3 ms·

I'm mid-40s and probably sound like it on the phone. I've been subtly persuaded by a recruiter from applying to a company via persistent "culture fit" question

I'm mid-40s and probably sound like it on the phone. I've been subtly persuaded by a recruiter from applying to a company via persistent "culture fit" questions. The recruiter _kept_ reiterating how awesome the office's on-tap beers, foosball tables, and casual culture made it a fun place to work. I'd steer the question back to benefits, remote work, policies, etc. Only to have the recruiter hammer again on the "fun" stuff, talk about how the co-workers enjoy getting a beer together after work. Eventually I got the hint. Later I found out that the company has a reputation locally for constantly hiring new college grads and burning them out via overwork, shifting project requirements, and random changes of software infrastructure. Guess I dodged a bullet. But it's interesting that probably many of their problems could be solved just from hiring a few experienced devs, data engineers, and project managers.

vkou 8y ago
> Eventually I got the hint. The hint wasn't that you're a bad culture fit, the hint was that there are no benefits. You don't have to be over 40 to need benefits.
- AnIdiotOnTheNet 8y ago
  No, but the younger workers often lack the wisdom to see that they need benefits.
- duxup 8y ago
  You certainly don't have to. But a lot of younger workers I work for are less likely to be concerned with them.
  - hodr 8y ago
    How many people do you work for?
- mr_overalls 8y ago
  The benefits were okay, but not great. It's hard to convey the gist of the conversation, but it really did give the impression of hammering home: "You know these are young people, right? This is how they work."
  - x0x0 8y ago
    Some people want to work for a frat house. Telling you early on that is what the company is should be viewed as a favor. I worked at a similar place, and it was a fucking disaster. They would be in the office for 12 hours a day and maybe do 5 hours of work. Meanwhile, there were endless gokart races, pingpong tournaments, and general nonsense. People wouldn't just waste their own time but also made it nearly impossible to focus on your work. I made it nine months because I was too foolish to quit faster.
Asooka 8y ago
You could fire back with "Well of course, that [foosball, beer] is a given, that's how my last workplace was. Can we talk about what unique perks your company offers?"
- coldtea 8y ago
  As if the problem was the other guy haven't heard him ask that repeatedly already?
HeyLaughingBoy 8y ago
On the flip side, the recruiter for the place I now work at mentioned couple of times that the company preferred "seasoned" employees and there was subtle hint of "make sure you're OK with that." It definitely skewed older at the time I joined, although we've hired quite a few people in their 20's/early 30's since then. It's a difficult situation for a good recruiter. On one hand, you don't want to discriminate illegally, but on the other hand, you want the company you're working for (and the candidate) to be happy with your results.

vkou 8y ago

> Eventually I got the hint. The hint wasn't that you're a bad culture fit, the hint was that there are no benefits. You don't have to be over 40 to need benefits.

AnIdiotOnTheNet 8y ago
No, but the younger workers often lack the wisdom to see that they need benefits.
duxup 8y ago
You certainly don't have to. But a lot of younger workers I work for are less likely to be concerned with them.
- hodr 8y ago
  How many people do you work for?
mr_overalls 8y ago
The benefits were okay, but not great. It's hard to convey the gist of the conversation, but it really did give the impression of hammering home: "You know these are young people, right? This is how they work."
- x0x0 8y ago
  Some people want to work for a frat house. Telling you early on that is what the company is should be viewed as a favor. I worked at a similar place, and it was a fucking disaster. They would be in the office for 12 hours a day and maybe do 5 hours of work. Meanwhile, there were endless gokart races, pingpong tournaments, and general nonsense. People wouldn't just waste their own time but also made it nearly impossible to focus on your work. I made it nine months because I was too foolish to quit faster.

Asooka 8y ago

You could fire back with "Well of course, that [foosball, beer] is a given, that's how my last workplace was. Can we talk about what unique perks your company offers?"

coldtea 8y ago
As if the problem was the other guy haven't heard him ask that repeatedly already?

HeyLaughingBoy 8y ago

On the flip side, the recruiter for the place I now work at mentioned couple of times that the company preferred "seasoned" employees and there was subtle hint of "make sure you're OK with that." It definitely skewed older at the time I joined, although we've hired quite a few people in their 20's/early 30's since then. It's a difficult situation for a good recruiter. On one hand, you don't want to discriminate illegally, but on the other hand, you want the company you're working for (and the candidate) to be happy with your results.