Close to the station
The company environment is rather poor (servers are cooled with electric fans covered in dust!!?) The office is very small (estimated at around 40 ping), and the furnishings appear to be more than 40 years old. I could still accept all of the above, but the worst part was that HR invited me for an interview, yet the interviewing manager did not even look me in the eye. After chatting casually for a few minutes, they said that the company had already hired a new employee and now needed someone who could hit the ground running (my résumé clearly showed that I had no relevant work experience). I asked why they had invited me to interview if they did not need a new employee. The manager immediately shifted the blame to HR, saying that they had already informed HR, but HR still had not canceled the interview notification, and then prepared to get up and leave. I reported the situation to the company, but was told that what the company values is aptitude!? At the same time, they casually belittled the newly hired employee as having low aptitude (so you can tell someone’s aptitude in less than five minutes of conversation!?)
Conclusion: I strongly advise new graduates not to interview with this company. The company is extremely disrespectful, and this also helps prevent interviewees from making a wasted trip.
1. Very little overtime
2. The company culture is relatively flexible, and colleagues are easy to get along with
3. Close to an MRT station, making transportation more convenient
4. Since we take on various projects, the work is quite challenging
The company mainly handles client projects, so the salary offered may not be very high
The company benefits are good, and almost everyone has a technical background. You can learn a lot here, and naturally, people who can solve customers’ problems are valued.
Individual performance is clearly visible. The salaries of those who slack off and do not contribute are unlikely to grow. Those who lack ability and refuse to take responsibility eventually leave. Fortunately, the colleagues now are very cohesive and work together to solve problems. It is also understandable that the boss has to play the bad cop and demand high standards.
Pros:
1. Close to the MRT, with convenient transportation
2. Good relationships with colleagues
3. The technical knowledge required by the boss is relatively in-depth. They will ask about core technologies, but mainly at the conceptual level. This also helps you understand your own grasp of the technical fundamentals.
1. More challenging for those who have just entered the workforce and have relatively little experience
Colleagues are all very easy to get along with (though I’m not sure whether it’ll be the same group of people later on).
1. The pay is extremely low, with no room for growth.
2. The owner is also the manager, which leads to mysterious double standards in management (depending on whether they feel like being the owner or the manager at the time).
3. They like to recycle old projects, so no matter what you work on, you keep encountering problems and bugs carried over from previous projects, and you don’t learn much new.
4. Since there are few people, everyone is made to take on multiple roles: one moment you’re coding, and the next you’re acting as a PM, SA, SD, DBA, or MIS.
5. When projects come in, there are often discrepancies or omissions between the actual requirements and the final product. During development, you’re constantly going back and forth with the client to argue over things, which is pretty damn frustrating.
Everyone is quite easy to get along with. The senior colleagues are always willing to teach you anything you don't know. My first impression of the people in HR was very good. They explain any unclear administrative procedures carefully. I haven't encountered any overtime on holidays.
The manager is also the owner and wears many hats. If newcomers want to learn, the company is willing to teach them. The salary definitely won't be very high, but there will be performance reviews and raises after you get up to speed. Since the company takes on project-based work, some projects have very tight working hours.
1. They poured me a glass of water to drink.
2. They handle quite a few projects for various major companies, so it feels like a newcomer could gain experience there and then move to another company.
3. There was a written test, with questions such as variable naming conventions, SQL syntax, some simple logic problems, how to prevent SQL injection, and so on.
1. They casually looked through the attached work samples. They ignored the good one, but focused on the one with a minor error and kept asking about it. I couldn't be bothered to show them anything else, either. It gave me the impression that they were trying to nitpick in order to push down the salary, asking me, "Do you think this position is really worth that price?" (I thought I had already asked for a very low salary. Another major company simply said, "No problem, come work for us.")
2. The hardware environment was quite poor. Everyone was crammed into a stuffy residential apartment. Even if they offered me the job, I wouldn't go.
None
Overtime on weekdays and holidays
Salary far below market rate