Tag Archives: BULK

Indy’s BLOG – The Oracle Ordeal!

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A few weeks ago I wrote an article about my horrible and surreal “New Hire Experience” with Oracle Digital in Amsterdam.

tl:dr

I relocated to Amsterdam to work for Oracle Digital and the procedures screwed up my probation time.  Since then many things happened….

A new job.

First of all the best news: “I found a new job!”. Ok, I don’t work in an high paid IT job anymore, but that’s fine for me, because I decided to say goodbye to the “cut-throat environment” you find in big IT companies. I just want to be able to pay my rent, have enough food, walk my dog, then I am fine and I don’t have to sell my soul anymore.

All is true!

I think I need to stress that everything in my posts is the absolute and unchanged truth. I am willing to take an oath if you want me to. Why I need to stress this? Well, one rather arrogant feedback, I was made aware of, stated that I am “just a homeless guy with no reason to be with us and he just tells a story.”

Cynic, isn’t it? Let me ask you only one question: “If my story would be just a story, don’t you think that the company lawyers would have already contacted me and made me put down my articles?” That didn’t happen, actually no contact at all and my article is still up.

3.000 times viewed

My article was viewed more than 3.000 times on different platforms and the amount of feedback I received is impressive. So many views for someone with such a “small social footprint” like me is overwhelming and it shows that there is interest.

No feedback from Oracle itself.

Despite the fact that more then 1000 klicks came directly from Oracle, up to VP Level (thank you tracking tools and LinkedIn page statistics), I had no official response whatsoever and my contact requests and multiple emails are still unanswered.

The Feedback

Now I want to dig a bit deeper into the feedback. I received plenty direct messages and all of them encouraged me to continue, because there is a widespread company culture of “pretending to be a social company” out there.

Because of legal reasons I need to be very careful what I quote. The feedback came mostly from ex-colleagues, but there are also other companies which also have a rather disturbing approach how they handle their employees.

“Maybe all happened, because you are sick? They got aware of your situation and considered that’s better to boot you before you can claim any special disability protection.”

Yes, that’s a possibility and most likely fact unfortunately I can’t prove it.

“He is just a homeless guy with no reason to be with us and he just tells a story.”

Cynic, isn’t it? I managed to get out of a “problematic” situation just by myself. I managed to get hired and my technical expertise is still unquestioned, but I was not compatible with the “elite culture”.

“The company is a church, like Scientology. Shut up, do your thing and don’t stand out too much.”

No comment needed!

“You fell out of the procedure within the new hire process and no one had the balls to correct the ‘issue’.”

Yeah, that’s exactly what happened.

Overall 3.4 of 5

And there is way more feedback I can’t quote in here, because that would bring me way more trouble than I need, but I can direct you to the glassdoor reviews.

Maybe you judge yourself. 🙂

Overall 3.4 of 5 and a whoppig 37% won’t recommend the company to a friend, means that one out of three employees is unhappy with the company.

Conclusion

I recognized it’s not only me who experienced “company ignorance” and this kind of arrogant behavior seem to be widely spread.

Unfortunately employees nowadays need to be very concerned about their own well being when they have an opinion or being different, because there is a “self-cleaning” culture in place which prevents criticism or even change.

I am happy not to be a part of this anymore and somehow I am thankful that this happened, because it helped me to realize that money and a nice suit doesn’t make you happy, when you have to sell your soul for this.

Well, I think that’s it for now.

Have a wonderful day

Vil

Indy’s BLOG – I will kill you!

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!!! Be aware !!!

I am looking for you and if I find you one day and I will make you pay for what you’ve done. I will make you eat the poisonous dog treats you put all over Vondelpark. I have absolutely no sympathy for you and I think you need to be locked up, because you are scum. Unfortunately by law a dog is only considered a thing. Good for you, because you won’t need to fear the law, but don’t make the mistake not to fear me.

Vil de Mil

Indy’s BLOG – Are you still afraid to fail??

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Looks like Vil’s CV! 🙂

[1832] – lost his job
[1833] – failed in his business
[1835] – lost his sweetheart
[1836]- suffered nervous breakdown
[1838]- defeated in his run for Illinois Speaker
[1843]- beaten in the run for Congress
[1856] – defeated for US Senate
[1858] – defeated for the nomination of Vice President

[1860] – Abraham Lincoln elected as the President of America, and went on to become one of the most famous presidents in the history.

Are you still afraid to fail?

– Stolen Quote!

Indy’s BLOG – That’s the way it should be!

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Within 72 hours from “first contact” to job offer.

Wednesday – First contact with the recruiter.

Thursday – First contact with HR.

Friday – Assessment Center. HR Interview. Manager Interview  ……

… 2 Hours later: “JOB OFFER!”

AND Vil didn’t need to sugarcoat anything. He told the whole story and they actually liked his attitude and eagerness. He will start the 5th next month. Working four days a week / 10 hrs. Two days during the week and every weekend.

Now we need to survive until the next paycheck!, but we had worse.

SaturdayWuff

Indy

Indy’s BLOG – Assessment Center!

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Today Vil was invited for an assessment center. Four hours of discussion, role play and self presenting with an manager interview in the end.

It started with twelve people in a room waiting for the day to begin. The recruiter from yesterday enters the room and starts with the introduction.

“Hi guys and welcome to today’s assessment center. My name is Eric (let’s name him Eric) and I will guide you through the day. At first I want to know you a little bit better. Can you please introduce yourself to the others in a few words. Let’s start with you.” He points at the girl on the other side of the room.

“Yeah, my name is Melissa and I am 25 years old. i worked …..” She continues to introduce herself. Everyone in the room is way younger than Vil. They are all between 20 and 30. Just left school and on their first job abroad. They come from all over the world.

“Thank you and last but not least, Vil.” He smiles at Vil.

“Well, my name is Vil and I am 52 years old,…..” Vil introduces himself and tells a little about living in Spain and France and how important his dog (ME!) is for him.

Eric introduces himself and explains the plan for the day. The next two hours are filled up with role play and discussions. They need to show that they are able to work in a team, how they approach a problem and their way of communication.

It’s not the first assessment center Vil attends and he know what they are looking for, but that is no problem for him, because he is highly trained and his skills fit the profile they are looking for.

In the end there was a face to face interview with the manager and they want to figure out if Vil is able to fit in a team where the average age is not even half of Vil. “Well, I understand your concerns and I am aware of the issues my age might cause, but I don’t see any issues with it.” He makes a break. “I need a job. I am willing to work myself up to ladder, shut up or better, support my team lead with my experience.”

…

Indy’s BLOG – Steigenberger

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Today I asked the Steigenberger Hotel Amsterdam again (after more than four weeks of silence) when they will send me the response to my request and they informed me that they have no records of the money they still owe me. I send them all information I have, but they still ask for more.

WTF?