The overall experience interviewing at Taotao International was quite positive. During the interview, the interviewer placed particular emphasis on the candidate’s previous internship experience and participation in student organizations. Rather than simply looking at the titles listed on the résumé, they asked further about the roles you actually took on, the problems you encountered, and the abilities you developed through those experiences. It was clear that the company values “practical experience” and a “learning attitude.”
The interviewer was friendly and did not make me feel pressured. The questions were asked in a guided, conversational manner, often exploring in depth why you wanted to join Taotao International, your understanding of and expectations for corporate training or consulting work, and whether you identified with the company’s training philosophy and direction of development.
Overall, the interview proceeded smoothly and involved good interaction. The difficulty of being hired was moderate, but candidates with experience or a background in corporate training, education and training, student activities, project collaboration, or related areas—and who can clearly express their motivation and enthusiasm for learning—will have a relative advantage. It is a company worth considering for people who are willing to devote themselves to learning and are interested in corporate growth and talent development.
A relative of mine works at this company. I happened to be looking for a new job because I didn’t want to keep taking the bus to Taipei every day for work—it was exhausting! They asked whether I wanted to go for an interview. I looked up information about the company online, and honestly, aside from customs brokers, factories, and the food and beverage industry, I had never seen this type of company locally in Keelung. I wasn’t really sure what kind of company it was, and I was also worried about being scammed. However, I didn’t want to let other people’s reviews determine my own choice, and since my relative had already worked there for a long time, I decided to evaluate it for myself.
I applied for the position of Training Manager. During the interview, the interviewer clearly explained the company’s services, job responsibilities, salary and benefits, and so on. I was actually interested because I had interviewed with at least 10 companies recently, and I was looking for a position where I could develop my abilities and have room for growth. After all, I had also worked in the office of a large company before. At present, this is the only company that fits what I am looking for. In particular, its clients are all large publicly listed companies, which would allow me to interact with these major companies—exactly what I want. Everything also complies with the Labor Standards Act, and having information available on TaiwanJobs makes me feel more reassured.
After I got home, I asked my relative whether what had been said during the interview matched their actual experience working there. We talked for nearly an hour, and I learned that my relative had started out barely knowing anything, but the company had trained them to the point where they could now communicate with people at publicly listed companies and build a professional network. Their income had also more than doubled compared with their previous job. I became very interested and hope I will be hired.
It seems quite challenging.
It might be suitable for part-timers, I guess. In any case, once you get in, all you do is make phone calls. Although, everyone I encountered there had been lured in under various job titles to make phone calls～
1. The job duties are different from what was described on the job website and discussed during the interview. Whether you applied for an administrative assistant, project staff member, social media editor, or administrative planning and graphic design position, once you get in, everyone has to “make sales calls”～
Even though the job title you applied for has nothing to do with making phone calls, within just a few days of starting, you’ll begin being required to meet “telephone performance targets.”
They keep emphasizing that they aren’t doing sales, but merely sharing good things with others. Yet the job involves calling the HR staff at other companies during work hours to ask whether they want to attend classes. If that isn’t sales, then what is?
2. Every morning, there’s a very meaningless meeting. Everyone is required to say what they “learned” yesterday. You make sales calls every day, yet still have to make up a bunch of learning outcomes each day. After going home at night, you also have to send a voice report about what you did and learned that day, followed by “keep working hard tomorrow” 🫶. The morning meetings often include motivational talk about how you can’t improve at other companies and will only improve at Taotao, and so on.
3. The company’s upper management cannot accept any suggestions that don’t fit their outdated ideas. I heard that someone was even fired on their first day at work for making a suggestion, hehe.
4. Aside from a few long-term employees who came from Taipei, most internal staff have basically been there for no more than six months. Each person teaches new hires differently, and in the end, everything is a problem and has to be redone from scratch.
5. They constantly boast about how great the company is and how capable the boss is, but much of it is just a title in name only.
6. The company’s location is really bizarre—it’s at the very back of a large residential area, and you even have to climb a big hill to get there. It’s extremely inconvenient.
I’ve been gone for a while, so I can’t think of anything else for now. Anyway, if you’re not looking to go in there to make phone calls, run away fast.
