Large company = Lots of opportunities.
Many locations.
They hire nothing but contractors. Eventually, contractors can be converted into employees, but in my department, it could take years. Contractors are treated like second-class citizens. They do not get to attend company events and obviously get no benefits from DIRECTV/AT&T (no vacation, no health, etc.). This company is extremely frugal and opposed to giving anyone benefits.
Certain departments have tight budgets and do not pay well. Mine was one in particular. Everyone in my department made below average salary (and without benefits because they were contractors for the most part).
Since it is a big company, do not be surprised if other workers steal your food from the fridge. This happened to me on several occasions.
There is little company culture.
In my department, management knew little about what we did. For managing a technical department, they were not tech-savvy. Management was also very bad at giving direction. They would want something but could not explain what they wanted—then they would get upset if you did not give them what they expected.
Hire more employees. Reward loyal contractors with employee status. Pay better wages. Create a friendlier, less stressful environment, encouraging employees to be more productive.
They ask about proficiency in several technologies used by the department, e.g., Linux, CentOS/RHEL, Kickstart, VMware, cfengine, etc. You are not assumed to know everything, but if it is on your resume, you should be familiar with it. They will pick
A brief written test on object-oriented programming and experience. Some written test on hypothetical critical thinking scenarios. The interview lasted about a couple of hours and went relatively smoothly.
Interesting approach to an interview, modeling the actual job requirements on a micro scale. First, you got a fairly simple set of requirements for a project to design in 24 hours. Second, they changed the requirements for a revised design - another
They ask about proficiency in several technologies used by the department, e.g., Linux, CentOS/RHEL, Kickstart, VMware, cfengine, etc. You are not assumed to know everything, but if it is on your resume, you should be familiar with it. They will pick
A brief written test on object-oriented programming and experience. Some written test on hypothetical critical thinking scenarios. The interview lasted about a couple of hours and went relatively smoothly.
Interesting approach to an interview, modeling the actual job requirements on a micro scale. First, you got a fairly simple set of requirements for a project to design in 24 hours. Second, they changed the requirements for a revised design - another