1. Wednesday afternoon tea every week
2. Salary is paid on time (paid early when there is a holiday)
3. A small number of departments are relatively relaxed, but there are very few openings and the work is highly specialized
4. Close to the MRT, with a 15-minute flexible start time; a small number of departments allow employees to leave work on time
5. The company’s indoor and outdoor environments are good, and the surrounding area is relatively convenient overall
6. The advantages mentioned in the other reviews are all true
The disadvantages mentioned in the other reviews are also true
Think carefully before submitting your résumé
Most departments are consistent with the reviews
Managers may suddenly ask you to resign on the same day
The pace of layoffs is faster than at foreign companies, while the pay is not as high
Any?
As soon as I walked in and saw a group of employees who looked college-aged, I had a bad feeling. The process began with an English written test and an aptitude test. After completing them, I was interviewed in a small room on the same floor. The interviewer was a white-haired man who looked very kind, but when he started speaking, it was a different story. After asking about my work experience, he began posing some deliberately difficult questions, such as, “Give me one reason to hire you.” After I answered, he impatiently said that he had heard many similar answers before. He then asked whether I could accept being assigned overseas. I said yes, and he asked whether I could accept being sent to Africa or Cambodia. He added that many applicants had previously said they had no problem with it, only to change their minds and go back on their word later. By this point, I was almost furious. He eventually decided to have me maintain machinery at an overseas textile factory, saying that if I agreed on the spot, they would hire me immediately. Unexpectedly, they offered only 30K. If I didn’t agree on the spot, they might reconsider later. What a laughably terrible salary. While you still have to think about it, I didn’t need to think about it at all. You’d be better off keeping that money to provide proper training for your internal employees. An extremely unpleasant interview experience.
After interviewing with HR, I interviewed with a manager named Albert. He was quite nice and very direct and straightforward. It was quite pleasant talking with him.
The paperwork was rather lengthy... but perhaps that is about the same as the usual situation at traditional manufacturing companies. Also, the position I applied for was a management trainee position. Although 104 listed the salary as NT$30,000–43,000, in practice they basically only offer NT$30,000. There will be a raise after the probationary period, but I heard it is only around NT$2,000–3,000. If you are subsequently assigned overseas, they say the salary will increase by around NT$10,000, depending on the location. For everyone’s reference.
This company still has its advantages:
1. Salaries are paid on time.
2. Afternoon tea is provided once every two weeks.
3. The restrooms are very clean.
4. Except for the manager, the coworkers are all pretty good (because the enemy is the manager, a useless teammate who causes trouble).
5. Overseas trips once every two years (the subsidy for those who don't go can be converted into cash).
6. You can apply for a massage every Wednesday.
1. Regarding regular salary increases: At first, because of a wave of resignations after the New Year, this company hurriedly told current employees verbally that salaries would be adjusted twice a year going forward (the amount was not fixed). That month's salary was immediately increased by a negligible amount. Later, when the second salary adjustment of that year came around, the company played dumb and pretended it had never made that promise. So salary increases basically depend on the company's mood. Since nothing was in writing, they could just play dumb whenever they weren't making money. Some people still haven't received an increase, and no one knows what the criteria for increases are.
2. Regarding regular performance bonuses: What the heck? I worked there for a year and never received one. Maybe someone really has received one, but the criteria are completely unclear. The evaluation standards are extremely opaque. People who don't do any work can get paid as long as they know how to cling to the right people, while those who work themselves to death have never received anything. Just like with salary increases, no one knows what the standards are, and plenty of people have never received anything. During interviews, they make everything sound wonderful, as if they offer all kinds of benefits, but only recently did I discover that they offer nothing.
3. Whether you work overtime is up to you. This company no longer forces people to work overtime. If you can finish your work and leave on time, that's fine. However, the manager likes people who work overtime and judges employees based on who leaves work late. Even if you spend your workday browsing online shopping sites, the manager will still consider you a good employee if you work until 10 p.m.
4. The company has virtually no systems or procedures. This really needs to be emphasized: there is absolutely no such thing as an SOP. You have to do whatever the manager feels like having you do. In addition, this company has very little respect for people. Positions and work locations are often changed without the employee's consent, and people may even be laid off. They may notify you only on the same day—for example, you are in procurement today and are dragged into finance tomorrow, or you are told that you don't need to come to work starting the next day.
5. The leave policy is extremely baffling. When taking annual leave, you cannot request it during consecutive holidays, and you have to arrange your leave for the second half of the year during the first half. Are we supposed to perform divination to know when we'll want to take leave six months from now? A single leave form can require nine rounds of signatures, and it may take three months to get approved.
The restrooms are always cleaned very thoroughly.
Although I was only there for a year, I witnessed something outrageously absurd that I would feel guilty not sharing with everyone.
A female employee returned from maternity leave and wanted to take a few extra days off to find a nanny for her child. However, a supervisor surnamed Chuo rejected her leave request without telling her. She only found out that the leave had not been approved when HR asked her that day whether she was late or absent without leave, so she had no choice but to bring her child to work.
Even more absurdly, the child was not allowed to stay on the same floor as their mother and had to be entrusted to other colleagues to look after.
I won’t comment on what this company is like. With a supervisor like that, what use are even the best working conditions?
To be fair, it’s not as good as the best but better than the worst. At least the boss pays our salaries on time every month hahaha.
Overtime is bound to happen in this industry, but personally, I think the work environment has a pretty good atmosphere. As long as you’re not an overly clueless newcomer, you’ll generally be treated well. It’s just that some veterans have very little patience when training new hires—maybe they’re just tired of it. (Because they don’t know how long the newcomer will last.)
All the things people complain about are true, but you can still come and give it a try. To say it again, it’s not as good as the best but better than the worst.
1. There is a regular annual salary adjustment system, but it depends on performance reviews. If your performance is good, the adjustment can be substantial (of course, if your performance is poor, there may be no adjustment).
2. Supervisors do not keep their knowledge to themselves; they are willing to teach newcomers and give them opportunities to shine (although I’m not sure whether this is the case in every department).
3. The work environment and atmosphere at the Taipei office are good. The radio is played during work, so you can listen to music. The colleagues are also generally very nice and rarely engage in behind-the-scenes maneuvers or office politics.
4. The company regularly provides group meals and travel subsidies, occasionally offers afternoon tea, and supervisors often arrange department gatherings.
5. If your performance review is good, the bonus will be substantial.
1. You have to work overtime for 0.5–1 hour almost every day.
2. The organization changes from time to time, and when it does, you may have to change seats.
3. The pace of work is fast. Many things have to be implemented immediately once requested, and sometimes it feels like there is a lack of thorough planning.
1. No overtime pay; they even covertly altered the salary and job-grade structure.
2. Vacation regulations were changed arbitrarily without the consent of a labor-management agreement.
3. Overtime worked on Saturdays was not compensated according to holiday overtime-pay rates.
4. Labor-management meetings are not held regularly.
5. Employees work overtime beyond the hours permitted under the Labor Standards Act.
6. Searching Google for Taya, Texma, or PTT will turn up a great deal of negative information.
7. Employees are not respected. Transfers are made at will, both within and between departments, and seats are changed almost every month.
8. During the interview, you can ask about employees’ average tenure—it is less than one year, indicating an extremely high turnover rate.