I've been at the company for a month. At first, I was a little worried after seeing the reviews here, but I thought I'd give it a try.
It's one of the few jobs in Keelung that isn't in food service or factory work, and it's about a 10-minute drive from home. Besides having a genuinely comprehensive training system, the managers and senior colleagues are very willing to share their experience so that we can get up to speed more quickly. The workday also ends very punctually—by around 6 p.m., there probably isn't anyone left in the company.
As for the rumored overtime and being called in on weekends, I haven't encountered any of that yet. I shared this job with a friend, and they even submitted a résumé and came in for an interview.
There aren't many places to eat nearby.
I went to the interview in the morning and came back feeling pretty good.
It’s one of the few companies in Keelung that isn’t in manufacturing, customs brokerage, or the food and beverage industry. I’m looking for a marketing-related job, so I finally won’t have to commute to Taipei anymore. Motorcycle parking is also very convenient. I hope I get the job.
None for now
The interview process was very pleasant, and the interviewer was very kind.
They carefully explained the actual responsibilities of the position in the future, making the job-related details very clear. They also mentioned possible adjustments to the position if it did not meet expectations.
In Keelung—or even in my many years working in the Taipei-Keelung area—this is one of the few companies willing to make further arrangements even when you do not meet expectations. As for the salary, the starting pay is about the same as the local level in Keelung, but there are definitely bonuses during the three major holidays. I heard that good performers can receive between half a month’s and one month’s salary.
To respond to comments from several people that I saw before the interview, I asked the interviewer whether everyone was required to do business development, since I personally did not really want to do it.
The interviewer said that many people had asked this question, and simply explaining it verbally would not be very convincing, so they took me to observe next to the seats of their coworkers. Not everyone was doing business development—at least, that was what I saw. Later, they mentioned that this was arranged through coordination because some job seekers lacked certain abilities and needed training. This was the position adjustment mentioned above. I think this is much better than the approach used by most companies, which is simply to replace people when things do not work out.
I also asked about comments saying that trainees had to sign a contract. The interviewer said that this referred to public courses the company holds externally for recruitment, which are classes for people from outside and have nothing to do with employees’ work.
Later, I became curious and directly asked whether they knew about the negative reviews online. The interviewer said they knew, and also knew who had written them. The company forgave the person because they were young and did not pursue the matter. They said it rather casually: it was up to job seekers to use their judgment—whether to believe someone who left negatively after less than three months of employment, or employees who were willing to stay with the company for 10 years. I personally chose to believe the 10-year employees. Also, I got the job.
The company is located at the top of a steep hill. You have to walk uphill after getting off the bus.
I joined this team as a new graduate and have now been here for more than 10 years. I am one of the “people who followed the company from Taipei” mentioned in the post above.
In addition to basic labor and health insurance, year-end bonuses, and bonuses for the three major festivals, the company also gives employees who have been with the company for at least one year holiday gifts for their families and birthday cash gifts. These are benefits that someone with only a little over a month of tenure cannot experience.
The employee training provided is also quite comprehensive, enabling me to advance from a frontline employee to a managerial position and, now, to possess a complete set of consulting skills.
In addition, I have attended countless company dinners and participated in many domestic and overseas employee trips. Not to mention the snack cabinets and drinks provided in line with technology companies, as well as taking leave early during the Lunar New Year and not deducting leave for typhoon days. None of these are benefits required by the Labor Standards Act, yet I have enjoyed them all.
I don't think an employee who has been with the company for only a little over a month could appreciate these benefits.
Fortunately, not much.
I’m an employee who didn’t transfer over from the Taipei office, and after hearing some gossip, I thought I’d come here to help set the record straight for the company.
Before moving to Keelung, our supervisor took us on a tour. At the time, the office was still being renovated, but the seating was considerably more spacious compared with the Taipei office. According to our supervisor, the interior would be completed first, while the outdoor area would be handled gradually. I imagine that after a while, we won’t have to park on the roadside anymore. Besides, back when we were in Taipei, you couldn’t always find a parking space on the street either.
As for salary, at least I’ve never been paid the minimum wage. From what I recall, I’ve never heard of anyone who joined later being paid the minimum wage either. Perhaps your situation was unusual—I don’t know.
