Intranel

This morning I had an interview with another recruiting agency. Malcolm was a really nice guy, too. He said he moved from Auckland to Christchurch five years ago. It's funny, but nobody seems to like Auckland!
We talked for a while and then I sat a test that one of the companies makes all candidates sit. The first part was about 10th grade math (sine, cosine and the most simple form of linear algebra -- all terribly easy), the second part was about programming, SQL and data structures. I don't think I did remarkably well in the second part, because I didn't understand some of the questions. "Design a data structure to store yadayada..." Do they want an SQL create statement, a UML diagram or a C++ class? Anyway, when I came back to the hostel, I received an email that told me I had passed the test and hence got another interview on Thursday. Strike!

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After a healthy lunch (KFC salad), I was on my way to the first real job interview with the first real company. It was a little outside of town, so I walked for about half an hour. The building didn't look like much, but who am I to judge a book by it's cover! It's a startup company with only six or seven developers. They have a variety of products, but no large customer base yet. According to the manager, they're about to grow very rapidly in the next few month. Also, a while ago they hired a German guy who obviously does a good job, so they're keen to get another one.
The thing is, Christchurch is quite a small city, and this is quite a small company. That's exactly what I have now and what I'm trying to get away from! Most likely they will make the same old mistakes all over again. From what I've seen, I honestly think they can make it, though. Being part of their team in the crucial phase will prove useful both in my CV and my salary as soon as they start conquering markets. It might also go wrong, however, and that would be another year of wasted time for me.
Something to think about.

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After the interview, I went to the Botanic Gardens. They're amazingly beautiful and you don't even have to pay to get in!