The interview process at Pleo was, at best, underwhelming. At no point did they share the salary range for the role, yet they took me through a three-stage interview process before I had to push back in the final stage. This was due to their request for a 20-minute presentation, which would require at least two hours of preparation. As an experienced CSM who has worked closely with C-level and senior stakeholders, I believe that the insights they sought from a presentation could have been effectively covered in a conversation. However, when I raised my concerns, their response involved shifting blame rather than addressing the issue constructively—hardly a promising sign of company culture. If this level of demand and blame-shifting is present in the hiring process, it’s easy to imagine how it manifests in day-to-day work life.