新願文創事業有限公司

The interview took place at an art fair in a Taipei hotel. I was referred by a friend, and the owner conducted the interview personally. It lasted approximately 15–20 minutes.

The referral and initial contact occurred because my friend had already joined the company and encouraged me to work there as well. The owner said that the company was looking for new employees. The discussion had no formal structure and directly assessed basic suitability, without going into the details of the position or asking test questions.

In the end, I was verbally informed on the spot that I would start work a few weeks later, with no written offer or subsequent confirmation steps.

This kind of rapid hiring may be suitable when staff are urgently needed, but job seekers are advised to confirm the written contract, salary, and division of responsibilities before accepting the position to avoid verbal promises falling through. On-site interviews at art fairs are common in the cultural and creative industries, but formal procedures can easily be overlooked.

The recruitment process is overly casual, often relying on referrals from friends or quick hiring at art fairs, with no formal written offer or probation confirmation. This can easily lead to discrepancies between the actual duties after joining and the initial expectations.

Employee turnover is extremely high, and the company relies heavily on interns to handle core operations. This may be due to considerations of labor costs and has resulted in insufficient training for full-time employees. Salaries have long been officially reported at amounts lower than the actual payments. The company has no salary increase or promotion system, limiting employees’ development opportunities. Management decisions change constantly, and problems are often blamed on employees, resulting in operational stagnation and ineffective strategies, such as those involving advertising, social media, and design. The recruitment process is casual, with no written offer confirmation, making discrepancies in job duties likely. The implementation of employment contracts is not transparent, and verbal promises are not put into writing or honored, such as arrangements for overtime pay. Mandatory overtime is compensated with time off in lieu, increasing pressure on employees. The owner has very poor emotional control.

The boss is often not at the company.

Management decisions change from day to day, and project problems are often blamed on employees, resulting in low operational efficiency. Strategic directions are frequently adjusted (such as in advertising, social media, and design), ultimately producing poor results. The team is almost spinning its wheels and is unable to steadily move the business forward.

The interview took place at the company office, with the owner conducting the interview personally. It lasted approximately 30–45 minutes.

Interview process

• Initial questions: The owner’s conversation was rather unfocused, with no clear structure. Topics often shifted abruptly, making it difficult to identify the key points. Most of the time was spent praising the company.

• Job description: The company’s advantages were emphasized, such as arranging art exhibitions and interacting with artists and business owners. However, the position required a broad range of responsibilities, including exhibition setup, design, execution and coordination, accounting, and expense calculations.

• Discussion of questions: Asked about personal work and experience. There was no standard process; candidates were evaluated on the spot, largely depending on her mood.

• Conclusion: The next steps were not clearly explained. The owner directly stated whether the candidate had been hired.

• Long-term underreporting of wages, with the reported salary not matching the actual amount paid.

• Benefit changes were communicated through a document that employees were required to sign, without prior notice or explanation; changes could be made at will.

• The company had no salary-increase or promotion system, limiting employees’ career development opportunities.

• Frequent changes in management decisions led to insufficient communication among employees, often resulting in project rework and low team morale.

• The employment contract was implemented non-transparently, and verbal promises were not put into writing.

• Overtime was compulsory and replaced with compensatory leave, increasing pressure on employees.

• The owner’s emotional self-control was unstable, affecting the work atmosphere and communication efficiency.