Technology | Money | Job Search
4 Red Flags of Terrible IT Company
You don’t want to work there unless you love pain…
Who said that a company has to choose from many candidates? Power in the market belongs to those who are in demand. Now qualified developers are in demand. Thus, they must choose from a set of different companies, not vice versa.
Have you ever thought of yourself in this way? You are a valuable piece that many companies want. You are in charge of the recruitment process.
There are thousands of companies on the market. They all need awesome developers. They all need you. But developers don’t want to work for some companies. There are reasons for this.
Here are 4 red flags of terrible company you don’t want to work for.
1. Friendly team and interesting product
Raise your hand if you’ve received a job offer with these “magic” words.
OK — 99% raised their hands. Good time to think.
Friendly team and interesting product — is one of the most popular cliches in the IT field. That’s why these words don’t work. The developers have heard them so many times that they instantly roll their eyes and get a lemon face.
One more thing — most of the time it’s a lie.
It’s easy to check — start to ask questions:
What does it mean “friendly”? Do the employees communicate out of work? Do they spend time together? Drunk parties or orgies? Is it the merit of the company or people? Give me concrete facts.
But in most cases, nobody can answer the above questions.
Exactly the same with the interesting product:
Why do you think the product is interesting? Is it a revolution in the field? Do the top experts work there? Does your product improve the world? Oh, you create template websites for shops? That’s a really “interesting” product…
Most companies have an average team and exactly the same product. Those who like to say “Friendly team and interesting product” probably don’t have even the average ones.
2. Micro time management
This one is the worst scourge for all developers.
Some companies turn time management into a kind of Mumbo Jumbo — the most important thing. Even more important than product development.
I still shudder when I remember my first company, where I had to keep track of working hours to the minute. Just imagine the following:
- Morning stand-up took 13 minutes — log 13 minutes. No, you can’t round up to 15. You have to log 13.
- You estimated 4 hours for this task, but it took 4 hours and 7 minutes. Round it down to 4 hours, or we will have to create a ticket to review your performance troubles.
- You logged only 7h 12m today instead of 8 hours. Then you will have only 87% of your salary for today.
- And don’t forget to log your time in 2 different tracking systems and Google Sheets in addition.
Anyone who has dealt with micro-time management knows that it wastes more time than it saves. Developing requires your brainpower. You can’t waste this resource logging every move you take.
If the company claims such time tracking — better to find another one.
3. No contract — no agreement
A company that doesn’t require to sign a contract is dangerous for the developer. The contract must contain all the discussed job details: compensation, working hours, sick leaves, conditions of ending, etc.
If there is no contract — there is no guarantee that the employee will receive all of the above. Everything that was promised in words does not count. Only written and signed things are valid.
Working in such a company would be a crime. At least, it is illegal.
An HR specialist can be very charming, and a business owner can look like an honest guy. But working without a contract is a risk no one wants to take. Even if someone promises additional money for this small violation.
It’s not worth it. Candidates may lose time working for frauds and be later prosecuted for violations of the law.
No contract — no agreement
4. Too good to be true
Some companies like to promise amazing things. It would be even cooler if the companies would keep the promise. But some companies don’t…
If no one is going to keep a promise, there are no limits on lying.
You can easily differentiate true benefits from faked ones:
- ✅ Cookies and fruits in the office
- ❌ Beer during the workday
- ✅ The corporate parties or paid dinner in the restaurant
- ❌ Tesla to every employee for a good work
- ✅ 28 paid leaves without explanation
- ❌ Work as much as you want, it won’t affect your salary
- ✅ Remote works up to 5 days per week
- ❌ 3 day work week and no overtime
It’s nice to have a large set of real advantages in the company. But it’s only worth it when they are real.
There are reasonable benefits a company can offer, especially a FAANG level company. These companies care about their reputation and will not deceive employees. But too good benefits in the small and unknown company should make the deal suspicious for the candidate.
Final Thoughts
These were my 4 red flags of the terrible IT company. They might be subjective as they are based on my personal experience. Still, they are pretty valid in the modern world.
5 more red flags of terrible company.
Feel free to share in the comments how you choose a company.
What red flags of terrible companies have you noticed during your career?
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