Also, year-end bonuses and the bonuses given at the three major holidays have never been required by law; they are benefits. They are also absolutely related to your usual performance, as is the case in every field. When I first joined, I didn’t receive much that year either. The following year, it seemed to be almost one month’s salary, though I didn’t pay close attention.
When newcomers first join, they naturally start by learning the basics because they don’t know anything yet. Otherwise, if you were asked to call potential customers directly, would you be able to generate results? Without the basic SOP as a foundation, what could you introduce about the company? Could you introduce the products? New employees start by learning the SOP; that’s how every company works. Regardless of how many years of experience you have or what kind of Top Salesperson you were before, when you come to a new company, you first familiarize yourself with the company background and its products.
Once you’ve mastered these things, you’re free to do things your own way. As long as you can produce results, no one will care whether you follow the SOP. Those more than 20 pages are your foundation. If you haven’t even learned these things, what do you expect to do?
Personally, I think the way you dress should match the job you do. These are basic standards. In a management consulting company, isn’t it perfectly normal to be required to maintain a certain standard of attire? Men wearing formal attire to work should be a basic expectation in this industry. As for women, as long as they aren’t overly revealing or excessively displaying their personal style, no company will interfere.
Remember, the place where you work is called a “management consulting company.” No one will control what you want to wear in your personal time, but you should wear formal clothing at work. This isn’t gender discrimination; it’s the most basic standard.
There have to be rules for a company to continue operating. This isn’t called restriction; it’s called standards.
As for training, the company’s training system is relatively comprehensive. At least, that’s what I’ve heard from people in the industry. Of course, if you want to go to a large company where everything follows an SOP, the work content may indeed be more detailed. Everyone may be pursuing different things. At least here, I’ve learned a lot of knowledge unrelated to the position I originally applied for, and it has clearly helped my overall career.
One more reminder: public statements carry legal responsibility.
Keelung is really far away
Wow, I happened to see this while looking for a job—it’s from the company where I worked part-time last summer.
All I can say is, when I went back to school after that summer job, my reports were quite different from before. My teachers and classmates all said I had improved a lot. Looks like I learned a great deal during that time.
When working at a consulting firm, aren’t dress-code requirements just basic? The full-time employees were wearing formal clothes to work even in the hot weather back then. Oh, and it was extremely difficult to find a motorcycle parking space at the Taipei office.
The learning process was a bit intense.
Apart from normal holidays on public holidays, there’s nothing else.
First of all, the entire company has only about ten employees. Basically, it’s just like those other reviews. Although those were posted three or four years ago, I moved to Keelung and the company is still pretty much the same—no better. I couldn’t find a better job.
Job platforms say they’re hiring graphic designers, project staff, and so on, but that’s all bullshit. Everyone is just making development calls. The job descriptions are merely sales talk, just like the project introductions they send to other companies: exaggerated and full of bragging. An ordinary mid-level manager at a small company with a few dozen people is dressed up as the “CEO of Such-and-such Company” and “a former senior executive at Such-and-such Airlines.” The key point is, the person isn’t even a lecturer. If any company that has received their proposals sees this review, I genuinely suggest that you verify every detail carefully. The company will also keep quoting you high prices—otherwise they wouldn’t make any money. To put it bluntly, they’re just earning a referral fee. You’d be better off finding genuinely capable lecturers yourself.
Next, the pay is pitifully low—basically just the minimum wage under the Labor Standards Act. So the employees are all women without financial pressure; some are adults who are still supported by their families and are only working to earn pocket money. Others are married and simply looking for an easy job to kill time.
Then there are the bonuses for the three major holidays and so on. They depend on your performance and KPI, and even your clothing and appearance affect them. They also make you memorize more than twenty pages of company introductions and sales scripts. Otherwise, they deduct your bonus. Put plainly, it’s up to the supervisor’s mood.
Every morning, there’s also a pointless meeting. You have to report how many calls you made the day before so they can dock your pay or chew you out in front of everyone. Then every day you listen to people spout nonsense about their “learning takeaways” and “work reflections.” In a one-hour meeting, fifteen minutes is spent listening to everyone talk nonsense, and the remaining forty-five minutes are spent listening to management brainwash everyone. It’s all nonsense. The general message is that if you want to succeed, you have to work for their company, along with all sorts of hints that you should be contributing to the company after work and during your days off, otherwise you won’t succeed. It’s always the same few lines. Everyone has heard them so often they can recite them. You might as well let everyone sleep an extra hour every day.
