Much has been said about the ad, and of Sugar Technologies, mostly uncomplimentary. I had meant to add my two cents last month, but I didn't have a blog then. Ah, but I do have a blog now.
The ad has been reworded slightly since then, so I point you to the exhibit below:
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| Click to enlarge! |
Sugar Technologies has since released a clarification and one of its interns, Asyraf Aliman, has also released a post in defense.
Unlike many of the comments posted, I do not consider the ad discriminatory, nor do I necessarily think that Sugar Technologies would be a bad place to work, under the right circumstances. Yes, Sugar Technologies should not be judged by its job ad. That's akin to saying that a prospective employee should not be judged by his resume, an assertion I don't wholly disagree with either. From the picture painted by Sugar Technologies and its intern, Sugar Technologies seems to be a fun place to pick up valuable professional experience, and is not the draconian hotbed of slavery depicted by the job ad. I'm inclined to give them the benefit of the doubt.
However, the subject under discussion is not Sugar Technologies, nor am I attempting to judge them based on one job ad. My issue is with the job ad itself.
The author was obviously trying to be different and original. Quirky? Perhaps. Edgy? Debatable. I think a more appropriate term would be immature and unprofessional.
And utterly, appallingly stupid.
How else would one describe an ad which uses such a condescending tone which effectively alienates its target audience - the developers? Consider the excerpt below:
Who We Want:
- You are ambitious, intense and entrepreneurial, and you dream of doing truly epic shit with your life. You recoil at the thought of having 1.15 kids, balloting for a flat, saving up for a Toyota and waiting to withdraw your CPF savings at 65 (or 70, or 80, or 120).
- You are a shallow social climber whose dream is to work for Goldman Sachs because it "looks good on your CV". You went to an Ivy League university because it would "look good on your CV". But you couldn't get into Goldman Sachs (or Citibank, or HSBC) because you actually have no passion for finance, just like how you want to buy that Louis Vuitton bag (because it will "look good on your social CV") despite having no passion for design and craftsmanship. Guess what? If you were rejected by Goldman Sachs, you will be rejected by us too. For exactly the same reasons. Advice: try applying for a government job.
- You are a social misfit. You like technology only because you can't relate to real people. You spend your weekends playing DOTA and in your sleep you dream about your hero reaching Level 38. At school, you were always the last to get picked on any project or sports team. Having a conversation with you is about as interesting as watching paint dry. Advice: go seek help from a mental health professional.
Perhaps the author felt that those turned off by this segment would be "shallow social climbers" whom the company doesn't really need. Surprise - I am pretty much the kind of person who should identify with the ad.
- I like kids only when they're not my own.
- I consider cars overrated.
- I've toiled almost exclusively for small unglamorous startups that worked me more than 12 hours a day. And moving up that corporate or social ladder isn't my priority - improving as a developer is. Because I went through a lot to become a web developer - and you will take it only from my cold, dead hands.
- I've rarely been in the position to push the blame to anyone. The companies I worked for were so small that I was the beginning, middle and end of the assembly line. I was the whole fucking assembly line.
- And I don't game. My weekends are spent doing housework, playing with code and hitting the swimming pool. I'm willing to bet that my mental health is excellent, thanks very much.
But no. While I'm not responding with as much vitriol as some comments posted online, I'm not so much angry as disgusted.
Yes, I've worked long extra hours to get things done. Without thought of recognition or reward. Because the act, in itself, was a reward. Because I love what I do.
But my employer is not entitled to benefit from that love. My employer is only entitled to what he pays me to do, and anything beyond that is mine to give.
Yes, I think marriage is one of the most horrifying institutions known to mankind. And I think having a job that does not stretch me in the slightest, where I can just coast to the day I collect my pension, is long slow career suicide. And I feel that it's no way to live.
But I do not judge people who want those things. I do not call them "shallow social climbers" or "social misfits". Not anymore, at least.
People want what they want. That's all there is to it. On my part, I just want to code and be paid for it, and if you have a problem with that, do us all a favor and go jump off Benjamin Sheares Bridge or something.
The smug and condescending tone of the job ad rankles, and for good reason. I have had people, with wife and kids in tow, smugly pointing to their "success" and asking me when I'm ready to settle down. As though not wanting what they achieved somehow means I'm deficient in some way. And I have been equally snarky in the past, wondering aloud, to their faces, why they're so proud of the fact that they have a spouse and kids just like almost every other schmuck on this island.
I encountered arrogance, and I responded with arrogance. If it's something a Teochew is good at, it's being cocky. But that was immature of me. And precisely because I've been immature before, I recognize immaturity when I see it. That job ad screamed immaturity. In spades.
On their statement, Sugar Technologies had this to say:
Firstly, we fully understand and acknowledge that working at a tech start-up is not for everyone. The majority of job-seekers desire stability, security, structure and consistency, and like many tech start-ups, we are not able to provide this. Given the nature of what we do, we require our employees to be comfortable with a certain degree of chaos and uncertainty.
Then why, oh why, didn't they say this from the start instead of trying to be cute in their job ad? Sugar Technologies is a tech start-up. One of several hundreds (probably thousands) on this island. With one cool (and hopefully original or at least superior) Mobile App idea they're riding on. Don't put on airs. It's just silly.
To conclude, and to reiterate, Sugar Technologies is not being discriminatory with the job ad. Sugar Technologies is perfectly within their legal rights. Ethically, they are blameless. Someone just got a little carried with the fancy wording on their job ad, that's all.
Guess it's true what they say - advert-sity breeds character!
T___T
T___T
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