My Corner of the Interweb

Stick and Move...

Mood: Pondering.
Music: Boys Don't Cry, Cure
Game: World of Warcraft, COD2, Oblivion, Tomb Raider:Legend, A Tale In The Desert 3 beta 2
Book: Odalisque, Neal Stephenson
Watching: Sharks-Oilers in Overtime
Weather: 60 and cloudy.
Jobs applied to today: Responses and followups.

Yesterday's interview was interesting, I guess. The first guy I met was very engaging, obviously bright, and wanted an idea of what I was looking for. The discussions led me to believe that I sort of understood what the company was about...and I started to get the idea that the place was struggling under its growth. Regularly long hours, too busy to get lunch, confusion about organization and direction.

The next guy I met was more direct, more to the point, and drilled me on some basic questions (Where do you see yourself in five years....) Here, I got the idea that there was coordination difficulties, and that the amount of work in the office was resulting in prioritization difficulties...and that those weren't being properly handled. This seemed like a lack of communication and confusion about hierarchy. I also got the distinct impression that the job was junior in nature, with "opportunity to grow."

The last guy, who was not on my schedule, was much more enlightening. He was clear about the work density and confusion, some of the frustrations, the high turnover. He was not sure why he was interviewing me, nor was he expecting to meet with me...no one had told him.

My takeaways:
- The company is my kind of place. Informal, flat structure, smart people...know their work. Good at what they do.
- The product/service is focused. Single vertical (albeit with a small twist on it that adds a bit of complexity.) They are definitely marketplace leaders. They have more work than they can adequately handle at the moment...which in no way is stopping them from charging on and trying to capture a bigger marketshare.
- They are having pre-IPO growth issues. They are scaling too fast. Their tribal knowledge is being lost in the relatively high turnover. Less than 10-15% of the company has been there for more than five years (the company is 11 years old), and those people are all in high positions. There's no information management in place.
- My feeling is that this place guarantees 10-12 hour days for months on end when push comes to shove. The office seemed very laidback...which indicates a lack of urgency...which indicates that the long hours are nothing new. The work-life balance is fine...provided that it's skewed heavily towards the work part. I was told that if all the work's getting done, there's no problem with doing what you need to do, as far as going home or whatever...and was given the example timeframe of 8-9 hours a day. Hm.

I like the company, and it's clear that the senior leadership is pretty driven, very smart, and has a plan. The downside to this job is that it's clear it's junior...and it's equally clear that they grind their junior people. I don't mind paying my dues...but working 60 hour weeks for months on end is not what I'm signing up for at a decreased payscale. If I wanted to work 60-70 hour weeks, I could do that for almost twice the money.

Goes to show that an interview goes both ways...and that your interviewers need to be as prepared as your candidates.

I guess we'll see where THAT goes...

But in the meantime, I got an email from the HR Director at the advertising firm...and she wanted to know if I wanted to work contract in one of their groups until she could organize meeting with the team leads, as they were all very busy.

So I guess I'll see what that's all about today.....

Posted by Glenn at May 11, 2006 08:40 AM