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I used to work as a developer in a logistics firm. For a short while it was going through some financial difficulties. It was no secret among the staff, many o

I used to work as a developer in a logistics firm. For a short while it was going through some financial difficulties. It was no secret among the staff, many of whom were jumping ship. Those that weren't (myself included) were making plans to do the same. Despite this the MD insisted on keeping the recruitment process going and carrying through with the graduate recruitment scheme. His reasoning was that he couldn't claim that his company was growing if it wasn't hiring. It was deception plain and simple, but for this particular MD morals were merely something he had once heard about. Come the hour they did have to withdraw firm offers for both experienced hires and five graduates. It was particularly nasty for the graduates as they went through a ridiculously extensive recruitment process - including spending a weekend away at a woodland activity centre where they were forced to do team building exercises and climb a mountain in the dark. Long story short, they kept the recruitment process going to make it look like the company was doing better than it was. It was brutal, but the MD didn't care. He was probably more worried about where his next Merc was coming from.

redm 9y ago
Sad story for the new hires. A couple of thoughts: Large companies fail too in much the same way so I'm not sure how much "startup" specific this is. Businesses that are struggling may continue operations as normal, including recruitment, while they seek additional funding or some other inflection point. Companies are often transparent when the times are good and much less so when struggling. It's self-preservation. If they say were in big trouble, the top talent leaves first. It's manifest destiny. So, they put their heads down and try to steer the company through it. It's a terrible situation all around when a business fails, everyone loses.
paradite 9y ago
I think you accidentally or intentionally revealed your location by mentioning "woodland".
jerrylives 9y ago
Reminds me of my recent interview with Buzzfeed for a SRE position. It consisted of * A half hour introductory call with the recruiter * Another half hour call with an engineer about the position * An hour-long technical phone interview * Eight hour onsite technical interview * Coming back in for a final interview with the product manager and then a "work party" where I had to show a "lead" how to do regexes because he couldn't figure them out (this dude had been working there for four years) So I did all that - including missing a day of work and thus pay - and was told that I was the first person who actually made it through the whole process. I then asked if that meant I'd be receiving an offer / moving forward and they said no, because the team was "Still figuring out the interview process" and that in the future they would be sure to think of me. I reached out about possible remuneration, because I had already given almost 20 hours of my time to them as well as actionable expertise. Still haven't heard back.

redm 9y ago

Sad story for the new hires. A couple of thoughts: Large companies fail too in much the same way so I'm not sure how much "startup" specific this is. Businesses that are struggling may continue operations as normal, including recruitment, while they seek additional funding or some other inflection point. Companies are often transparent when the times are good and much less so when struggling. It's self-preservation. If they say were in big trouble, the top talent leaves first. It's manifest destiny. So, they put their heads down and try to steer the company through it. It's a terrible situation all around when a business fails, everyone loses.

paradite 9y ago

I think you accidentally or intentionally revealed your location by mentioning "woodland".

jerrylives 9y ago

Reminds me of my recent interview with Buzzfeed for a SRE position. It consisted of * A half hour introductory call with the recruiter * Another half hour call with an engineer about the position * An hour-long technical phone interview * Eight hour onsite technical interview * Coming back in for a final interview with the product manager and then a "work party" where I had to show a "lead" how to do regexes because he couldn't figure them out (this dude had been working there for four years) So I did all that - including missing a day of work and thus pay - and was told that I was the first person who actually made it through the whole process. I then asked if that meant I'd be receiving an offer / moving forward and they said no, because the team was "Still figuring out the interview process" and that in the future they would be sure to think of me. I reached out about possible remuneration, because I had already given almost 20 hours of my time to them as well as actionable expertise. Still haven't heard back.