I just turned down an offer because of something like this. I went through a bunch of interviews and things seemed pretty peachy, until I interviewed with a guy (who'd have been a peer) who was probably way more candid than management would've liked. He said things like "I haven't gotten a raise in five years so make sure you negotiate hard when you come in", "I got an apartment close to the office so I can be here quick when the shit hits the fan", "50hrs/wk is probably a good baseline, but you already knew that", and "yeah, your group has rotating weekly pager duty and even if they call it an 'engineering' team it's really support."
I felt like I'd been completely mislead by everyone else, and even if this guy had a chip on his shoulder and was intentionally lying to me -- which I doubt -- that in itself would have been a red flag.
> who was probably way more candid than management would've liked.
This is me in interviews. I ask for a private interview session and give the real lowdown. I refuse to become one of these assholes that drops all this PR speak and then you take the job and realize you've been misled. I air a little laundry and give real day-to-day stuff. I think it benefits everyone to be candid, at least towards the later stage of interviewing. There should be an informed "Do you really want this job" moment for someone considering the move.
>and even if this guy had a chip on his shoulder and was intentionally lying to me
He's most likely honest. He also doesn't want to hire a primdonna who is expecting a cush job.
> He also doesn't want to hire a primdonna who is expecting a cush job.
Consider not getting a raise in five years. With inflation and (in most technology hubs) a skyrocketing rising cost of living, your company is effectively paying you less every year you work for them.
It doesn't make you a primadonna to question this premise -- it just means you're not a sucker. If you're in a career/company where your value goes down with every year of experience you get, it forces you question a lot of your life decisions.
Why does that matter? He is drawing a personal story that is comparable to the Amazon story, trying to describe his ability to find the proper work culture for his life.
I am not trying to argue, just wish your two questions had a reasoning behind them as in writing they sound harsh to me.
The only reasoning I can think of is if it's widespread at Amazon or certain locations / departments are affected like that? It could be an interesting insight research to see how wide-spread such employer behavior is.
I remember working for Van Blarcom Closures in NYC over 10 years ago. During interviews they said standard 40 hour weeks with occasional overtime. Except their occasional overtime meant every day was a 12 hour shift with some Saturday's and Sundays's as well. Let's just say, I didn't last more than 6 months there before moving out.
This happened to me once and I was so thrilled to work at this company that I looked past what the interviewer was saying about the company which all ended up being true. You have to use your judgement but this kind of information is very useful.
I felt like I'd been completely mislead by everyone else, and even if this guy had a chip on his shoulder and was intentionally lying to me -- which I doubt -- that in itself would have been a red flag.