微風廣場實業股份有限公司

I saw that the department store office is in the basement.

It may have been a scheduling mistake, so the interview took place at a small table outside the office, with people constantly walking by.

There are opportunities to meet some celebrities.

Even without experience, you may have the opportunity to negotiate with international brands. It is a company with a bit of prestige.

Meal vouchers are provided, along with many employee discounts (although I can’t afford most of them). These are a plus given the high cost of eating out in Taipei.

Managers approve overtime requests.

A hybrid of a traditional Taiwanese company and a Japanese corporate system, with quite a few hierarchical layers.

Working part-time at the supermarket in Breeze Nan Shan: the location is upscale, there’s plenty to eat, and you don’t have to worry.

1. The department store’s logistics planning is problematic. Supermarket staff have to go to the management office themselves to inspect deliveries; suppliers only drop the goods off at the management office and come back later to pick up the paperwork. At other department stores, the management office handles delivery inspections, and supplier representatives bring the goods to the sales floor themselves, while supermarket staff only have to stock the shelves.

2. There is no cleaning staff. After restocking, supermarket employees have to organize the cardboard boxes themselves, load them onto a cart, and take them to the garbage area—it’s exhausting. Other department stores have cage carts in the back-of-house area, and cleaning staff take away the cardboard boxes.

3. The prices of the products are too high, so business is terrible. Even if the store is targeting the high-end market, no one comes when the products are all ridiculously expensive.

1. The interviewer was very easygoing and seemed like a great person to get along with.

2. They clearly explained the actual working conditions without making unrealistic promises.

3. They acknowledged their own weaknesses and the need for the applicant’s abilities to help the company, without coming across as arrogant.

1. The HR representative was a very experienced corporate type who insisted on getting to the bottom of everything and kept extending the questions, making me wonder what any of it had to do with her. Even though she wasn’t the manager interviewing for the position, she acted as if she knew everything and made things difficult for others. When calling to arrange the second interview, she kept asking whether I had the contact information of my former direct supervisor. She also asked, “Why didn’t you fill in the personnel information form?” and “Is it because you’re afraid your former supervisor will find out you’re looking for a job?” ... Does she even know how to have a conversation? The personnel information form only asks for references (supervisors or other colleagues)—does it specifically require a direct supervisor? Also, during the interview, she kept asking, “We sell luxury goods. Do you understand fashion? Do you understand luxury goods?” I have no idea what she was being so arrogant about...

2. The interview paperwork also required submitting a transcript from the school where I obtained my highest degree, which was somewhat inconvenient. I believe that is personal privacy, and work experience has little to do with academic performance.

3. The interview process required getting through layer after layer of screening. In addition to passing HR, I also had to pass the higher-level manager, which was very inefficient.

About three working days after submitting my resume, I received an interview invitation. There were two interviews in total: the first was with HR and lasted about 30 minutes, followed by an interview with the manager that lasted about an hour. The questions mainly focused on my previous work experience.

The benefits were fairly average. HR did not mention anything in particular; basically, they follow the Labor Standards Act.

There was a written test, and it was very difficult (mainly because even the Chinese wording of the questions was not very fluent, and I was also asked to translate them into English).

The test included English-to-Chinese translation, Chinese-to-English translation, an English invitation letter to the chairman, basic copywriting, simple Q&A, and more.

It was unclear whether the focus was on testing English or professional qualifications. The written test alone took about an hour to complete. I went in at 2:00 and did not come out until 4:30... It is recommended to allow plenty of time for the interview.

You have to wear a uniform.

You need to work rotating shifts on holidays.

Low base salary.

I interviewed for the Japanese-language planning position at Breeze Supermarket. The interview was very easy, and I was offered the job the next day. Other than that, everything else was a drawback.

Although the message on 104 stated that I would need to work as a part-time employee for 1–3 months before becoming a full-time employee, and that the decision on whether to promote me to a full-time position would be based on my performance evaluation no later than three months later,

1. After I actually started working part-time, I was constantly restocking shelves and organizing the warehouse, which had absolutely nothing to do with Japanese-language planning. I also had to open expired canned goods one by one and dump out their contents.

