contact me at:
justin (@) deepdrift dot com
GyozaQuest is a non profitable site,
Being truthful and being true to myself.
October 11, 2003
The short story, I went for the interview. They didn't give me an offer.
But the interview was far more troubling for me than I thought. I really don't know if I could work there.
Do not correct a CEO, even if you think he is wrong theologically. I was sitting there, and he said that if I were to come to work for them he would like to see me convert 50 people at his company next year. I balked and said, "I am only a witness, I do not change anyone's heart, that is done by God."
Looking at my resume, he wondered why I had so many jobs in my short career. I told him that was the he asked me for commitment, asked if I would give four years of my life for his company. I told him no; I would not and I could not tell him that in good conscience. Where is the disloyalty, between me and my employers. Companies have been bought, and sold. I have been lied to and betrayed. Thus it colors my view. I told him the story of how during an employee meeting the president of our division stated that the company was behind the product and committed to keeping it the fastest and most advanced microprocessor in the world. Three months later, the company was sold to Compaq, and the semiconductor division was sold to Intel.
My current company makes no promises like that. They'll work with you as much as possible, but ultimately they admit that you're on your own for determining your own destiny. And if it's not in line with profitability and building value to the stockholders.
So he assured me that if I came to work out there he would not sell the company, he would not lay me off, and he would be just as loyal to me and my own personal development. Maybe in all my years, there is too much of a wounded heart in me. Thinking back on it, for the person who's perfectly honest and straightforward, if makes promises not to sell the company or he's lying, but what else can a CEO say?
I spoke with their IT manager, and he picked apart my resume and said it was full of bullshit. Initially I defended myself, and said that I had really done that. Then I said okay, I may have not completely by myself "a Change Management system including ASP based web interface, MSSQL database back end, and Rational ClearCase version control system" So I finally gave in and said, he's right it's bullshit.
I described the software integration work I had done. He called that a technicians job. At this point I simply gave up, and admitted that he's right, my whole resume is typically fabricated. He's one arrogant sob. And I had to think twice about the work environment there. I might be just as arrogant in my own right. I've had these kind of problems in the past, why would I want to dredge up these battles again. I can't possibly win.
So I went back up to the CEO's office, feeling kind of down and depressed. I wondered if they were going to give me a job. We talked some more, and he was quite impressed that I had used my vacation to come out and visit their company. He mentioned something about a local salary at a 43% premium, due to taxes and everything else. Plus stock options. So we began to wrap it up. And motioned for his secretary, who was holding a thin folder.
I then said "Don't give me an offer, I'm going to go back and think about things." So he didn't. I don't know for sure if they were going to give me the job then and there, but I knew that I couldn't accept it right there on the spot. So I left and need to contact them again within the week.
On better news there I had lunch with the sales manager from my own company in Shanghai before this interview. As typical we went out for fish head soup, chicken with peppers, spare ribs, tender green bean sprouts and a tofu with chives dish. For two people!!! He's a good character, and asked me straight out if I was planning on moving to China. I told him yeah, and that I was going to talk to the CEO today for an interview. I told him why I was interested in the company, how there was a spiritual aspect about the company. He's only 39 years old, and was raised in Malaysia, I wonder if his parents left China because of 1949. Although he is not religious, he admitted that he went to a Catholic high school.
He told me he thinks I could survive out here. Despite my lack of language skills. And that he would welcome working with me out here. He told me about housing, how he has finally bought his flat, and that there are now standard mortgages, but you still need to have a higher down payment, than is typical in the US, yet that ownership only lasts for seven years, after that which most people expect to be able to renew their contracts. He thinks the schools in China are good enough for his kids.
So I think I need to find a tutor in Mandarin.