Workplace reviews and discussion: 帝芃貿易有限公司

The manager uncle on the first floor said, “Good luck with your interview” XD

I interviewed for a web designer position. At first, they took me to a meeting room to fill out some forms. Before I had written much, they said we had to change locations because a colleague was having a meeting. In fact, they were interviewing someone else.... We went to another room to write, and when I got there, there was also a young woman filling out forms.... (There was also a smell of cigarettes in that area.)

There were three sheets of paper. The first was a résumé. But all of that is already on the employment website, so why did I have to write it again.... In the section about experience, they even asked how much other companies’ revenue was....

They also asked about religious beliefs....

The second sheet contained questions. (As far as I remember,) they asked whether I had managed a blog, whether I had experience troubleshooting PC problems, whether I had written user manuals, whether I had helped anyone troubleshoot problems, whether I had installed or replaced PC components, whether I had experience assembling computers, whether I had experience helping businesses purchase software, whether I had installed a SERVER, and so on. Only then did they ask questions about websites....

They asked whether I had ever set up a website (I don’t remember much about the web-related questions).

The third sheet was for checking off skills: design software, programming languages, office software, and so on....

After I finished, they took me back to the meeting room from before (there was no cigarette smell here). When I came out, I saw the young woman waiting for the elevator with a pretty unhappy expression on her face.....

I was sitting very far away from the interviewer. They started asking about things that weren’t on my résumé: What do my parents do? What do my older brother and sister do? What does my brother study, and at which school (why ask this)? I wrote “Buddhism and Taoism” for religious beliefs, and the interviewer asked whether I meant Buddhism or Taoism. Am I not allowed to worship both?

They also asked which technology company my previous employer worked with....

They called me over to sit beside them and show them my portfolio. My tablet wasn’t connected to the internet, so they said not to bother connecting it because they were in a hurry. Wasn’t this for a web designer position? They didn’t even want to look at it. Although it was also on the employment website, they could have phrased it differently....

Then they said they wanted to look at the stickers on my phone. The interviewer even said, “You only use free ones!?” They said that seeing what stickers I liked would give them a general idea of my style. Wouldn’t looking at my portfolio have been enough? They were looking at stickers—they weren’t drawn by me....

After looking at them, they told me to go back (to the seat farther away).

Later, after talking for a while, they called me to sit beside them again and introduced their company. It seemed to be a small company under a large group, and they probably made websites for the other companies as well (I don’t remember clearly).... They asked how my drawing was and whether I used a graphics tablet. I asked whether the company provided one, and they said no.

They also asked whether I was familiar with converting FLASH to DREAMWEAVER.....

The job would also involve helping troubleshoot hardware and software problems. I said I could only solve minor problems, and they said that anything they couldn’t solve would be outsourced. They said the position was in IT.... When I asked whether the salary could be NT$34,000, they said they would have to ask the boss....

They said I didn’t need to take a practical test anymore because they thought I was capable. They told me to go home and think it over, and that they would call me later...

Thoughts:

I really dislike these background-check-style questions. Asking what my sister does and what my brother studies—is that really necessary? I hadn’t written those things down, but she kept writing and writing. I really didn’t want to answer those questions. I hadn’t provided my home phone number, but she asked for it at the end too.... Is it acceptable to obtain so much personal information through an interview? Oh, and they also asked how much money I give my family. No one has ever asked me that before! At most, they ask whether I’m the main financial supporter of my family.... I asked whether this was a newly created position or whether someone had left. She said someone had left because the previous person was in poor health.... (But when I got home, I searched and found an interview review for a web designer from December 2018 as well..... In other words, they’re looking for someone again after just over three months....)

It was truly a very unpleasant interview experience....

The environment was very messy, with lots of things placed on the floor. When I asked where I would be working, they said it would be in one of those two rooms.... Later, they said they would move to the Taipei World Trade Center...

If you’re very confident in installing and troubleshooting hardware and software, also know web design and drawing, and don’t need a very high salary, you could consider it.... They said they offer lifetime employment, and as long as you don’t make a major mistake, they won’t fire you~