The only answer is there's no guarantees, and Caveat Emptor. One of the worst offenses is the one we're discussing in this thread: a HM or recruiter says "We'r

The only answer is there's no guarantees, and Caveat Emptor. One of the worst offenses is the one we're discussing in this thread: a HM or recruiter says "We're slotting you at level 4 instead of level 5, because we like to give employees room to grow." That's a BS line -- put me in at 5 and grow me to 6, then! If you hear this line, you just need to understand it's poppycock and make a decision from there. But basically everything a hiring manager says about a position can turn out to be just wishful thinking on their part: * The team is most likely not solving a big problem * The company most likely does not work well together * The position problem does not have huge room to grow