Workplace reviews and discussion: 國泰商旅股份有限公司

The interview with the unit's design supervisor was fairly relaxed and pleasant.

The company went back on its word. We originally agreed on a monthly salary of 4*k for the position of Design Director, but one week before I was due to start, they called to say that after HR's approval, the salary had been changed to 3*k per month, and the job level would also be downgraded to Design Specialist. I was absolutely stunned.

I interviewed at the K Hotel Taipei on August 21, 2019. The interview took approximately 1.5 hours in total, and I spoke only with the design supervisor throughout. There were no senior executives or HR representatives present. Afterward, I went straight home. There was no second interview. On September 2, I emailed to ask about the interview result, and on September 6, the design supervisor replied that I needed to wait a little longer and asked me to email some of my photography work so it could be shown to senior management. I sent everything requested that same day.

On September 19, the design supervisor who had interviewed me called to tell me that I had been hired. He verbally told me that my monthly salary would be 4*k, with an adjustment after the probationary period, and asked during the call whether I could accept it. I said that I could. (In fact, considering their benefits as a whole, the overall package was not better than what my original company offered, but at the time I really wanted to work in the hotel industry, so I accepted.) He then asked me to confirm as soon as possible when I could leave my then-current company and start working at the K Hotel Taipei, urging me to do so as quickly as possible. He also sent me an employment offer that day, but it did not clearly state my future salary. Without noticing this, I submitted my resignation to my then-current company and confirmed that I would start working at the K Hotel Taipei on October 15.

On the afternoon of September 23, the HR manager at my former company told me that the K Hotel Taipei had called that day to inquire about my current salary. Naturally, the HR manager did not disclose it. Then, on the evening of September 25, I received a call from the marketing and public relations manager of the K Hotel Taipei's tourism business division. He said that because he had not interviewed me initially and the company's HR department had not met with me in person, the final HR-approved decision was to adjust my salary to 3*k per month and change my job level to Design Specialist. I was completely stunned by the news. The manager then asked whether I could accept it, while repeatedly emphasizing his job title. He said that if I accepted the position, he would be the highest-ranking supervisor in my future department. I did not really understand why he kept emphasizing his title at the time.

Overall, this experience made me feel that I had been completely deceived. The final salary was a full ten thousand dollars less than originally agreed, and the job level was also downgraded. It was utterly speechless. If they thought my abilities were unsuitable in the first place, they should not have told me I was hired, much less asked me to resign from my original company. Moreover, I had more than five years of relevant experience, yet the salary they later offered was considerably lower than what I had been earning in my previous job. It made me feel completely humiliated. I strongly advise anyone considering applying for a similar position at this company to think carefully. At the very least, make sure you receive the official offer from HR and confirm your start date before resigning from your current company. Don't make the same mistake I did by relying on a verbal agreement and then resigning from your original job.