When I joined, I was told there would be an annual performance and salary review. That never happened. I had to chase the company after a full year, and even then, the company postponed it for another month and a half. It was only when the COO sensed I was interviewing elsewhere that the COO finally scheduled the review. During that meeting, the COO verbally promised a raise—pending CEO’s approval—but never followed up. A full month later, still nothing. That broken promise speaks volumes about how much the company values its people. From almost the first month, I felt unwelcome. There was no proper onboarding, no structured training. I was expected to "figure everything out myself," and then was blamed for not learning fast enough. I was ambushed in performance review meetings with aggressive colleagues, given no prep, and constantly put down—being told I wasn’t smart enough or competent enough. The team environment was toxic. Team members constantly made bitter, degrading comments about younger employees, often swearing and gossiping during lunch, even making inappropriate comments about new female colleagues. The most painful part? The C-level management knew all of this and admitted it when I resigned. The excuse from the C-level management excuse? "I didn’t do anything because I wanted to see how you handled it." That kind of neglect is not leadership—it’s cowardice. I hesitated to write this earlier because I wanted to see if the problem was me. But now that I’ve moved on to a much healthier workplace where people are helpful, collaborative, and respectful, I finally have the clarity to say this: if you’re a young, educated professional, do not join this company. You deserve better.