2. The supermarket's dry-goods department manager was extremely harsh and very difficult to communicate with. Usually, they would only say what they wanted to say unilaterally and then not let me speak.

3. Before leaving the part-time position, I asked whether we could discuss my future work plans, but the department manager and manager were unwilling to talk.

4. During my time as a part-time employee, no one at the company showed any concern about my situation. A good company generally checks in on new employees during their probationary or training period to see how they are doing and whether they are keeping up with the progress.

1. The HR representative was fairly polite

2. The proposed salary included an additional NT$1,800 in meal vouchers

3. Two months’ year-end bonus

1. The food and beverage manager who conducted the interview repeatedly used their phone to respond to messages throughout the interview. Even if it was work-related, it came across as disrespectful.

2. The position interviewed for was a food and beverage marketing role at the head office, but it required rotating day shifts and did not offer a standard two-day weekend.

3. Two hours after the interview, I was notified by phone that I had been accepted. I was told to provide my university transcript covering all years of study, and that the process would take one to one and a half weeks. However, they did not set a start date or provide a list of documents to prepare for onboarding. If they were still interviewing other candidates, they could have waited to ask the interviewee to provide the documents…

Interviewing part-time workers, with flexible working hours and an hourly wage slightly higher than the minimum wage.

Cons

They kept changing the interview time with the job applicant. After the first appointment was arranged, they called to say that the supervisor had to attend a meeting. After changing it a second time, they called again to say that the supervisor had to go on a business trip. During the interview, the HR representative and supervisor were very unfriendly, making the job applicant feel a sense of distance and not want to join the company.

1. Because the company was reported early on, it complies with the Labor Standards Act.

2. There are many employees, so you can meet many different people and expand your network.

3. You can learn how to deal with people, matters, and situations.

1. This company is related to the media, and much of the news in the media consists of superficial information.

2. Promotions are based on your own and your supervisor’s evaluations in the first half of the year; only then do you have an opportunity for promotion.

3. Year-end bonuses are based on your own and your supervisor’s evaluations in the second half of the year, calculated as a base amount (usually one month’s salary) multiplied by the evaluation result.

4. There are many departments and factions. Many people simply muddle through their days waiting for the end and do not take matters seriously if they are not their own responsibility. They do not care about other departments and only think about themselves.

5. The sales department is usually the largest because sales generates the most profit for the company, so it has the most staff. The finance department is also highly valued because it manages the money. The promotion department is not bad either because it is under the chief marketing officer. The back-office departments have it the worst: they have the fewest staff and the most work. However, regardless of the department, lower-level employees have it the worst. Supervisors focus on people, but the company’s systems themselves are poorly designed. New systems are constantly being added and new departments established, making it impossible for employees to concentrate on doing their own work well.

6. To make money, the company does many things that are illegal. As long as something can be circumvented and business can be secured, it will compromise on many conditions without considering whether they are feasible.

7. Departments are understaffed and require support from other departments, which is very unreasonable. For example, supermarkets’ inventory counts require other departments to allocate staff for support, and when the promotion department lacks staff for events, it also has to ask other departments for support. Staff allocation among departments is uneven.

8. Office space is not planned with employees in mind. For the sake of attracting business and generating revenue, employees’ work environment is always the worst. Only senior managers and relatively important departments get good spaces.

9. Regardless of the department, there are always both undesirable and desirable positions.

10. Even if you slack off, the company does not dare dismiss you because it would have to pay severance.

11. The HR staff are constantly being replaced, so the person who interviewed you may be gone the following month.

12. There are many parachuted-in managers and a high rate of managerial turnover. Aside from managers trusted by the chairperson, most managers have only been with the company for a few years unless they are exceptionally capable. They may hold high titles, but their actual abilities and whether they fully understand the company’s actual situation are debatable.