香港商傑風網路有限公司台灣分公司

The interviewer was friendly, so I didn’t feel nervous.

I initially saw the job posting on 104 and contacted HR via email, after which HR asked me to come in for an interview. When I arrived, I was left standing at the entrance for a while. I later found out that the person who happened to be standing by the entrance and opened the door for me was actually the HR representative—the whole thing felt like they had suddenly been called away from a hectic situation. When I told them I was there for an interview, they only told me to wait at the entrance. The whole process felt very unprofessional; they suddenly reappeared three minutes later, and I still didn’t know who this person was. They then seemed ready to lead me into the meeting room. Once there, I simply sat down, and they even asked whether I was the person they had been emailing. I was completely baffled... Otherwise, who else would I be? I confirmed their name—don’t people usually introduce themselves? They said yes, then walked out again without explaining whom I would be interviewing with or anything else. Even more absurdly, after the interviewer came in and spoke with me for 30 minutes, I felt that the questions were strange and realized that the position I had applied for was different from the one they had been told to interview me for. I had applied for a marketing assistant position, but they thought I was applying for an SEO specialist position for the Europe region!? (Because I have a European-language background.) I’m really curious how this HR person got hired XD

The whole process was extremely unprofessional. Regardless of whether this is American-style management, none of the overseas startups I’ve worked for would receive an interviewee this way.

There are some snacks you can eat as much as you like, Happy Hour, and relatively little control over start and end times (but that doesn't mean there's little work).

Simply put, this is a startup with an American-style company culture.

Calling it a startup means the company has a wide range of miscellaneous tasks, your progress is frequently monitored, and the direction changes back and forth often.

Calling it American-style means it is strongly driven by utilitarianism: if they don't need you or feel that you aren't qualified enough, they will let you go immediately.

Anyone considering joining should make sure to negotiate a higher monthly salary. In addition to the reasons above, you will almost never receive extra bonuses.

This place is also not suitable for fresh graduates. It is best to already have industry experience and be able to work independently; otherwise, you will have a very difficult time.

You also need to have strong stress tolerance and emotional management skills. Besides the possibility of being fired, the turnover rate here (two years ago) was very high, so you should be prepared to take things one day at a time.

1. Getting along with colleagues in each department is okay.

2. An American-style office with a very comfortable sofa area.

3. Very flexible and free during working hours; the focus is on results, and they generally do not micromanage what you are doing—you can even go out to buy something.

4. No overtime; you are responsible for your own projects.

5. The salary is okay.

6. A multinational foreign company where you can practice English listening (online meetings), speaking (depending on whether you need to participate in explanations), and reading and writing (all internal company correspondence is in English). There are foreign colleagues, and the American CEO often visits, so there are many opportunities to interact.

7. Amazon is a multinational e-commerce company, and the company’s scale can broaden your horizons.

8. The IT team is quite startup-like. They do not really restrict what technologies you use, but as a result things can be rather miscellaneous. There are pros and cons, and you can be exposed to many technologies. I learned a lot here!

9. There are many opportunities to eat and drink in daily life (quite fattening).

10. Suitable for Seniors who want to freely create new territory, with each person establishing their own sphere and exchanging technical knowledge from time to time.

11. The regular restaurant meals and year-end banquet are quite good. The year-end raffle prizes and Lunar New Year red envelopes are also quite generous.

1. It is unclear whether there was any follow-up regarding the IT department’s technical manager later on. There is no one coordinating technical talent, and the department feels quite disorganized.

2. I encountered a few Seniors with very poor emotional control.

3. Not suitable for Juniors; you have to do almost everything on your own.

4. The technical debt is endless, version control is very chaotic, and various features tend to be pieced together with the attitude of “just make it work for now; we’ll deal with the rest later.”

5. Performance evaluations are basically just for having your self-assessment overturned. No matter how you rate yourself, upper management will never give a perfect score. So don’t even dream about a bonus.

6. The Asian CEO (the BOSS you encounter in Taiwan) seems to treat IT as somewhat disposable. At work, he still thinks like a businessman, with profit and interests as the main priorities.

However, he is not a bad person, and everyone generally gets along well when eating, drinking, and having fun together. He is just relatively blunt and straightforward, and can be quite stubborn in certain respects. Most often, I hear colleagues and him confronting each other and spending a lot of time trying to persuade him or make him understand... He may be a workaholic and extremely impatient. If you happen to be responsible for a project that reports directly to him or that he needs, he will constantly hurry you and monitor its progress.

7. The company cannot retain people, and employee turnover is very high. People in the IT department are constantly coming and going; just handling handovers is exhausting...

nope

When you arrive for the in-person interview, the interviewer looks over your information, asks you to say a couple of sentences, and then only says: “Do you have any questions about this job?”

