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Shopify will be smaller by about 20% and Flexport will buy Shopify Logistics

news.shopify.com

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Re: Shopify will be smaller by about 20% and Flexport will buy Shopify Logistics

#431

Post by kypro »

bambataa wrote: post #143

Is this the same CEO who decided to double the engineering team in a single year? https://techcouver.com/2021/01/06/shopify-to-double-engineer... Aren’t CEOs paid ludicrously well to make long term decisions, rather than just flail around?

To be fair it's extremely hard to make long-term decisions when you have politicians deciding to arbitrarily lock down the economy forcing all small businesses to engage in e-commerce, and when you have a Federal Reverse which alternates between creating financial bubbles and financial crises every couple of years.

Shopify being a beneficiary of both the government mandated lockdowns and the Fed backed investment bubble really had no option but to dramatically increase headcount. Their business literally doubled from 2020-2021 due these actions.

To believe in 2021 that in 2022 the Fed would undergo the most aggressive tightening cycle in history triggering significant headwinds for both startups like Shopify and their small business customers was absurd. At the time the Fed was saying that they weren't "even thinking about thinking about raising rates" so you basically had to assume that Fed lacked all credibility.

I guess what I'm saying here is that there is a reason why so many companies got this wrong beyond incompetence. So if you don't like it you should consider redirecting your outrage.

Re: Shopify will be smaller by about 20% and Flexport will buy Shopify Logistics

#432

Post by s1artibartfast »

annexrichmond wrote: post #423
s1artibartfast wrote: post #402

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe that attitude is one of the things it is good at screening for?

That’s a bit presumptuous. I was enthusiastic about the interview until afterwards The interview was conducted by the recruiter and while she didn’t flat out ask personal questions, she asked questions that would almost cause me to reveal personal information such as my marital status and sexuality. It was not fun coming with made up responses to avoid that because it’s none of her business. There’s a reason intervie…

Sorry if my comment came off at an personal attack, that wasn't the intent.

With that said, there are lots of reasons why a company might want to vet candidate attitude besides discriminating based on protected characteristics.

Out of curiosity, what kind of questions did you find invasive or discriminatory?

Re: Shopify will be smaller by about 20% and Flexport will buy Shopify Logistics

#433

Post by smilebot »

vsareto wrote: post #129
thegginthesky wrote: post #68

I'll tell you a personal anecdote about Shopify and why I dislike the company. Back in 2019, I was contacted by Shopify for a job opportunity. After acing multiple remote interviews, their recruiter couldn't contain their excitement. They promised me an onsite interview to simply meet the team and potentially secure an offer. Imagine my surprise when, after enduring a 15-hour economy class flight with barely any time…

Meanwhile, just play Starcraft 2 to get an internship: https://i.redd.it/amk31bewfxt31.jpg

“Just” is an understatement.

Re: Shopify will be smaller by about 20% and Flexport will buy Shopify Logistics

#434

Post by projectazorian »

amrocha wrote: post #404
umeshunni wrote: post #366

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Uh. I hope this was for a non-technical role. Otherwise, it sounds like a bad idea and best and a torturous thing that filters out a lot of non-native, non-extroverted people. But then again, that's probably why the environment seems 'fun'

Being able to communicate empathetically with your coworkers is a core competency for technical workers too. There's a difference between an introvert and an asshole.

Asking people to tell their "life story" in a job interview seems like a sign of boundary issues, not empathy. An empathetic person would realize that people come to job interviews expecting to talk about their professional experience, so it isn't the appropriate environment to ask such an invasive question.

Re: Shopify will be smaller by about 20% and Flexport will buy Shopify Logistics

#435

Post by projectazorian »

waboremo wrote: post #410
umeshunni wrote: post #366

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Uh. I hope this was for a non-technical role. Otherwise, it sounds like a bad idea and best and a torturous thing that filters out a lot of non-native, non-extroverted people. But then again, that's probably why the environment seems 'fun'

You've interviewed at places that didn't require you to talk about yourself? Just because Shopify might name it something specific, doesn't mean it's all that unique. Some companies hold this potion entirely on a first/second phone call, others might having an initial section of the interview dedicated to talking about yourself and your experience. Not sure how this weeds out non-native or non-extroverted people, bot…

This is a strawman. Nobody is saying that people should not have to talk about themselves in job interviews. What people are saying is that "tell me your life story" comes off as creepy and invasive in a professional context where the parties don't know one another.

Re: Shopify will be smaller by about 20% and Flexport will buy Shopify Logistics

#436

Post by mabbo »

I'm impacted. And it sucks.

It sucks because I really liked the company. I liked the culture. I liked the leadership style. I liked the mission. I genuinely think that company is doing good for the world, and making money in the process.

The challenge now is that the leadership have burned a lot of trust with the employees. They repeatedly said no more layoffs were coming, but with this move they all benefitted financially quite well- the stock is up 25%.

The move deeply undermines the company culture that they worked so hard to build. I hope Tobi has a plan for how to repair that damage.

Re: Shopify will be smaller by about 20% and Flexport will buy Shopify Logistics

#437

Post by hnlmorg »

oblio wrote: post #278
thegginthesky wrote: post #68

I'll tell you a personal anecdote about Shopify and why I dislike the company. Back in 2019, I was contacted by Shopify for a job opportunity. After acing multiple remote interviews, their recruiter couldn't contain their excitement. They promised me an onsite interview to simply meet the team and potentially secure an offer. Imagine my surprise when, after enduring a 15-hour economy class flight with barely any time…

I'm sorry to tell you this, but either your perception was wrong or your recruiter made a mistake. Remote interviews are generally phone screens. Aka just weeding out candidates. On site interviews are the real killer.

It depends on the company and/or hiring manager.

The role I’m currently hiring for, the face to face literally is just a meet and greet. All the technical stuff will be done remotely.

Also I wouldnt be surprised if the recruiter lied. I’ve had so many negative experiences with recruiters over the years that I’ve learned to trust very few and those who I do trust I now work exclusively with.

Re: Shopify will be smaller by about 20% and Flexport will buy Shopify Logistics

#439

Post by tomnipotent »

morkalork wrote: post #380
ryukafalz wrote: post #251

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> If it doesn't grow you can just lay people off and you're back where you started. "Back where you started" with a now highly demotivated team isn't quite back where you started.

Shopify already had a reputation for over hiring and firing those that didn't perform exceptionally.

Can you point to one example?

Re: Shopify will be smaller by about 20% and Flexport will buy Shopify Logistics

#440

Post by jtokoph »

boo-ga-ga wrote: post #438

Why do the stocks of tech companies grows every time the do layoffs? Is it a sign that the management is ready to do bold and unpopular decisions, or what?

Because reducing cost generally means increase in profits.
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