賞霖創藝股份有限公司

Fresh graduates have opportunities…

❗️Are you really so inexperienced and short on money that you need to come here to be mistreated?

If you’re a fresh graduate, the same opportunities exist elsewhere. There’s no need to come here for emotional boot camp, like training with the army and navy. Although after some time you may be battered and bruised but more resilient, believe me… recovering from the pain, inner turmoil, humiliation, and trampling of your dignity will require even more of your energy! At that point, how much energy will you have left to invest in building your professional expertise?

1. There are many opportunities to solve problems on your own

2. Colleagues generally get along pretty well

3. Working hours are fairly flexible, though leaving work on time is not guaranteed

1. Everyone has a different answer about office rules. You say one thing, they say another—quite interesting

2. You need to cultivate a Buddhist-like detachment and learn to empty your mind so that nothing bothers you

3. You need to develop the ability to foresee things, inferring what they want from their every word and phrase

4. You have to learn to ask questions yourself, because no one will proactively teach you

5. If you really like mainland China, you’ll definitely hear many tales of glorious achievements, making you think after listening that money is pretty easy to earn

The only good thing is that the company looks nice.

I'll show the conversation directly above—no beating around the bush.

Interview conversation

Interviewer: Why did you bring someone from the law department here? Please introduce yourself first.

Me: ...After introducing myself, basically, I'm in the night program. To put it plainly, I'm really just trying to get a graduation certificate.

Interviewer: You've worked in legal affairs and human resources. No one out there would dare hire you with a résumé like this, you know? Our work often requires business trips, and sometimes it's under a responsibility-based system! Can you handle that?

Me: Basically, it's really hard to find a company in Taiwan that fully complies with the Labor Standards Act. My cousin, for example, is an investigator at a private investigation agency, but the pay is very high.

Interviewer: Do you have any experience planning related activities?

Me: At my previous job at a recruitment website, I had experience planning a call for website moderators. I also wrote articles that ranked first in Google searches, and made it onto Yahoo and Dcard's trending lists.

At this point, I took out my work samples and showed them to the interviewer bit by bit. Just as I mentioned that one of my articles had been featured on SET News...

“Oh—sorry, I don't read anything that has appeared on SET News!” The other person had just received it and immediately tossed it aside. It wasn't an exaggerated throw, but it was very obviously the gesture of lightly tossing something aside after taking it in hand.

Then they chatted with me about why I was leaving my current job, and we made small talk about how I currently do sales for a Kaohsiung company that sells human resources software.

I only said that I also really couldn't stand how hot the weather in Kaohsiung was. After chatting about my family and financial situation, they said nothing else, and I suddenly heard YouTube music playing.

“Hey, you haven't finished interviewing me, and you're already playing music!”

In the end, they asked whether I had any questions, then told me to leave.

So incredibly classless! Did the night-program law department offend you? Did working in human resources offend you?

1. Aside from those few managers, staff turnover in the Event Planning Department is extremely rapid. Sometimes, the colleagues around you are gone in less than a week. In addition, given the company culture, experienced employees are not usually hired (and experienced people may not want to join either). Therefore, as long as you can stay and are capable enough, you can basically get noticed by upper management very quickly.

2. The environment is quite beautiful, clean, and tidy.

3. After working here, you will discover how good things are outside. You can’t know how bad something is without comparison.

Points you may need to consider before joining:

1. To "comply with government regulations," the company requires everyone to clock in, but you do not need to clock out. The Administrative Department handles clocking out collectively, so basically everyone’s attendance records will look "fully compliant."

2. There is no overtime pay. You only receive compensatory leave when you work on activities during holidays, but there are many restrictions on this leave. For example, compensatory hours expire after three months; no more than two people in the same department may take leave at the same time; and leave cannot be requested during the week before or the week after an activity. In short, there are many rules governing leave, so most of these compensatory hours are available in theory but impossible to use in practice. I don’t know whether this has changed now, but it was still the case before I left.

3. It is important to emphasize that you should come here to build your skills, not to stay long term. The managers here could be described as permanent fixtures, so the chance of promotion is basically zero unless one of them resigns. But think about it: most tasks are carried out by the junior staff. The managers only need to keep an eye on whether schedules are slipping and step in to handle anything that cannot be kept under control. They do not have to take responsibility; when something goes wrong, the people below are responsible. Most importantly, they receive high salaries while doing so. It is hard to imagine that anyone would want to leave.

4. Because the managers are permanent fixtures, although many tasks are carried out by junior staff, the managers still retain control of the core costs and pricing, and they do not often share this information with those below them. However, cost control is the most important responsibility for an event project manager. This is therefore something you really need to consider carefully. Joining Shangkan can certainly teach you some aspects of running events, but there are certain important skills that you cannot learn here.

