I was given some advice 10 years into my career that I wish I'd heard fresh out of college. When you are interviewing with a company, learn as much as you can a

I was given some advice 10 years into my career that I wish I'd heard fresh out of college. When you are interviewing with a company, learn as much as you can about the career backgrounds of the executives. It often dictates how much influence your department has on operations. Not surprisingly, the worst places I've worked had the biggest disparities between the president and the primary skill group needed to create the product. It wasn't that these companies weren't profitable - some were, some weren't. They just weren't enjoyable places to work. When you have to explain or justify things that shouldn't need explaining or justifying, it really drains morale.