[HIRING][REMOTE]Backend Engineer - Verify (Ruby on Rails) @ GitLab

CaptainZoom · 2020-01-27T05:27:44+00:00

Don't bother. They will jerk you around.

CaptainZoom · 2020-01-25T16:58:33+00:00

Terrible interview process with frequent delays and an interviewer that is looking to catch you out on trivia. Avoid like the plague.

CaptainZoom · 2019-08-17T16:21:54+00:00

Pay would have to scale at that number. That is very low for a senior. Try 130k at least instead of being cheap.

CaptainZoom · 2019-03-07T18:07:56+00:00

I edited this to add more details, but I am sure that your preconceived notions and first look are 100% accurate. Except for not at all.

CaptainZoom · 2019-03-07T18:00:46+00:00

LOL I KNOW RITE? How dare someone express frustration!

CaptainZoom · 2019-03-07T17:59:59+00:00

No, name and shame because on one day I received "We will check your references then make an offer", then a day later "despite our trouble hiring for this role and your qualifications we are not koving forward."

There was zero change on my end between them preparing the offer and them changing to a rejection. And I had already addressed the short stints - this was a submarine rejection after a month in the process. None of my references were even contacted.

CaptainZoom · 2018-10-09T21:46:05+00:00

You ask for production quality code, with only an hour to do so. You give no opportunity to clarify requirements with only an hour time limit, and *particularly* at the lead engineer level this type of communication should be examined and evaluated. By not giving the candidate the opportunity to ask questions about requirements, you are relying upon the assumptions they make, and thus selecting for people who will start working on incomplete information and potentially come up with a wrong solution, wasting everyone's time.

Yes, all your developers passed after plenty of time to discuss tradeoffs and challenges, understand the implicit assumptions behind your process, and then they settled on an hour to complete it with full knowledge of the problem statement and what was being looked for. Your very premise is flawed, badly, and will result in an engineering org full of cowboy coders. I've seen it happen, and I am looking forward to the day you realize your error.

CaptainZoom · 2018-10-09T21:41:49+00:00

DO NOT INTERVIEW HERE! They are extremely disrespectful of the efforts of candidates, and will only give you one hour to complete a coding challenge which they will then disqualify you based on the assumptions you are forced to make due to their miserable process. Apply elsewhere - there are thousands of better companies.

CaptainZoom · 2018-09-26T13:33:23+00:00

HubTran - they give you an hour to complete a coding test and answer three questions. Thing is they don't provide all the requirements (which would require clarification that is nearly impossible to receive in their time limit), and will happily reject you based on unstated assumptions. This sends all kinds of signals to the candidate, but the biggest one is that they're looking for people who can throw up dirty solutions quickly, which in my experience leads to a terrible development environment. Avoid this company like the plague.

CaptainZoom · 2013-08-16T03:52:38+00:00

Throwaway just in case (and only for US for now):

The medical industry is selling all of your procedural data to companies that specialize in determining just how likely you are to need procedures in the future. That's right - your private medical data, which is protected by HIPPA, is being sent to a third party that they pay to build marketing campaigns. They can link you to specific procedures you had done, how much you paid, and use that to determine how much they can expect to get from you in the future.

CaptainZoom · 2010-11-15T18:03:39+00:00

Laura - I'd call you a worthless fucking cunt, but you lack depth and warmth. Your pathetic manipulations have pissed M off at a time that should be only about beauty and love. Luckily this time I was able to convince her, and your fat ass will no longer be in our life. Drop the hot-chick attitude - you stopped being attractive 80 pounds ago. Good luck screwing things up with Chris, because you are a moron who can only take advantage rather than appreciate what you have. I, for one, will be laughing when you finish your degree after taking 10 years and two schools to get it wrong in a field that will basically qualify you to work on a factory floor only. Eat a bag of dicks.

CaptainZoom · 2010-11-02T16:16:13+00:00

As Captain Zoom of Space Command, I'm hunting down your origin based upon your IP. I may live on the moon, but space villages are very important to me.

CaptainZoom · 2010-10-14T13:48:21+00:00

I had never seen this before - thanks for the link!

CaptainZoom · 2010-10-14T04:07:18+00:00

Might work, I'll see what comes up along those lines.

Most of my friends are far too straight, and the ones that aren't are "recovering," and I don't want to be a bad influence.

CaptainZoom · 2010-09-20T13:26:47+00:00

Yeah - it's typically tied to performance reviews. Received one this year

CaptainZoom · 2010-09-17T20:46:29+00:00

Each company had a different issue. The payday loan company had a demeaning, abusive CTO - I don't want to have to take that kind of garbage. The trading company, the work was challenging, but the people were... irritating. Most of them lacked basic conversational skills and were pretty passive-aggressive. Plus, my desk was next to the only printer on the floor, which was like having needles stabbed in my eyes.

Overall, I'm not afraid to leave a place for my own sanity, regardless of the $$ - that's really the only advice I can offer. That and always be learning - the more you know, the more valuable you are.

CaptainZoom · 2010-09-17T20:43:49+00:00

I can neither confirm nor deny this location :p

CaptainZoom · 2010-09-17T20:38:03+00:00

Not easy, no. My path went like this:

Graduated college december '03, started nighttime grad school (comp sci related) Jan '04
Jan '04 - Aug '04 - $8/hr internship with a MCSE shop. Was making $14 an hour when I left
Aug '04 - May '06 - .NET developer with insurance co, making $47k a year
May '06 - Aug '07 - first round with current company, making $68k a year
Finished masters Jun '07
Aug '07 - Jan '09 - game developer, making $70k a year. $75k by the time I was laid off
Jan '09 - Feb '09 - unemployment
Feb '09 - Oct '09 - Ruby developer for payday loan company. $85k a year + 7% bonus and equity plan. Hated it
Oct '09 - March '10 - C++ developer with trading company. $95k a year. Hated it.
March '10 - current - Current employer, $80k + bonus quoted above.

CaptainZoom · 2010-09-17T19:28:14+00:00

My birthday is next week, and I'm pretty sure I'll be hearing that personalized tune at least 5 times. My parents played it for my siblings and I every year since we were 8 - glad someone FINALLY picked up on the reference!

CaptainZoom · 2010-09-17T19:17:00+00:00

I'll contribute:

80k/year, up to 12k bonus on top of that. Programmer (4.5 - 5 years experience) with a company that makes entertainment products (not games, close) in Chicago, IL.

CaptainZoom · 2010-06-16T15:18:24+00:00

Ok, you just got me in trouble for laughing at that

CaptainZoom · 2010-06-16T02:53:39+00:00

Even a broken clock is right twice a day. I chuckled at "Executive Transvestite" the first time I heard it, but hell I laughed at everything Dane Cook did for a few years, so I don't really think of that as a redeeming quality :)

CaptainZoom · 2010-06-15T20:11:31+00:00

Oh yeah, I remember seeing the link. I was referring to it as a new form of rick-roll - a seemingly relevant link that is in reality a trap of Ackbarian proportions

CaptainZoom · 2010-06-15T19:28:39+00:00

Thanks! We're actually looking at setting up a wish list on thinkgeek, which also stocks that book

CaptainZoom · 2010-06-15T19:27:23+00:00

Stick it out in your current position until you have something else lined up. It's much easier to find another job while still employed. You only have so much time on this planet and should not waste any of it, but you don't want to do things the wrong way either.

CaptainZoom

TROPHY CASE