Workplace reviews and discussion: 宇泰華科技股份有限公司

There is a cup of water available to drink

The office is beautiful

The HR representative is very attractive

I applied online for the company's Junior Front-End and Back-End positions.

Afterward, HR called and said that I could interview for both positions, but for the coding test I could choose either React or Golang.

During the call, I told HR that I didn't know Golang, so React would give me a better chance to demonstrate my abilities.

At 2:00 on the day of the on-site interview, a different HR representative conducted the interview. As soon as I sat down, they first asked, “What would you like to ask?”

I was a little puzzled. Normally, both sides introduce themselves first and then begin asking each other questions. However, I started by asking about salary, working hours, company benefits, and so on.

(I later felt that this was my mistake. I should have first asked about the company's products, current plans, and future development before moving on to salary and benefits.)

I remember very clearly that this HR representative said:

“Salary”: I can't tell you; you can only discuss it with the CEO at the final stage.

“Working hours”: We have flexible working hours, with no clock-in system and no overtime pay.

Everything else is listed on 104 and follows the Labor Standards Act; you can look it up yourself.

In a moment, we'll test you on Golang. Is there anything else you'd like to ask?

At that point, I was actually somewhat displeased.

I had come a long way because I wanted to understand the company. Perhaps salary was not convenient to disclose by email, so I had no problem coming in person.

But for the other matters, I expected to hear something more specific, such as “What time does everyone usually arrive?”

Moreover, I had clearly said earlier that I wanted to be tested on React. Why had it changed to Golang?

The HR representative then said that, since that was the case, the company would pay my transportation expenses and I could stop the interview immediately.

They said, “From your attitude, I can tell that you are not suited to this company—or to the startup model.”

At that moment, I was speechless.

Just because you are a startup, does that mean you can bring someone in without explaining anything?

Besides, there must be some usual pattern for things like what time everyone generally arrives, right?

And, again, we had clearly agreed that I would be tested on React. How did it end up becoming Golang?

That has nothing to do with being a “startup,” does it?

Afterward, I apologized to that HR representative and said that perhaps my tone had been too sharp.

I wanted to understand what time most people arrived and left; I believed this was not an unanswerable question.

Only then did they say that most people arrived at 10 a.m. and left at 7 p.m.

I replied tactfully that perhaps I had not heard clearly and apologized.

They then said, “Are you going to apologize? This is very unfair to our company.”

But I had clearly just heard them say that the company had “flexible working hours.”

The reason I wanted to ask approximately what time people generally arrived and left was that this is a common HR way of glossing over the question.

However, I did not think too much about it at the time and simply apologized.

After the interview, though, when I thought back on it, I still believe they had not initially said, “Most of our people arrive at 10 a.m. and leave at 7 p.m.” They only said that afterward.

Afterward, we discussed Playsee's vision for development, including how it could compete with the two major giants, Facebook and Instagram.

I asked them how they would convince me to use Playsee instead of Facebook or Instagram.

To be honest, I could not hear a convincing reason in their answer.

As for the Golang coding test, of course I performed terribly.

How can you expect someone who only starts looking up variable declarations and loop syntax during the coding test to produce something good?

Moreover, there was no properly set-up environment for the coding test.

The candidate had to become familiar with their computer and find a usable environment, such as an online IDE.

It made me wonder how a coding test could be conducted so carelessly.

Shouldn't the company use a service such as CodePen or HackerRank instead?

Later, I opened the door to find HR and tell them that I wanted to use the restroom, but they were in a meeting.

When I returned from the restroom, I rang the doorbell twice. No one opened the door the first time; the second time, an engineer came out to let me in.

I then waited in the meeting room until 4:30, when their meeting ended, and a back-end manager hurried in.

During the interview, I expressed my confusion about the process, including why I was suddenly being tested on Golang, the conversation I had just had with HR, and what exactly I was being interviewed for.

The manager was very kind and said that although they knew I did not know Golang, they were willing to listen to my thought process and so on.

However, they also said that they were not clear about how the company had arranged the interview and were very surprised by my situation.

After we discussed and explained the coding-test questions, another manager came in.

However, this manager did not interact much, only looking at my résumé and asking about my expectations for the future.

Afterward, I asked the managers for business cards, but they said the company did not have any.

Therefore, even after the interview, I still did not know the names of the HR representatives or the managers.

I only knew the name of the HR representative who contacted me because we had exchanged emails.

Finally, I again expressed my apologies to HR.

I also offered some “suggestions” regarding the company's interview process, which had left candidates unclear about what was happening.

After I finished giving these suggestions, I knew very clearly that I would not join this company, and that there was about a nine-in-ten chance the company would not hire me.

Overall, this was a very poor and disappointing interview experience.

1. What the HR representative who contacted me said differed from what the on-site HR representative said, especially regarding the coding test.

2. The on-site HR representative said they did not have the authority to discuss many matters, which made the conversation very superficial.

3. HR directly stated that the interviewee's attitude was unsuitable for a “startup” company, and told me that I could accept the transportation reimbursement and end the interview immediately. If so, why insist on arranging an on-site interview instead of conducting a video interview first? A “startup” company should be more “tolerant” of video interviews, shouldn't it?

4. “Startup” may be an excuse for minor oversights, but it is not a “get-out-of-jail-free card.”

How to prepare for the interview:

1. Be well prepared for Golang.

2. Confirm with HR exactly what the on-site interview will cover.

3. Prepare your own environment, because they will not prepare one for you.

4. Adopt a “startup” mindset and tolerate every shortcoming.

Would I recommend this job? No. You can infer a great deal from the smallest details.