This was originally posted on my blog
I had to let go an opportunity that could have paid 700 Euros per month, which is way above the average pay in Algeria.
The offer
The job discription stated that the employees were to teach and help computer science students in their last year of their master's degree.
The teaching sessions were to be held via video calls for an hour or more.
In addition to the salary, the company would pay for a relatively high-speed internet (8Mbps); for a high quality camera; and they would pay the salary for two to three months, in which the employee will have to study on their own some educative material the company would provide, 8 hours a day, 5 days a week.
Why I refused the offer
Reason 1: The incompatibility of the candidates
The company had gathered a dozen candidates, and scheduled a video call meeting regrouping all of us. I noticed that all candidates, including myself, were not fit for the job. Some candidates didn't even have education or experience related to computer science or computer engineering.
I began questioning that their mission was really about teaching and not bullshitting students into paying someone who would read course material for them.
The company was only looking for people who could communicate easily.
Reason 2: Punctuality and time management
I was told that I would have my first interview at 9am, but it was the aforementioned video call meeting. Which was followed by one to one interviews with all candidates, I ended up being interviewed at 12pm.
After which, we were told to stay on the group call until 2pm, for no reason. And we were asked to reconnect again at 3 to hear from the boss.
The whole thing was badly managed.
Reason 3: The contract
Since it was a foreign company not implemented in Algeria, the employment terms stated that we would work as freelancers, with a minimum commitment of one year, with no leaves and no vacations.
If a candidate was to change jobs or just stop, they would have had to repay the two/three months salary spent on the self-driven training.
Conclusion
In the past, I wouldn't have ever imagined letting go a job that paid this much, but I came to the realization that not every well paying job is worth the headaches and certainly not the ethics.
Oldest comments (5)
Could have been a stepping stone. But it sounds like it would have been utterly miserable.
I had a similar situation recently with a non tech job. Pay was good and opportunity was through the roof but after some researching on the company itself i realised that there reputation was pretty miserable. so money wise i could have rocked it but I think a little piece of my soul would have died. I used to be a call center supervisor so I have to guard what little bits of soul i have left haha.
Is this even enforceable with the Algerian laws?
I don't know much about Labour laws here. But I would have had to sign a "consultant contract" that had a clause about that.
We don't have an official status for freelancers here.
Well done