Sons I need your advice

[lefty]

So I had a job interview today with THQ Montreal (you nerds know they make videogames) for an HR position

The goods :

- the interview went really well; I'm scheduled for a 2nd intw with the boss
- If I sign, I'll get 20000$ more than my current salary
- it's 5 minutes by walking from where I live - I live downtown; not a big deal though, as my current job is 10 minutes by walk from home
- the environment looks great, very modern and also relaxing rooms with sofas and
- the non-techie girls are bombs s daaamn

The bad :

THQ's Montreal office opened in 2010, so it's fairly young; they are still growing and the recruiting volume is gonna be insane until November-December 2012.
There is only 1 HR person doing recruiting and I would be the 2nd one ; she told me that right now she is working 10 hours a day, almost everyday, and there is a good chance I would work that many hours until the November/December deadline is met
Im not lazy, it's just that I'm used to working 9 to 5


ing dilemmas man

[Slomo]

So I had a job interview today with THQ Montreal (you nerds know they make videogames) for an HR/interview position

The goods :

- the interview went really well; I'm scheduled for a 2nd intw with the boss
- If I sign, I'll get 20000$ more than my current salary
- it's 5 minutes by walking from where I live - I live downtown; not a big deal though, as my current job is 10 minutes by walk from home
- the environment looks great, very modern and also relaxing rooms with sofas and
- the non-techie girls are bombs s daaamn

The bad :

THQ's Montreal office opened in 2010, so it's fairly young; they are still growing and the recruiting volume is gonna be insane until November-December 2012.
There is only 1 HR Recruiter and I would be the 2nd one ; she told me that right now she is working 10 hours a day, almost everyday, and there is a good chance I would work that many hours until the November/December deadline is met
Im not lazy, it's just that I'm used to working 9 to 5


ing dilemmas man

I'll probably regret it since it's more likely than not a troll job, but if you walk away from a great opportunity just because you're afraid of working 10hrs a day for a couple a month - then you're a lazy ass moron and frankly don't deserve the job.

[lefty]

I'll probably regret it since it's more likely than not a troll job, but if you walk away from a great opportunity just because you're afraid of working 10hrs a day for a couple a month - then you're a lazy ass moron and frankly don't deserve the job.

Damn

I'm not lazy but I want to have the time to do do other activities outside of work

Not the same thing

[Slomo]

Dude it's a couple of months! Party a little less and wake up earlier.

Seriously though, it sounds to me you have the opportunity to jump into an expanding company at an early stage - that's usually the best situation to build up one's career. And they pay you 20k more. Now I don't know how big of a raise 20k is for you, but jobs that give you a raise from the get go are pretty rare.

I'm in a similar situation where I just accepted a job that will have me relocate 4000 miles away and I fully expect to work 12 to 14 hours for the next 3 months and 10 to 12 for the following three. But it's a great opportunity and frankly a once in a life time offer for which people in my industry would literally kill for. Guess how long it took me to say yes.

[Slomo]

OF course if your career is not something you are interesting in building, and those other interest of yours are what you wish to do in the future - then forget what I said.

[lefty]

Dude it's a couple of months! Party a little less and wake up earlier.

Seriously though, it sounds to me you have the opportunity to jump into an expanding company at an early stage - that's usually the best situation to build up one's career. And they pay you 20k more. Now I don't know how big of a raise 20k is for you, but jobs that give you a raise from the get go are pretty rare.

I'm in a similar situation where I just accepted a job that will have me relocate 4000 miles away and I fully expect to work 12 to 14 hours for the next 3 months and 10 to 12 for the following three. But it's a great opportunity and frankly a once in a life time offer for which people in my industry would literally kill for. Guess how long it took me to say yes.

Damn; now that's commitment

OF course if your career is not something you are interesting in building, and those other interest of yours are what you wish to do in the future - then forget what I said.

haha that's pretty straightforward

Well HRwise, I'm shooting more for a more generalist role (the THQ job is more specialized)

But at the same time, I need a much better salary in order to realize some of my "projects" - for example, I want to buy a condo, etc...





So yeah, I will have to think about it

[Slomo]

Damn;

haha that's pretty straightforward

Well HRwise, I'm shooting more for a more generalist role (the THQ job is more specialized)

But at the same time, I need a much better salary in order to realize some of my "projects" - for example, I want to buy a condo, etc...

Well that's another story then. I had a pretty good job many years back and was offered a promotion that would have taken me farther away form what I wanted to do - it was a tough decision, but I was 23 and had no real commitments to anybody (wife, kids, ...) so I gambled. If you have to do stupid things like that better do them while you're young (again I have no idea what your age or situation is).

But I still stand by my first opinion that the 10 hrs/day for 2-3 months shouldn't really be the deciding factor.

[lefty]

Well that's another story then. I had a pretty good job many years back and was offered a promotion that would have taken me farther away form what I wanted to do - it was a tough decision, but I was 23 and had no real commitments to anybody (wife, kids, ...) so I gambled. If you have to do stupid things like that better do them while you're young (again I have no idea what your age or situation is).

But I still stand by my first opinion that the 10 hrs/day for 2-3 months shouldn't really be the deciding factor.

