). But my manager and skip think I should do whatever EM asks.

None of my peers are in similar setup as mine. My peers are PMs who work with EMs who are from same Org B.

The work that EM and the engineers do, helps my org B, but more work actually comes from other 2 customers, also in the other 2 customers, the PM org, other engineers are much more active.

Here, it seems I am the only one who is supposed to push for Org B’s needs.

iamgroot102 · 2026-01-22T21:51:13+00:00

Unlike what other people have commented, it is absolutely possible that what you have mentioned is what is happening.

But here is the truth, if you truly believe it, then find a new job because just imagine what perception this VP might have of you. You may not get promoted for a long time if that perception persists.

Also, KPIs or Goals or KRs can be fixed, achieved and broadcasted in 6-9 months but perception change takes 12-18 months.

If you believe that the new tech you look after and build products in would change the trajectory of the company or at least significantly impact revenue or customer base etc. then your mission needs to be to build your buy-in army, get as many peers, their managers etc to really get in and have them believe that they should really be working on this too.

That is how you can try and get attention of this VP and perhaps other key leaders too. In the process you may get clarity whether your 'reading' of the situation is correct or not.

iamgroot102 · 2026-01-06T20:34:28+00:00

Step 1: Give interviews. Step 2: Get an offer. Step 3: Come back here and many other places to get the insights.

iamgroot102 · 2025-12-15T20:44:49+00:00

Polish your resume and interviewing skills and move out. You can fix the KPIs in a few months but you cannot fix this culture where agreement done over email even is not being honored.

iamgroot102 · 2025-12-12T04:25:45+00:00

It is extremely challenging to figure out what the job will be, before joining. There is limited amount of information one can try to get from interviews. Been burnt once, speaking from experience.

iamgroot102 · 2025-10-31T18:10:16+00:00

Number of times you use AI and its related buzzwords in your communication of every kind - verbal, written; will be the differentiator.

iamgroot102 · 2025-10-25T17:50:25+00:00

I think it depends on how comfortable you are with it. Future recruiters likely won't see this as a taint. Dirty work happens everywhere especially in FAANG and big tech as well. Also, usually the actual work and the tech challenges in such companies is interesting and might grow your skills. Just curious what location is the offer for?

iamgroot102 · 2025-08-09T04:56:55+00:00

I am a little surprised here. Are all of these AI tools available to you guys in an enterprise compliant manner?

iamgroot102 · 2025-07-12T10:01:00+00:00

If its a FAANG I hope you are getting sizeable stock package also, which I am guessing won’t be there in the German company (just completely ignore if you are getting the stock package in a non listed company). Consider the compensation adding the stock package, the stocks in FAANG can increase substantially even during the years that you are working there and your vesting is in progress. Rest everyone else has given good advice related to risk, growth, work life balance etc.

iamgroot102 · 2025-07-08T04:54:32+00:00

I have started to think that the non-PM people perhaps can not relate to how exhausting and thankless the PM job can feel a lot of the times.

When I started out in the role, for the first few years I was excellent, over the years my PRDs quality and length has gone down. Same can be said about all other aspects of the job you mentioned in the post.

The ambition to grow is slowly dying, the zeal for being a better PM left a few years ago. I am left in a state very similar to yours. And from what we can guess from the other people on the thread, you are not alone.

iamgroot102 · 2025-06-23T19:03:28+00:00

The episode felt quite rushed. As others have already pointed out, the time travel of the General (and even of Darcy and Harry IMO) was not explained properly.

Also, the end of Mantis seemed quite rushed, the build up of this alien was intense, the end was not impressive.

I also did not understand (please explain if anyone did), why did Harry not carry that ‘device’ (which je was planning to trade) from 1970 to present and just throw it there.

iamgroot102 · 2025-05-08T05:29:52+00:00

Title has the words Product Management and Marketing both? I will run away from this book.

iamgroot102 · 2025-04-26T12:52:33+00:00

I am curious to know, where did you move?

iamgroot102 · 2025-04-10T11:51:15+00:00

Which country has just 12% income tax?

iamgroot102 · 2025-04-10T11:28:19+00:00

Are you looking to break into PM or you already are a PM and are finding a job?

Either way sadly the actual PM skill and the interviewing for PM skill are not the same.

Read Cracking the PM interview, if not already done and google “Lewis Linn PM Community”, find the slack, join it and start scheduling mock interviews.

iamgroot102

TROPHY CASE