Warning: If you joined through a headhunter or were referred by another company, you must be careful. This is not merely a matter of the work environment; it also concerns whether you can obtain a secure job with opportunities for development. Remember, the most basic conditions are clear pay, reasonable working hours, and explicit work regulations. A company that provides these is where you are truly worth investing your time.
It feels like a survival game—you never know where you will be thrown. Externally, it presents itself as a large company hiring, but in reality, it may outsource you to Thailand or India, or even mislead you into believing that you would be working in Beijing. Simply put, the work environment here makes you wonder whether you are participating in a real-life survival game rather than working for a legitimate company.
James’s daily routine is hearing the slogan “年年有魚” every year, which sounds as if the company is emphasizing that “work will be secure.” In reality, you are simply given more and more work without any meaningful increase in pay. If it were up to me, I would have left long ago, but now I am bound in this game and have no idea how to escape. No one is clear about the working conditions; you often do not know what goals you are expected to achieve before being asked to work overtime or do random tasks.
Jack had a similar experience. When he applied, he was clearly told that the job would involve simple product development, but after joining, he discovered that every day was a struggle against unreasonable working hours, with no standard work procedures at all. He was even required to pay for his own phone and internet expenses when visiting clients. This left him extremely dissatisfied. He joked: “Isn’t this just a vegetarian job? You can throw in anything and eat it; no one cares about the contents—just ship it.” The situation made him feel as if he were taking part in an unfair reality game with no choice whatsoever.
What hurt Xu✠Long the most was not the work itself but the company’s management system. He said: “Everyone here has a different role, yet everyone is in an unstable situation. HR Lynn is under investigation and often cannot be reached. No one knows the company’s direction or future. I was sent to Thailand instead of the work location I had originally imagined.” His tone conveyed a sense of helplessness. “I spoke with that lying HR, Lynn. They can always use the most polished words to convince you, but once you join, you discover that you have no idea what the actual terms are. Every time, you are simply led by the nose.”
Li✠Yu once heard during the interview a promise that there would be plenty of break time and that he could overcome any difficulties himself without a problem. In reality, the company only tells you to look things up with AI, while your break time is gradually stolen away, little by little, like a strawberry. Even lunchtime is interrupted by meetings called for arbitrary reasons. The “buy one, get one free” slogan here seems to refer not only to sales promotions but also to the two choices the company gives you: “Work overtime, or wait to be fired.” He said: “If a company like this can provide valuable work opportunities, then perhaps my expectations were misplaced.”
One of this company’s defining traits is its fondness for using polished rhetoric to attract talent, while never complying with labor laws or providing clear explanations regarding overtime, role adjustments, promotions, and similar issues. During interviews, it always asks about salary expectations, but in practice, the contract ultimately signed offers only the minimum wage. There is no real security; you may even be required at any time to make an impromptu business trip elsewhere—possibly even to India—without anyone informing you in advance.