I have already outlined the kind of company I want to build and set right your expectations about what to expect from a small business. But the cost of employing a colleague who does not share our goals and values is enormous. So I want to make some points explicit and leave you with no doubt about the kind of company you will be joining.
1. We are not optimizing for rapid sales and revenue growth
I cannot emphasize this point enough. So many candidates have heard of this one person who joined a startup and got rich quick. And they interview with us in the hope that Qxf2 will grow rapidly and in the process make them rich. Sorry, we are not that lottery ticket. We have other goals that are totally unrelated to revenue, the bottom line and IPOs. We promise to pay fair wages and offer you interesting work.
2. We have an intense probationary period
Our probationary period is relatively intense and lasts for 6-months. New hires are expected to finish all the tasks listed on the probation checklist. In special circumstances, we might extend the length of probation depending on how close a new hire is to finishing all the tasks within the probation checklist. In these cases, the new hire's first annual review will occur 6-months after they complete their probationary tasks. Read about our probationary checklist here.
3. We are a distributed team
I want to build a distributed team. It enables us to hire talent from all over India. I encourage working from home and flex timings. So you must become very comfortable with asynchronous communication - you leave a message on Skype and whenever your colleague shows up, they reply. There is very limited face to face communication. Further, we rarely meet physically as a group. And I have no intention of changing this practice. Please do not join us if you are not comfortable with working with a highly distributed team.
4. Everyone is hands on
There is no division between thinking and labor. Everyone is hands on. You must learn, do and share. There is no way around this. I understand that we will need a layer of management when we grow bigger. I have nothing against having a layer of management per se. But at this stage of our company, I want everyone to be hands on. So if you have not been hands on with testing over the last few years, then Qxf2 is not going to be a good place for you.
5. We do not have a collegiate atmosphere
I have observed that several small companies in Bangalore have somewhat of a collegiate atmosphere. A lot of their personal life revolves around your colleagues. Absolutely nothing wrong with that. At Qxf2, we do not have that kind of culture. The only time we all go out together is during office hours. Don't get me wrong - I like my colleagues and I care for them. We are nice to each other. There are no jerks. It is just that the distributed nature of our office means we end up having separate professional and personal lives.
6. You will work in a 3 bedroom apartment
We generally discourage our employees from coming to the office and working. But occasionally, due to unavoidable circumstances (e.g.: no Internet at home), a few employees end up coming to the office on some days. If you choose to come to the office and work, you will end up working out of a 3-bedroom apartment. We do not have any plans of moving out of here. It is not glamorous. There are no landscaped lawns, cafeterias with chefs or foosball tables. Our office is plain, bare and has only the essentials.
Please think carefully about these points. If you are not comfortable with any of them, may be Qxf2 is not going to be a good culture-fit for you.
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