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Interview red flags

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  • psychocandy
    replied
    Every interview where they ask even one technical question.....

    I've got 30+ years experience. Worked all over Europe for some big names..... BUT I don't know the manual off the top of my head. Not interested in that.
    Yet a lot of places still do it.

    Worse one was an interview that was 40 set questions. 10 of them were for a subject I had no idea of and I pointed that out.
    I got 29 out of 40 apparently and they said sorry someone got 30 so we gave them the contract.


    Leave a comment:


  • simes
    replied
    Originally posted by ResistanceFighter View Post
    I had a young kid interview me a few years ago and his first question was "so why are you a contractor?"
    What was your answer?

    Leave a comment:


  • TheDude
    replied
    Originally posted by PCTNN View Post

    Had a contract at rbs a couple of years ago. On week 1 I learned I was guy number 3; 2 other guys had left in the previous 6 months, the last one apparently had a rage outburst during a meeting, handed in his notice and proceeded to delete a fair chunk of his work. I lasted 4-5 months in what turned out to be the worst project in the most toxic environment I've ever experienced. Fortunately, the pandemic started, the project was canned and I was moved to another project which was slightly more tolerable.
    Standards can be pretty low at RBS so that doesn't surprise me.

    Leave a comment:


  • PCTNN
    replied
    Originally posted by hairymouse View Post

    There's nothing like the sinking feeling that another guys spent a few months working on the same project you've been given before quiting. It comes out in drips and drabs, a name dropped here and there, some random stored procedures that are just like the one you need to write, etc. Worst is when they give you his laptop and his profile is still there!
    Had a contract at rbs a couple of years ago. On week 1 I learned I was guy number 3; 2 other guys had left in the previous 6 months, the last one apparently had a rage outburst during a meeting, handed in his notice and proceeded to delete a fair chunk of his work. I lasted 4-5 months in what turned out to be the worst project in the most toxic environment I've ever experienced. Fortunately, the pandemic started, the project was canned and I was moved to another project which was slightly more tolerable.

    Leave a comment:


  • TheDude
    replied
    Originally posted by hairymouse View Post

    There's nothing like the sinking feeling that another guys spent a few months working on the same project you've been given before quiting. It comes out in drips and drabs, a name dropped here and there, some random stored procedures that are just like the one you need to write, etc. Worst is when they give you his laptop and his profile is still there!
    I prefer to think of the ski holday and nice things the other guy is probably enjoying...

    Leave a comment:


  • lecyclist
    replied
    Originally posted by hairymouse View Post

    There's nothing like the sinking feeling that another guys spent a few months working on the same project you've been given before quiting. It comes out in drips and drabs, a name dropped here and there, some random stored procedures that are just like the one you need to write, etc. Worst is when they give you his laptop and his profile is still there!
    Many years ago I wrote some scripts for a customer that trawled the metadata tables of their proprietary ETL tool and various databases, and unloaded the relevant information in different formats; e.g. generating source to target mapping spreadsheets for them to use for documentation purposes. There were a few transformations and nuances that I couldn't get to unload perfectly, and I left a comment in the code saying "Can't get X to work" with my initials.

    Fast forward 3 years, and I'm working for another consultancy, and come across similar scripts (greatly enhanced to be fair).

    Curious, I navigate to one of the areas I struggled with, and my original comment is still there.

    Followed immediately after by a fresh section of code, and another comment - "I can't get it to work either".

    Leave a comment:


  • hairymouse
    replied
    Originally posted by SueEllen View Post

    Some companies really do do it to themselves.

    Ask them the standard "Why is this role available?"

    And they come back with the person you are replacing left because they wanted to spend more time with their family.

    Then every few months every year for the next decade you see the role advertised.
    There's nothing like the sinking feeling that another guys spent a few months working on the same project you've been given before quiting. It comes out in drips and drabs, a name dropped here and there, some random stored procedures that are just like the one you need to write, etc. Worst is when they give you his laptop and his profile is still there!

    Leave a comment:


  • SueEllen
    replied
    Originally posted by hairymouse View Post
    I always ask explicitly about the expectations for unpaid overtime (as a permie). Had one recently tell me "Expectations are high" before letting slip about being on call over weekends and working over Christmas. Another guy with the same company said "our contract says 37 hours, but pffffft, whatever!" PM me for details if you want to be worked to death for a famous boot company.
    Some companies really do do it to themselves.

    Ask them the standard "Why is this role available?"

    And they come back with the person you are replacing left because they wanted to spend more time with their family.

    Then every few months every year for the next decade you see the role advertised.

    Leave a comment:


  • hairymouse
    replied
    I always ask explicitly about the expectations for unpaid overtime (as a permie). Had one recently tell me "Expectations are high" before letting slip about being on call over weekends and working over Christmas. Another guy with the same company said "our contract says 37 hours, but pffffft, whatever!" PM me for details if you want to be worked to death for a famous boot company.

    Leave a comment:


  • malvolio
    replied
    Had a serious meeting booked with a Change Manager in one gig, to look into and hopefully sort out the whole process. Drove many miles to get to her, only to discover she wasn't there. So drove all the way back again having achieved precisely nothing.

    Turned out the following day, when having a moan to her line manager, about me losing a day's productive work, that she was booked on a Time Management course...

    Leave a comment:

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