Workplace reviews and discussion: 三民書局股份有限公司

Pros: Convenient transportation is the only advantage (the company is right next to the exit of MRT Zhongshan Junior High School Station).

Cons: Extremely disrespectful toward job applicants, wasting applicants’ time, money, and other resources.

The application process was as follows:

After seeing the “English Teaching Materials Editor” opening on 104 Job Bank, I emailed my résumé to San Min’s HR department. About two business days after submitting it, I received a call from HR to arrange a time and was told that the written test and interview would take place on the same day. I subsequently received a formal invitation email.

After arriving at the San Min Bookstore building at the agreed time, I followed the instructions in the notification email and first told the cashier at the store that I was there to see HR. A woman who appeared to be from HR then came downstairs to escort me upstairs. (Since she did not introduce herself or state her identity, I will refer to her as “HR” below for convenience.)

Once we were seated, HR gave me a written-test paper and a form to complete (including an autobiography section). She also provided a Chinese-English dictionary published by San Min and said I could consult it if needed.

The written test consisted of six essay questions related to the position of English teaching-materials planning editor (such as: What is the definition of a planning editor? What should be the subject matter and marketing approach for a bestselling language-learning book? What are the similarities and differences between textbooks and general books?). I was given approximately 1.5 hours, and all answers had to be handwritten. Since both the test paper and HR said that I could answer in either Chinese or English, I wrote all my answers in Chinese. After I finished, HR took the test paper away for the supervisor to review, and asked me to continue filling out the personal-information form and handwrite an autobiography.

When I was almost finished writing my autobiography, HR appeared again with a guilty-looking expression, holding the test paper she had just taken away and another new test paper. She told me: “Because you wrote all the previous questions in Chinese, the supervisor wants to know how good your English is, so I got this new test for you (inner thought: Then why didn’t you just tell me from the beginning that the test had to be answered in English!). But I also understand that you’ve already worked very hard writing so much from earlier until now (inner thought: My hand really is sore from writing so much = =), so you can look over these questions and decide whether you want to do them, because this will take some more of your time. In that case, the supervisor won’t have time to interview you today… (inner thought: You were the ones who said the written test and interview would be on the same day, and now you’re also the ones saying there won’t be an interview today ^^).”

While I was stunned, HR continued: “I’d first like to understand your salary expectations for this position. I can explain this part clearly to you first, and then you can decide whether you want to continue. After all, you came from another county, and I don’t want you to have to make a special trip again for an interview later.”

Since the salary range listed on 104 was NT$31,000–37,000, and based on my three years of relevant publishing experience, I stated a somewhat higher figure. After hearing it, HR said very directly that San Min was only willing to offer a new hire the minimum of NT$31,000, and that even after the three-month probationary period, they would add at most another NT$2,000–3,000—still below my expected salary.

After learning that the compensation did not meet my expectations, and that the company had given me the impression of being very insincere throughout the process, I told HR: “Since you’re not considering my past experience, there’s no room to negotiate the salary, and I won’t be interviewing with the supervisor today, I no longer wish to continue answering the test questions.”

After hearing this, HR seemed to have finally achieved her objective, stood up, and proceeded to escort me downstairs. Along the way, she even said: “Why didn’t you just look for a job in your hometown? You could do blah blah blah and still earn a decent income! (Inner thought: What business is it of yours? And are you really HR hired by San Min? Do you actually intend to recruit anyone… How incredibly rude.)”

Although I was stunned and extremely upset inside, I still politely said goodbye before leaving the company.

I have interviewed with quite a few companies during my job search, but San Min Bookstore is truly the company that has made me feel the most disrespected so far. HR appeared polite but was extremely unprofessional, seeming uncertain and lacking confidence about everything. Moreover, she repeatedly changed what had been said, causing the applicant to make a wasted trip without even getting to interview with the supervisor, thereby wasting the applicant’s time and money.

I sincerely advise anyone interested in applying because of the reputation of San Min’s long-established brand not to put themselves through this ordeal for nothing. It will only waste your time and money and leave you furious.