Yeah good point on the situation

I'm single, no kids, so maybe the time to make money is now, even if it's not the ideal job (well it's not that far because it could be sa stepping stone towards what I want to do - you never know with internal movements)

[Libri]

Damn

I'm not lazy but I want to have the time to do do other activities outside of work

Not the same thing

After work you still have 14 hours to post on Spurstalk.

[lefty]

After work you still have 14 hours to post on Spurstalk.

If I take this job, you guys wont see me for a while


Yeah go ahead celebrate

[Useruser666]

Lefty,

Just to share some thing I've read (mostly from Game Informer). But THQ has been thru the ringer lately financially. I think they just got a new CEO who is trying to revamp the company. Some article stated that because their size is kind of in the middle of the spectrum for game publishers/developers, that it has been very difficult for them to deal with the costs of overhead and marketing and reach critical mass with sales. If I were you I'd look up some of the recent history. You may be joining them at the beginning of a renaissance, or just before they fold completely and are bought out.

I have been a fan of several of their les thru the years.

My two cents, good luck.

[Wild Cobra]

Life is always a crap shoot. That said, if they become real successful, it's always good to be one of the earlier employees. Help make them great, and when EA buys them out, your stock options might be rather large.

[Wild Cobra]

I guess I should add that when a large corporation bough a place I worked for, I was one of the senior employees in a nice job. I was given a pretty nice share of stock options. It doesn't always happen, but some places do like to reward those who helped make things great. Not all business types are tightwads.

[baseline bum]

I'd be surprised if you're not working those kind of hours from July to October every year in the big crunch leading up to November releases for Christmas.

[Heath Ledger]

Sounds like a good problem to have. Congrats.

[resistanze]

Take it you mother er. Yolo!

[lefty]

Thanks a lot for the advice, guys


I've done some research on the web, and while I havent made a a decision yet, I think I will probably pass

I've read some employee reviews, and most of them are negative; however, all those reviews were not from Montreal employees - Vancouver and U.S offices

They seem to appreciate the talent, the offices, and the $$$, but complain about the poor leadership and communication.

2 reviewers also complained about the long hours and lack of flexibility

The San Diego office closed and relocated the QA tasks to Montreal

Also, the financial woes that Wild Cobra has mentioned; although THQ has released some big les - Saint Row and UFC games - they havent done enough to compete with the Big Boys

Plus, I just found out they have lost their UFC license to EA - which is ironic since I saw a room in the Montreal office with a big wall displaying George Saint-Pierre's face


The Montreal Office got a new President a few months ago; he spoke at E3 in June and said that while there may be empty seats in the upcoming months, he doesnt think the MTL office will close.
So yeah, that's a very bad sign IMO

“There may be empty seats. I’m not saying that we wouldn’t fulfill our obligations. But assuming for a moment that we don’t reach whatever our contractual obligations are, there are very specific clauses in the contract that say what would happen.
“And I’ve read the contract, I’ve gone over it, it was one of the things I did before starting. And there’s nothing about the contract or our failing under that contract that would cause the company to fail,” he added.

Plus, across North America, THQ is said to have a high turnover rate, close to 25%, which is a nightmare for a Recruiter


I'm still looking for reviews from Montreal employees though, this office may be different, but so far, based on what I have gathered, it's not looking pretty..........
And it's a good thing Rezistanze has no influence on me

[Wild Cobra]

What is the companies long term viability? Did you see this:

Stock Quote

Down to $4.33 from a 52 week high of $25.10.

I'd look deep into the future.

[TDMVPDPOY]

he spends half his time on here talkin to the masses....

[lefty]

And ...... Pass

Thanks for the advice guys

[Reck]

You were full of Lefty.

No one passes on a job like this.

Just another bull thread by you.

1, THQ is on a down turn so it is highly un ing likely they would be hiring anyone right now.

2, You would have to be a video game designer, Programer, Animator, some type of engeneer and so on to even be considered for these type of jobs.

I dont think you would qualify for a secretary spot let alone one of the main jobs.

Or maybe I'm wrong, tell us what you major in again?

[lakerhaterade]

shadowflames nails it on the head.

lefty is full of . no ing way THQ is going to be hiring anybody right now.

[leemajors]

You were full of Lefty.

No one passes on a job like this.

Just another bull thread by you.

1, THQ is on a down turn so it is highly un ing likely they would be hiring anyone right now.

2, You would have to be a video game designer, Programer, Animator, some type of engeneer and so on to even be considered for these type of jobs.

I dont think you would qualify for a secretary spot let alone one of the main jobs.

Or maybe I'm wrong, tell us what you major in again?

He clearly stated he interviewed for an HR position. Fail.

[lefty]

He clearly stated he interviewed for an HR position. Fail.

Major epic fail from SF

[Reck]

He clearly stated he interviewed for an HR position. Fail.

I did read that and promptly disregarded it.

Lefty does't strike me like someone who can be an HR person. Dont even think he has the minimum requirements imo.

And THQ rarely hires for those positions. Even more so for outside hires.

Oh and did I mentioned that company is on the brink of going out of business?

Either way you look at it Lefty is lying.