I interviewed recently at Spokeo for a role of a Product Manager, Data. While Spokeo was not my first choice (it was my last choice, actually), given the current job market, I thought to give them a try. The process took about 5 weeks from the day I applied to their final decision, involving a total of 9 calls. 7 of these were interview sessions, one was an interview-prep call with the TA, and the final call was to discuss their decision. Spokeo has had a challenging reputation since its inception, as reflected in its customer satisfaction ratings as of Fall 2023: Sitejabber 2.2 stars; Trustpilot 2.7 stars; ConsumerAffairs 1.3 stars; and BBB 1.1 stars. Employee reviews on Glassdoor, particularly from their customer service staff, also reflect a challenging work environment due to customer dissatisfaction and a continuous revolving door. Right from the first interview, I inquired about the possibility of an upgraded role given my extensive experience and seniority. I was informed that it could be a possibility depending on my interview performance. The subsequent interviews were scheduled almost instantly after I passed my screening interview. However, I noticed that the role does not report to anyone in the Product Management team, even though there is a dedicated PM team. Instead, it reports to a senior manager in Operations, which is unheard of in the industry. I also received a LinkedIn connection request from Spokeo’s CEO, which I found unusual. Since when do CEOs reach out to job applicants? Further, the company's online content, including some of the CEO's LinkedIn reels and YouTube posts, seemed to promote a product based on fear and had a light-hearted, gossip-oriented tone which I found misplaced and very unprofessional. The TA team indicated that they would communicate their decision within the first 24 hours following my last interview, but this did not occur. Even the CTO reached out, expressing enjoyment in our conversation and promising feedback soon, but the follow-up was delayed. In the meantime I noticed that they upgraded the job title to Principal PM, Data, which was a possibility discussed earlier, but the pay range remained unchanged, which was contrary to the discussions I had. Last, the lack of intermediate-level PM roles at Spokeo indicates a potential bottleneck in career advancement, which might discourage potential candidates looking for growth opportunities. If you are content with a steady role, this might be a fit. But even there I found inconsistencies, as I was told that there are no intermediate-level PM roles, but a few days later saw them posting a new opening for a Sr. PM role. This entire communication, or rather lack of, leaves the impression that this company and its founders are still very much in the growth mode. I’m dying to see how they’ll swim in this new data privacy environment, especially in California where the governor just signed yet another privacy law. I strongly discourage anyone serious to consider this company for their future employer, or to subscribe to their product. They claim that it’s all publicly available data (which is true) and therefore they are just helping the public to access it in one place, but then if that’s truly all you are trying to achieve then stop lacing it with layers of fear. That’s the part where your product fails and earns such a miserable reputation. Until the founders grow out of their current mindset, this company will continue with its poor performance.