5. Shangkan’s largest client is Intel, so the projects carried out each year follow Intel’s marketing plans. Most are primarily in the form of conferences, with a few occasional exhibitions or year-end parties. However, these activities are largely the same in format every year, so after running them for one or two years, you will become fairly familiar with them. The types of projects are relatively limited.

6. Management here is relatively "strict." A morning meeting is held at a fixed time every day, and everyone except the managers must report what they plan to do that day. Before leaving work, employees must also submit a work log describing what they did that day. As a result, the workplace culture is that people generally do not dare to leave early. Even if they finish their work ahead of time, they do not dare leave before the official end of the workday, for fear of being seen as having nothing to do.

7. This company is not difficult to get into. In particular, the résumés of people who are attractive are more likely to be noticed, which means that applying is easier than resigning.

8. Finally, to echo point 3 under the pros, why does working here make you realize how good things are outside? It is because the people at Shangkan are usually recent graduates or people without relevant experience. The owners or managers often say things like, “You really need to appreciate this place. The benefits and salary here are truly beyond criticism; no other company is this generous.” I don’t think Shangkan is the absolute worst, but it is not among the top-tier companies either. As far as I know, not one capable colleague who left here has regretted leaving, and regardless of salary or lifestyle, they are doing better than they were here.

The workplace decor and atmosphere are pretty good!!~

It feels like signing an indenture contract

When you first join, you’re treated like a lackey and sent out to buy meals

When dealing with certain people, you really have to read the room and not act rashly

When you submit your resignation, their attitude and tone are extremely poor!! (Their attitude: If you can’t keep doing it, then don’t make a bunch of excuses)

Your enthusiasm and physical effort are repaid with a painful price!~

1. The work environment is quite beautiful, and colleagues get along well. It is a suitable place for fresh university graduates to gain experience.

2. Over time, you naturally cultivate a Buddha-like temperament.

1. You have to clean every morning, and your work is evaluated according to professional cleaners’ standards. If the cleaning is not done well, your work abilities may even be questioned.

2. The managers’ leadership abilities are unconvincing. They only shout loudly in the office, as if they are afraid that others will not know they are managers and are doing something.

3. Overtime is the norm. There is no compensatory leave for overtime on weekdays, let alone overtime pay. Even the compensatory-leave system for working on holidays has major problems, with so many restrictions that it seems they have no intention of letting you take the leave.

4. They have no sense of time and like to discuss things during break time or after work. Meetings are also frequently scheduled after working hours.

5. Work efficiency is very poor, and it often feels like everyone is busywork.

6. It is easy to join this company but difficult to leave. Discussing resignation is like being interrogated as a criminal; even after three rounds of review, the matter may still not be settled.

7. Although the management style is flat, you cannot move up even if you want to, and promises of raises are merely verbal.

8. It is a low-EQ work environment. Managers often communicate with people while carrying their personal emotions; when they are in a bad mood, whoever they encounter suffers.

9. The company has an extremely high turnover rate. The person sitting next to you today may be replaced by someone else tomorrow, and job openings are posted there permanently.

10. You clock in when you arrive, but someone else clocks you out when you leave—a company that completely disregards the Labor Standards Act.

11. During your vacation, you are required to bring your computer, check emails, and work. You cannot let your manager be unable to reach you. I once heard managers say, “Vacation is vacation, but you still have to work!”

12. You can take sick leave, but you have to get used to managers sarcastically saying that you have poor self-management.

13. You have to compete for leave. No more than two people in a department may take leave at the same time. Managers can arrange to take leave together themselves, though—what a double standard.

14. Graphic designers do everything under the sun, just short of changing diapers… If a 3D model is not completed properly, you are told to fix it; they would never hire a 3D specialist to revise it. You handle endless Marcom projects and endless artwork, and sometimes you even have to cross into other fields to design cakes and trophies…

15. Deliverables “must” be provided on time, yet the necessary information is often impossible to obtain. Design staff bear the pressure of outsourcing, and if vendors cannot finish on time, it is also considered the designer’s problem. This unequal relationship is truly puzzling.

16. The work log is basically an employee communication notebook. I thought I was still in middle or elementary school. After working overtime until so late, you still have to spend a lot of time filling out that meaningless work log.

17. I once worked on-site all night until dawn. When I arrived at the office in the afternoon, my manager still questioned why I had gone to work so late.

18. You have to answer the phone within two rings. I have no idea what kind of bizarre rule this is. (There are pros and cons.)

19. The people who make the rules will always be the first to break them. Others are not allowed to make mistakes, yet they themselves lead the way in making them.

