Workplace reviews and discussion: 太子保全股份有限公司

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Interviewed for an administrative front-desk position at National Taiwan University dormitories

The position was not posted on 104. They called to invite me to an interview and asked:

“Are you interested in an administrative front-desk position at an NTU dormitory?”

Me: “Yes.” We arranged a time.

It was only after I went to the first interview that they told me the job required shifts. The shift hours they gave me were inaccurate (I agreed to attend because of those stated shift hours).

“Do you know this job requires shift work?” (Then why didn’t you mention it in the initial phone call? If it wasn’t written on 104, why didn’t you mention it on the phone?)

“(The inaccurate shift hours they provided.)”

It was only during the second interview with the supervisor that I learned the correct shift requirements, and only then did I find out that it was a short-term part-time job.

(If I had known from the beginning that it was part-time, with hours that were not guaranteed, I would not have gone to the second interview.)

“Did they tell you during the first interview that this job would initially be part-time and would later become a full-time position?” (I was speechless.)

They used scripted wording to make it sound as though everyone starts as a part-time worker and then becomes full-time.

But in fact, there is currently only one full-time opening, and an existing colleague is already waiting to pass the evaluation and become full-time.

The part-time role is also only a short-term vacancy, intended to cover the summer when students return home and do not stay on campus to work.

Whether there will even be a need for this position after the summer ends is completely uncertain.

If that is the case, the company should simply recruit for a short-term part-time position directly.

Moreover, it was only during the second interview with the supervisor that I learned the actual nature of the work: part-time and short-term.

This was highly disrespectful to job seekers and wasted their time.

- Later, I sent a text message to the person who conducted the second interview (the dormitory security guard):

May I ask whether there will still be a need for someone to work more than 120 hours per month after September?

No response.

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During the first interview, I asked about the salary range.

He looked at my résumé and asked about my previous salary range.

I said that all of my previous salaries were confidential, and that I was willing to negotiate within the salary range for this position at your company.

(And how much variation could there really be in the salary for an administrative position?)

Then he looked at my résumé as if he felt sorry for how hard my life was.

Finally, after he had spoken with the supervisor and arranged a time for the second interview, he told me that he had confirmed with the supervisor that the salary was from NT$26,000 to over NT$30,000.

During the second interview, the supervisor wrote on my résumé that the salary after becoming full-time would be NT$26,000. I asked, “Is that all?”

(Because if it was only NT$26,000, I would have scheduled another job interview that morning and postponed this one, so I wouldn’t waste my time.)

I remembered that the interviewer in the first interview had said it could be over NT$30,000, so I asked whether there would be a raise after working full-time for a period of time.

He said it would be NT$500, possibly NT$1,000 (but he said it very reluctantly; it was probably only NT$500).

This was completely different from what had been said in the first interview.

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I felt that the interviewer in the first interview was careless and unprofessional; he could not even send notifications, emails, or text messages through 104.

The interviewer in the first interview also pressed me, asking:

“Are you actively looking for a job?

Then why didn’t you answer when I called you last week?

Is it not possible for you to answer whenever something happens?

Is it not possible for you to answer while you’re in an interview?

Just because you are not in an interview does not mean you can answer the phone anytime, anywhere, okay?

I’m not an office worker who sits at a desk for eight hours a day next to a phone and can answer whenever it rings.

Don’t office workers have to attend meetings, go to convenience stores to buy things, or chat with colleagues and miss calls?

If I didn’t answer, couldn’t you send a message through 104, an email, or a text message to notify me?

By this point, I really wanted to swear at him.”