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I nearly went to interview with G-Research when I moved near London and was looking for jobs a couple of years ago. I hadn't been that interested in algorithmic
by n4r9 8y ago
I nearly went to interview with G-Research when I moved near London and was looking for jobs a couple of years ago. I hadn't been that interested in algorithmic trading, but when a rectuitment agent mentioned a 120K starting salary it perked my interest. That might not sound like much to Valley types but for a first tech job in London it's mental.
They sent me one of those online automated coding tests; I prepared for several days, which turned out to be unnecessary as the test was quite straightforward. I completed both questions in the "choose one of the following" section, and an SQL question despite never having used SQL. I think the test was just there to filter out chaff, but they were very keen to get me in for an interview.
I talked it over with my wife, who was also quite stunned by the salary but pointed out that I'd literally just be moving money around to make rich people richer. I actually also talked it over with the boss of a smaller company that had already made me an offer. His advice, which turned out to be very wise, was to research them very thoroughly as a lot of city firms like this will offer big bucks but will suck the soul out of you.
I then spoke about it with a friend who mentioned that one of his friends worked there. This is when I discovered their paranoid security practices, such as handing in your mobile phone as soon as you enter the building. That was the final straw in my head... no doubt they had their reasons but a culture of paranoia was not what I wanted at all.
Going back to how keen they were to get the interview, I remember telling the recruitment agent that I wasn't that interested and that I was going on holiday shortly which would cut down on opportunities to "just go in and see what it's like anyway". At this point he said I could literally name any time of night or day to go to their office, or I could speak on the phone with one of their guys who was currently in Spain for some reason. It started coming across as weirdly desperate.
I ended up going with the offer from the smaller company and have been very happy. I read about the case of Ke Xu not long afterwards and affirmed my conviction that I'd made the right choice.
- Ste_Evans 8y agoMore to the point, why would you want to search for needles in a haystack for someone who dodges taxes and subverts democracy? A crap job in the service of a crook.
- andrepd 8y agoSadly, even though this particular person made the moral choice, for each 1 person of his fibre there are 10 just willing to take up the dirty work. Notwithstanding the noble actions of some people, the system is still broken if it richly rewards this kind of destructive behaviour; and make no mistake, as long as it does reward those things then those things will be done.
- Retric 8y agoEnough people turn down the work to push of the salaries of people that take it. That's a real cost for disreputable industries.
- phalton 8y agododges taxes and subverts democracy Nothing in the article about this, got a link?
- Ste_Evans 8y agoThe tax avoidance is well documented, some of it considered immoral by George Osborne(!), and there is enough in the public domain to prosecute for bribery (based on the guidance documents for the Bribery Act), so a fortiori a police investigation into bribery would be justified. Ke Xu should bring a private prosecution against them. dodges taxes: e.g. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/leadsom-linked-to-tax-trust-branded-morally-repugnant-wb53gsxtt https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/leadsom-linked-to-tax-tru... subverts democracy: e.g. https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/jul/08/andrea-leadsom-family-links-offshore-bank-donations-tories https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/jul/08/andrea-lead... "Andrea was not aware of the size of donations made by UK companies controlled by Peter de Putron to the Conservative party," Her husband was also a director at the company at the time of the big donations, but Andrea told the national press she wasn't aware of the size of the donations. These people are completely bent.
- cbzbc 8y agoJust on the basis of what you report of the bosses response I would have accepted his offer - sounds like you ended up in a great place people-wise.
- twic 8y agoI interviewed with G-Research a while ago, and this was pretty much my experience too. Everyone i met there - interviewers, other developers on the team, bosses - seemed great: really smart and absolutely lovely. I'm sure i would have enjoyed working with them. They did some aggressive pursuing after the interview. But ultimately, the environment was just too weird and paranoid for me. A real shame.
- Ste_Evans 8y agoYes, they are all absolutely lovely, and beneficiaries of industrial scale tax dodging and apologists to bribery of the UK government.