20. Even when staffing is sufficient, the shortage of manpower cannot be avoided. The experienced employees are always the ones doing the work, and the uneven distribution of workload is obvious.

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Overall, this job allows you to accumulate experience quickly in a short time, but how much you learn is a matter of perspective. I mainly resigned because I disliked the way the senior managers conducted themselves and because the company has serious systemic problems. Even when these issues are raised, they will not be improved, so I no longer want to believe their one-sided claims.

This is genuinely a great place for designers who have just graduated to hone their skills. You can learn a lot of knowledge and techniques all at once—it's just a matter of whether you can handle the massive amount of pressure in a short period of time.

Work is fairly free-form. As long as you deliver things on time, the rest of the time you can look busy and find something to do—just don't overdo it. You can get by as a slacker.

The colleagues are pretty good. If you need any particular software for design work, the company is generally able to provide you with a legitimate licensed copy.

Most of the work involves tech-industry events / exhibitions, with the occasional project for companies in other sectors.

Big Gay is like this.

"A certain" boss and "certain" managers are the type who particularly love putting on a show. Every month or two, they may need to put on a little performance to刷 their sense of presence—just get used to it.

It's recommended that you wear noise-canceling headphones or something similar at work. The laughter and conversations of "certain" managers can leave you mentally exhausted while working.

When the boss says they'll give you a raise, just take it with a grain of salt.

This company is very willing to train newcomers, unlike most other animation companies, which mainly hire people with experience.

You can learn a great deal here, from animatics, modeling, lighting, and compositing—it's almost like being taught the entire production pipeline from start to finish. However, the hours are extremely grueling, and the process is very demanding. If I had to compare it to something, it would be like a hyperbolic time chamber.

Although you may leave feeling unhappy, once you start working elsewhere in the industry, you will gradually begin to appreciate the training this company provided. Because you understand the entire workflow, even if you later specialize in one area, you can still know how to make things easier for your coworkers. When a particular part of an animation project is short-staffed, you can also volunteer to help, which naturally gives you more opportunities.

Honestly, I highly recommend this company to people who are just entering the industry and have no experience. If you can stay here for more than two years, I guarantee that things will go smoothly for you in the future.

The software used is XSI, an obsolete 3D program whose development has already been discontinued. It takes some time to become familiar with other software when making the transition.

The working hours are extremely long. Sleeping at the company is commonplace, and the overtime culture is very severe, leaving virtually no quality of life.

This is the crux of the issue: when faced with working hours like these and your own life plans, the question of “How long should I stay here?” will inevitably arise.

Except for the founding veterans, who are paid extremely well, ordinary employees will eventually leave at some point.

1. Even people with absolutely no experience are accepted, so you can hone your skills there and treat it as a beginner’s village.

2. The supervisors are extremely capable, and you can learn a lot from them.

3. Comprehensive, end-to-end training covering modeling, texturing, rigging, lighting, and compositing (Fusion).

1. Long working hours, averaging 10–12 hours a day.

2. New employees have to sweep the floor (arrive at the company half an hour early), buy meals (some senior employees and supervisors ask them to buy food, making it feel as though they owe them money), and take out the trash until the next batch of new employees arrives.

3. You have to come in every Saturday for the first three months, meaning you effectively get only four days off per month.

4. New employees earn around NT$22,000–26,000 per month, with a small NT$2,000 raise after three months.

5. The top-down atmosphere is very pronounced; people who have served in the military may feel as though they have returned to the barracks.

6. Asking about overtime pay or related rights may get you blacklisted by management.

7. The 3D team uses Softimage, which almost no one uses anymore except at Shanglin Taiwan; when changing jobs, you will have to relearn other software.

8. No bonuses for the three major holidays.

9. The year-end bonus is based on the supervisor’s evaluation; you may receive one month’s salary, or you may receive nothing at all.

10. Every other week is a day off, and there is no overtime pay.

11. Employee turnover among new hires is high; 80% leave before completing one year.

Colleagues stand together through difficult times

1. They say: “Overtime is your problem. If you haven’t completed the work I assigned to you, it means you lack ability.”

So how is it that people who have already worked here for two years are still constantly working overtime? I seriously doubt whether it is really their problem.

2. The department has additional regulations, including arriving at the company 30 minutes early to clean. That would be one thing, but you cannot clock out at seven; you must clock in first before continuing to work. If you do not want to clock in, that is fine—the company will later have someone clock you out for you.

3. They exploit the stamina of newcomers, and the employee turnover rate is extremely high (after all, most talented people have already left).

4. The managers are all very capable, but the company is poorly run. Even though there are major staffing gaps, it continues to fail to recruit enough people—presumably because the turnover rate is so high. (The staff shortage also causes everyone to have excessive workloads.)