The company is not very large.
1. The employee turnover rate is high, and few employees have been with the company for more than two years.
2. The interviewer does not ask many questions and lacks interviewing skills. They also do not proactively introduce basic company information and are not truly familiar with the job responsibilities.
3. The second interview is only to check whether the applicant looks like their photo and to provide supplementary information about the job. It ends in less than 15 minutes, yet applicants are required to go there twice, which is a significant waste of their time.
4. The company's chairs look dirty and old, and they make strange noises when you sit on them.
5. The company has been established for some time and is not really a startup. It is very concerned about whether employees arrive late for work and whether they remain at their desks at all times. People who want a little freedom in their work may find it very difficult to adapt.
6. The company is extremely concerned about expenses and wants to save money wherever possible. Ideally, everything should be free and cost nothing. However, after receiving free resources, it immediately turns hostile and is unwilling to provide corresponding feedback.
I have been working for over ten years, almost entirely in e-commerce platforms, and wanted to experience a somewhat different e-commerce model. The company approached me proactively, and I was interested in learning more about what they were doing. It also aligned with my job-search goals, so I accepted the interview to see how it went.
Interview position: Marketing Planner, responsible for planning livestream programs and related work.
1. The interviewer was quite polite.
2. The prospects seem fairly good: The company’s predecessor was a technology company, and in 2018 it became the livestream e-commerce startup it is today. This was mainly because the company independently developed a new technology that can be used in livestream projects, and it also holds a patent. The company focuses primarily on technology, with e-commerce as a secondary focus.
3. They provide their own personal information form. In addition to basic contact information, most of the other questions ask you to describe your previous work experience. So far, it is the only form I have encountered that really “asks the right questions.” For example:
- Basic questions: What was your previous job? What were your responsibilities? Why did you leave?
- Have you pursued further education or had opportunities to study abroad within the past two years? If so, please provide details.
- What type of achievements did you have in your previous job? There are several options to check, and you can also write in your own answer. The options included “special contributions” and “average performance”… I forget the rest.
- What are the strengths and weaknesses of your work style?
I wouldn’t necessarily call these shortcomings; it depends on each person’s career-planning goals.
1. As a startup developing new technology, the company has fewer resources, so each person is likely to handle a broader and more diverse range of tasks.
2. The office is a relatively small, open-plan space.
3. The interviewer seemed not to be very experienced at interviewing people and did not use many interviewing techniques. After proactively explaining only the company background and the responsibilities of the position, the interviewer ended the interview. They did not proactively ask me questions or discuss the company’s benefits, promotion system, or anything similar. They only asked, “Do you have any questions?” Therefore, job seekers really need to prepare more questions themselves and take the initiative to ask them.
(This may also have been one of their ways of testing whether candidates are proactive. However, personally, I feel that if a startup hopes to find like-minded employees to work hard and build the company together, this approach may instead make people hesitate. After asking about three or four questions, I no longer wanted to continue—not because I couldn’t think of more questions, but because I sensed the other person’s lack of enthusiasm.)
The company isn't very large, and the environment is okay.
They needed a second interview but didn't mention it beforehand. The only person who interviewed me was an HR representative who didn't understand anything, which was extremely disrespectful to the interviewee.
The HR representative talked a lot of nonsense, going on about irrelevant company history and wasting a great deal of time.
They kept asking questions without getting to the point, while constantly doubting whether the interviewee could program. Did they think all interviewees were useless?
(If I couldn't program, why would I apply for an engineering position?)
Personally, I was pretty upset, so I talked back. I won't say what I said (P.S. If you want to join the company, don't act impulsively. I had already received an offer from another company, so I wasn't considering them). In the end, I also told them not to notify me about a second interview—it would just waste my time.