Management is also extremely sexist. Men are required to wear a shirt, tie, and suit trousers, while women can wear basically anything as long as they don’t look too casual. Male employees make one fewer call than female employees and get harshly berated, while female employees don’t get criticized at all.
Also, if you don’t reach your call quota, they’ll tell you that you shouldn’t be playing with your phone or doing your own things during lunch; you should be practicing. You’re also expected to practice after going home from work. They may even make you write an “improvement plan” and a practice plan, then submit them to your supervisor for inspection the next day.
The job platform also mentions unlimited fruit, snacks, and drinks, but there’s absolutely nothing like that. It’s all just management’s lunch, or everyone eating boxed meals. There are no movie days or trips either, and no training or one-on-one sessions. Every day, they just tell you to hold the sales script and make calls while reading from it. Management makes up half the company, and I don’t even know whether this can really be called a transparent promotion path. It seems that when they moved from Taipei to Keelung, everyone who stayed and came to work in Keelung became a supervisor. On top of that, they force you to provide a doctor’s certificate for sick leave. Even if you’re feeling unwell and just want to go home to rest, the company still insists that you get one. A real example: On a certain day, a colleague felt unwell, took leave to see a doctor, and got a certificate. The next day, they came to work and submitted it. That afternoon, they still felt unwell and took leave to go home, but the company still required another doctor’s certificate. The doctor even said, “You haven’t finished taking your medicine yet. How are you going to register for another appointment? If you didn’t register, I can’t issue you a doctor’s certificate.” Yet the company kept pestering them to get one. It was truly speechless. There are hardly any parking spaces either; people just park wherever they can on the roadside. There is a place where everyone could park, but they won’t open it and make everyone park on the street instead. Then one day, I suddenly found a notice on my desk saying I had to pay labor and health insurance premiums. I don’t even know whether this company actually enrolls people in labor and health insurance.
And there’s more. Other companies give red envelopes or bonuses at New Year’s. Do you know what their company gives? A damn bar of soap. Then after the New Year, they took us out for a meal costing NT$7,000. The point is, it was food from a stir-fry restaurant—not some five-star meal. They might as well have given each of us a NT$1,000 red envelope for returning to work. Damn, they’re incredibly stingy.
They keep saying every day that the company is “very free,” but every day they restrict this and restrict that. What freedom is that? If you don’t meet the quota, they deduct your pay, and they still call that freedom? They even force people to wear certain things.
Then, according to management themselves, apparently lecturers have to provide a six-figure promissory note to join the company. Impressive 👍🏻
Employees are the same: if you attend the company lecturer’s training or whatever, you’re not allowed to resign within a year, along with various other bizarre clauses.
That’s enough—I’m too tired to keep talking about it. I’ve never worked for such an absurd company in my life, and I’ve never reviewed any other company, but this one is truly ridiculous. A small company that thinks it’s a Fortune 500 corporation. Is it only being propped up by funding from mainland China? Truly speechless.
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A very strict company; supervisors will monitor your progress at all times
Administrative salary is approximately 21–24K.
They say there will be a salary adjustment every six months.
Administrative staff still have to do telemarketing, but there are no bonuses, so...
It is recommended that you receive your salary before submitting your resignation.
Otherwise, deductions may be made for no reason...
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1. Everyone in the company, including sales managers, administrative assistants, and so on, makes cold calls to develop clients.
2. No salary is paid until you have completed three months. They use every possible excuse to make you work overtime on holidays, saying it is for learning.
3. They say one thing publicly and do another behind the scenes.
High turnover, rapid promotions
The owners, a husband and wife, constantly share life lessons
Employees are required to sign a written undertaking to stay for one year; otherwise, they must reimburse the training costs
Employees are required to work overtime on holidays and to clock in before 6:30 after work to evade responsibility
Think twice before coming to this company.
It feels like there was a major upheaval last year, and a large group of people left.
Those who remain seem strange and not quite right.
They may also require employees to work overtime on holidays, while insisting that employees say it was voluntary in order to evade responsibility.