‘The CEO just quit’: New hire ignores company's red flags until CEO unexpectedly resigns, leaving employee on a sinking ship

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Bar Mor Hazut • Senior Editor
May 23, 2024 7:00 AM EDT

How can a new hire identify that they are boarding a sinking ship? Usually, employers are very careful when they are in the process of hiring someone new, so as not to let them see the true colors of the company, and hide everything that might deter the candidate from the job. So how can someone know that the shiny new job they are after might not be so shiny after all?

I wish I could have a straightforward answer, but the truth is, many people end up accepting that new job and only start to see red flags after they are in too deep. Much like the employee in this Reddit story. OP (original poster) was excited to start their new job in a small company only to start seeing red flags even while onboarding when their manager suddenly quit her job. Even so, OP kept going, until they seriously started questioning their position when out of the blue, the CEO informed the company that he was leaving as well…

Keep scrolling to read the full story. After you are done with this one, click here for a series of stories of people getting back at their email nemeses.

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  • 01
    "It has been a sketchy experience from day one"
    via Canva
  • 02
    The CEO just quit...
    via u/C***seCollins
  • 03
    So, I was recently hired by this company two months ago, and it has been such a sketchy experience the entire time. The interview process was very rigorous, with 4 different interviews, and I had to meet
    via u/C***seCollins
  • 04
    with the CEO, but I was eventually hired. They seemed like a team that had their stuff together while I interviewed, but now that I am in the company, it is a total mess.
    via u/C***seCollins
  • 05
    I started training with who I thought would be my manager; she told me she was the marketing director, but right before training was over, she told me my manager would be
    via u/C***seCollins
  • 06
    this other girl they had just hired who was also going through training with me. This girl also acts completely clueless about the company, like she has no idea what is going on since she was just hired on with me. Then, after
    via u/C***seCollins
  • 07
    training, the first lady, who I thought would be my manager, proceeded to leave the company entirely, and one of my co-workers told me she was the CEO's wife and never intended to be a part of the company for long.
    via u/C***seCollins
  • 08
    As you can imagine, communication has been a mess for the past two months. There are a lot of things happening in the company that aren't getting communicated. I and this other girl who is my
    via u/C***seCollins
  • 09
    manager have just been trying to wing it and get everything coordinated on our side, but we have hit walls due to changes in other departments we were not told about.
    via u/C***seCollins
  • 10
    Just three days ago, the CEO of the entire company sent an email at 5:30 PM, completely resigning from his position. He did not give an explanation; it was just a generic email saying how he has enjoyed being our
    via u/C***seCollins
  • 11
    CEO for the past five years and how the Board of Directors has begun the process of taking over his responsibilities as the CEO.
    via u/C***seCollins
  • 12
    For the past three days, there has been silence in the company. The other girl and I have still been doing our work as normal, but there has been no company-wide meeting to update the employees on this, which has me very concerned about my job.
    via u/C***seCollins
  • 13
    Should I be actively looking for a new job, or is this normal at companies? I have never worked somewhere where the CEO randomly sends an email quitting, and I am unsure what to expect from here.
    via u/C***seCollins
  • 14
    Rashid_1961 · 18 hr. ago I've been working for 38 years and worked at a lot of companies. I've seen this type of thing a few times. Its never a good thing. My advice: keep looking and do it with a sense of urgency.
    via u/Rashid_1961
  • 15
    • pgtvgaming 18 hr. ago Certainly not normal. These shifts in the C suite usually are handled behind the scenes. How large of a company is this and in what space?
    via u/pgtvgaming
  • 16
    Collins OP 16 hr. ago • Not a large company, maybe 8 or 9 employees and it is in the tech/cybersecurity industry.
    via u/C***seCollins
  • 17
    Wrathszz 16 hr. ago If it's that small, you need to put your resume back out there ASAP. Don't be surprised if the doors are suddenly locked without notice.
    via u/Wrathszz
  • 18
    eCollins OP 16 hr. ago It is a remote position. The company, which is a SaaS company, had been operating for five years prior to my joining.
    via u/C***seCollins
  • 19
    CasherburyTales · 13 hr. ago 8 or 9 employees with a board of directors and a CEO? This sounds like a small family business that's going bankrupt.
    via u/CasherburyTales
  • 20
    Rodrigo_Ribaldo . 17 hr. ago Make sure you are getting paid regularly. Once they start delaying and making excuses, leave quickly because the company is going down and you are not likely to get paid at all.
    via u/Rodrigo_Ribaldo
  • 21
    • PoseidonTheAverage · 18 hr. ago It might be a merger/aquisition or sale or C levels weren't performing so board is cleaning house. These times can be scary but there can also be opportunity. It really depends on your risk tolerance and finances. Some of my best career opportunities have been during these times but financially, I plan for turbulence in income and can ride these out.
    via u/PoseidonTheAverage
  • 22
    Miss Displaced. 16 hr. ago Were you unemployed prior to this job? If so, stick it out a while longer if you are getting paid. Do the best you can to do your job under the circumstances. If the company goes belly-up you can get unemployment if you've worked long enough at least.
    via u/MissDisplaced
  • 23
    If you left a job to go there, I would update my resume and start looking again. No need to rush, but keep it up. It's a difficult market right now so it likely to take some time, but at least you're not jobless you know.
    via u/MissDisplaced
  • 24
    eCollins OP 16 hr. ago I actually left my last position for this job because the pay was better and it was in an industry I really wanted to work in.
    via u/C***seCollins
  • 25
    KeyWillingness4866 · 13 hr. ago I work for the same company for just over 2 years now and we have the 4th CEO since I started. My team just does its work and we don't care anymore about upper management. But I somehow get the feeling all the real work is done in the levels below board and CEO, because its ,,business as usuall", strange...
    via u/KeyWillingness4866
  • 26
    Sea-Gas-7017. 12 hr. ago The ship is sinking. Best you find your life raft immediately and depart before you go down with it.
    via u/Sea-Gas-7017

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boss workplace-stories employee manager job quits tales-from-the-workplace new hire reddit story ceo employer overworked-employees workplace Reddit company resignation
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