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Admin
Been there, done that. And there was no T-shirt. Shutdown was announced on December 23d.
Admin
Not bad, after all. They paid him, and it must have been fun. Few tech jobs are forever, and those that are - aren't really much different.
Admin
Is that because they ran out of money for the t-shirts?
Admin
Also been there. Only as a CSR, complete with a powerpoint presentation not in presentation mode and having the little red wrinkles. So they did not even took the effort in checking those. The were replacing us with cheaper people. Our revenge, go with the complete callcenter to their major competitor. Here you have a complete well trained team of 1st and 2nd line tech support people who have knowledge in the field. The competitor was very happy, and ended up buying the original.
Admin
What kind of idiot would even consider "free beer" worth ignoring red flags?
Admin
depends on how many kegs that involved
Admin
these types of jobs have a singular purpose. Provide funding for your continued Job search. If it doesn't provide time to continue the search the funding is worthless, just like the stock options.
Admin
Idunno, seems like a nice deal for as long as it lasts. Meaning as long as they're paying. It just sucks when it inevitably ends.
Admin
It's startup lottery. Fun experience, minuscule odds of making it big, might as well enjoy it while it's still a thing. Downside is the sudden crashes which leaves you jobless without much warning but that's part of the game.
Admin
Yup. I had a startup job like that - I had an uneasy feeling about them from the time I went in for an interview, so I wasn't terribly surprised when they folded 10 months later. Sure, the next 6 weeks of unemployment wasn't pleasant, but I still say it was worth it to get out of the terrible job I was in before, and to gain some new skills and experience that helped me get the much better position I have now.
The thing about startups is that you have to go in with the right expectations: most of them don't make it, so view it as an educational experience and stepping stone rather than a get-rich-quick scheme, and you'll be fine.
Admin
Who's Arnold?
Admin
That's a major red flag, but not the first. The first was the HR receptionist (this is somebody who hasn't received sexual harassment training, and if they aren't training on that what are they training on).
Admin
Schwarzenegger, mebbe? The movie Kindergarten Cop was playing....
Admin
Ahhh...those were the days :)
Nice to see some Bailey - it's been a while lass!
Admin
First you have to consider the place he left, we don't know what it was like so anywhere could have be better. Second working at a start-up looks good on a CV, it ticks a lot of the boxes automated HR boxes like. And third sometimes you just want to have the experience of working at a place like that.
Admin
I couldn't help but to read Mr Taberd's explanation in J.K. Simmon's voice.
Admin
Sounds like Pietyr didn't care that much, so as long as the pay was decent, the hours weren't crazy, and he got free beer I don't see a problem. Just ride it as long as it lasts. Which wasn't too long for him, oh well.
Admin
Russian proverb, the only free cheese is in the mousetrap, and that one is old.
Admin
No, that's an American proverb. Russian proverbs are more like 'there is no cheese and you will die anyway so what's the point?'
Admin
"In Soviet Russia, the old cheese in the mousetrap is you!"
Admin
As long as the checks don't bounce and you have the requisite few months of savings to handle the unexpected. Or in this case, the expected.
Admin
@Raj: It's only a startup lottery when they have a plan that sort of makes sense both technically and as a business. In that case, there are a hundred ways it can still fail, but there is a small chance you'll get rich. But you need to be sure you are earning enough in the mean time, and that includes savings to be prepared for the company to suddenly fold.
In the case described here, there's no chance; the tech cannot work, and the owner doesn't seem to be paying attention to business. So if you take such a job, look at it as a temporary job, giving you experience and time to look for a better job.
And finally, suddenly finding yourself jobless without severance pay is not the worst way this can end. If the boss is oblivious to finances, you are likely to find yourself jobless after your paycheck bounced, and no more paychecks coming for your final weeks at work. OTOH, if he's a real promoter, you might be jobless, with paychecks bouncing, and involved in a fraud investigation - it's not uncommon for businessmen who are desperate to save their project to go over the line in the final months.
Admin
Be sure to get a good company laptop issued to you before the money runs out next time.
Admin
It's not really a startup 7 years in.
Admin
"A dozen people crowded onto long tables, plugging away at MacBooks...."
"... What we're doing here is hooking the Windows API calls"
Errr, I have a question....
Admin
@Jeremy Pereira: You can't develop Windows API hooks on a Windows machine because as soon as you hook a call you can't use it any more -- you would just re-enter your own code.
Admin
That's not true. You can develop API hooks on a Windows machine just fine.
Admin
The hook calls the original function (which is unhooked).