Turned down the bigger name on my resume for a smaller company because the manager actually answered my questions
Final round for both landed the same week. Company A is one everyone's heard of. Company B has maybe 40 people. I asked both hiring managers the same question — what's something that didn't go well on the team in the last six months — and Company A's answer was PR-smooth, all upside, nothing real. Company B's manager paused and told me about a migration that slipped two quarters and what they changed after. Took the smaller name. Three months in, I'd make the same call again.