A Mixed Experience: Smooth Interview Process but Bad Work Environment
Gut am Arbeitgeber finde ich
The interview process was impressively smooth, with quick feedback and subsequent interviews scheduled promptly. Additionally, the option for 100% remote work is a significant benefit.
Schlecht am Arbeitgeber finde ich
The company culture can be described as awkward and isolating. Meetings and casual encounters, both in the office and virtually, felt stilted and uncomfortable. Interactions with colleagues from other teams were minimal, even in common areas like corridors and kitchens.
The work environment is reminiscent of a factory. As a developer, I was excluded from team planning and future strategy discussions, relegated instead to a monotonous cycle of ticket resolutions. These tickets were often not broken down into manageable units, leading to pull requests that spanned thousands of lines of code.
Collaboration with colleagues was challenging. Code reviews were aggressive, and there were instances of colleagues getting loud and confrontational over minor implementation details. Despite the team's claims of inclusivity and support, long-standing members often badmouthed less experienced colleagues behind their backs, creating a toxic atmosphere.
The codebase suffered from poor documentation, which was often unreliable. This lack of proper documentation necessitated manual testing of other teams' endpoints, frequently revealing unexpected issues and resulting in significant time wastage. The use of these endpoints required extensive boilerplate code and unclear configuration.
As a new member, I repeatedly requested an introduction to the different environments due to the lack of documentation. Unfortunately, neither my manager nor the DevOps team made time for this during my entire time there, forcing me to waste time reverse-engineering solutions to problems caused by environmental differences.
Observability within the company was rudimentary at best. There were no automatic alerts or established processes, leaving individuals to filter warnings manually. Some teams lacked any form of observability, rendering them clueless when issues arose.
Leadership was passive, and expectations were not just unclear but entirely unknown, making it impossible to gauge one's performance. The team included developers who were isolated, lacked soft skills, and senior devs sometimes submitted pull requests without any testing, without anyone challenging them.
Despite the company's emphasis on its feedback process, my experience was disappointing. I received positive feedback consistently but encountered issues when I received negative feedback once. I disagreed with it, and after requesting actionable steps to address the feedback, I received no guidance. Two weeks later, I was let go without further explanation. My team appeared to be aware of this decision beforehand, as I was completely ignored during my final days.
Interessante Aufgaben
It's a bank. Don't expect cutting-edge.
Karriere/Weiterbildung
There is a learning budget that you're encouraged to use and it is paid back quickly.