The attitude throughout the interview was extremely disrespectful. If you felt that the person you were interviewing did not have the expertise you were looking for, why not review their information carefully before inviting them to an interview?

A waste of other people’s time

1. The non-managerial colleagues are all very nice.

2. There are opportunities for development, and you’ll have opportunities to build your skills at the beginning.

3. You can learn the American management style. When they no longer need you, they will usually ask you to leave that same day.

1. Software engineering and project schedules are not valued. It is not recommended for those with an information engineering background—please don’t waste your time. If you are really short of money, you can go.

2. Don’t expect to receive bonuses beyond your monthly salary. You can estimate the salary at 80% of the stated amount; go only if you can accept that.

3. It is recommended that you wait until the company’s turnover rate decreases before joining; you will have a better chance to make use of your strengths.

1. Working hours are fairly flexible, and the company is relatively stable compared with a startup, with less financial pressure.

2. Performance reviews focus mainly on the individual, rather than following the team-based distribution of ratings commonly found in large companies, with fixed proportions of employees receiving A, B, or C ratings.

3. You get to use various modules to process large amounts of data, making it a good opportunity to build skills for those interested in handling data at a certain scale.

4. There is room for salary negotiation, and the company is fairly open-minded.

1. The company is run in a fairly principled manner. It does not follow the startup model of burning through large amounts of money, so there are fewer of the unrealistic growth expectations often found at startups.

2. Programming emphasizes fast execution in an MVP-like manner, so people with experience in software architecture will find it easier to manage.

3. You sometimes have to deal with sudden demand during peak shopping seasons, when the workload and pace can become more intense.

4. The commute from Da'an Station to the company takes about 10 minutes, so having a bicycle may be more convenient.

1. Everyone is very nice and willing to share. Personally, I think the work environment in my current unit is quite good, with people to learn from and discuss things with.

2. American-style culture, with lots of group meals and Happy Hours, plus a cookie budget for ordering snacks.

3. Fast growth, with opportunities to learn many new things and interact with partners from different countries.

1. The CEO is very serious and dedicated, so if you want to slack off, you might feel a little guilty.

2. American corporate culture, with a stronger focus on results, so the pressure can sometimes be higher.

3. New employees need to take more initiative in planning the projects they will work on; suitable for Senior-level employees and above.

A fake foreign company, but there's nothing I can do—the rules at the entrance require me to wear a tie.

The boss is Taiwanese, but absolutely refuses to pay overtime.

Whenever overtime pay comes up, he acts as if we're asking for his life.

He threatens employees that if they refuse to work overtime for free to help him make money,

he'll move the branch to mainland China.

Basically, he's a typical exploitative boss who embraces the Chinese dream.

The salary may be somewhat attractive for newcomers, but don't even think about bonuses.

The company doesn't have much room for development because the boss's goal is to sell it

once it becomes well-known. So those interested in short-term gains can give it a try.

If you're looking for long-term career development, think it over carefully.

1. From a startup perspective: the only thing that truly counts as an advantage is that the investors’ funding is stable.

2. Other than that, it generally has most of the basics that a startup should have.

Flexible working hours: the working hours are only flexible by half an hour, which is not much different from a typical large company.

Cookies and snacks: in the interest of good health, it is better to eat less; personally, I think they are just okay.

Team atmosphere: it depends on the department. The IT team is... let’s not talk about it. The others are pretty good.

3. Salaries are about average. For some positions, the salary may not match the job responsibilities, while others are fine. It depends on what each person is willing to accept.

4. For newcomers, there is room to practice, but the growth is limited. Moving from junior --> senior is not very likely, but moving from junior --> mid-level should not be too difficult.

5. For experienced employees, there is not much room for imagination. The company’s senior management has never had a clear plan for its desired direction and positioning, and the senior leadership structure may change again. Given the instability at the top, it is probably not worth taking the risk for experienced employees.

1. Senior management is very rigid in its thinking, and development is often heavily influenced by them. There is an article from across the strait that roughly explains the problems with this company:

https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s?__biz=MjM5OTA1MDUyMA%3D%3D&mid=2655437868&idx=1&sn=46f0d7bf8d598ccaddabdc7118d290ff

2. It is quite common to hear that senior management does not really respect expertise; their thinking is very rigid.

3. The work is very miscellaneous, and senior management often asks you to deliver something within a short timeframe even though they themselves have not thought it through. Then, while you are working on it, the direction may change, and they may add a feature or change the direction. Anything is possible, and there is no room for discussion.

4. Senior management does not really take responsibility. When something goes wrong, they point the finger at employees, even though it is quite clear who is actually responsible for the problem.

The engineering manager speaks very sarcastically, and the turnover rate is extremely high. The boss will call your previous company for a reference check without your consent. Anyone considering joining should think twice.