Shopify will be smaller by about 20% and Flexport will buy Shopify Logistics • Hacker News Board

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

#491

Post by [deleted] » Fri, May 05, 2023, 1:28 AM UTC

bgun wrote: post #465

deltree7 wrote: post #462

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Then he should stop ranting about Executive pays. You can't have it both ways. Start misinformation about how capital markets work and not expect to be corrected. HN is a discussion forum. If an incorrect fact or misguided opinion is shared, it will be debated. I'm sympathetic to OP, but I also understand the dangers of misinformation and the resulting brainwashing of anti-capitalistic movement it causes and I will p…

and I will protect capitalism. Truly the hero capitalism deserves.

[deleted]

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

#492

Post by mabbo » Fri, May 05, 2023, 1:30 AM UTC

bartread wrote: post #266

"We are changing the shape of Shopify significantly today to pay unshared attention to our mission." What a way to lead, and what an absolutely grotesque euphemism (not to mention a barbaricly tortuous use of English). Why do companies write like this? It's just awful. I'm only half-joking when I suggest that if they'd taken this text and asked GPT-4 to rewrite it in a compassionate tone they'd have got a better resu…

As someone who was laid off by Shopify today, I can say this: the document was written well for the audience it was meant for.

It was genuinely Tobi. That's how he talks and writes. That's exactly the analogies he would use. No PR person anywhere would write this letter for him.

Also, he is wildly obsessed with LLMs. I would place a large money bet that he did have GPT help him edit this document.

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

#493

Post by amrocha » Fri, May 05, 2023, 1:38 AM UTC

projectazorian wrote: post #434

amrocha wrote: post #404

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

You choose what to talk about and what to share. It's open ended to give you the ability to share as much as you're comfortable with. You can tell the story of your career, no need to get any more personal unless you want to.

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

#494

Post by amrocha » Fri, May 05, 2023, 1:41 AM UTC

darth_avocado wrote: post #281

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…

Shopify is notorious in wasting your time. They have a “life journey” interview where you talk about your life’s journey and experiences. A few months ago I spent hours of my time on interviews that I performed well in, only to be told the team is “moving in a different direction”. Looks like I dodged a bullet there.

Clearly didn't perform as well as you thought if they passed on you

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

#495

Post by rcme » Fri, May 05, 2023, 2:12 AM UTC

mabbo wrote: post #490

gregors wrote: post #484

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>>> I hope Tobi has a plan This is a cut throat game of capitalism, you do know that right? He's going to be rewarded for making these cuts. There is no downside for the winners. Hope.....unfortunately that's not how the game is played. Unions, worker protections, and taxes on the wealthy those are real actionable goals.

Look, I spent a decade at Amazon working for Jeff Bezos and the horde of sociopaths he enabled. I know how it goes. Tobi has never given me the impression that he's a sociopath. It's part of why I wanted to work for Shopify. I used to joke that "'Shopify is the no assholes company.' 'But what about Kaz?' 'It's the no assholeS company- we're allowed one!'". But honestly, even my view on Kaz softened up over time. Eith…

I think you can come across as not being asshole while still being a sociopath willing to throw others under the bus for your own personal gain. And even if you're not a sociopath, everyone has a price.

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

#496

Post by comte7092 » Fri, May 05, 2023, 2:29 AM UTC

Shindi wrote: post #201

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…

> They promised me an onsite interview to simply meet the team and potentially secure an offer. Was that your first tech onsite? The onsite is an interview you have to pass, you're not guaranteed an offer. Also why did you not bring your laptop to your tech interview lol Honestly, sucks to fly out far and get rejected but that's part of the process my guy. Most onsites are 5 back to back interviews.

> Also why did you not bring your laptop to your tech interview lol

I’m not really “in tech” but this sounds like some bullshit for me. What if you don’t have a personal laptop? All I’ve got is a desktop machine, because my personal devices aren't for work.

> Most onsites are 5 back to back interviews.

What an absurd practice.

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

#497

Post by sodapopcan » Fri, May 05, 2023, 2:32 AM UTC

Shindi wrote: post #201

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…

> They promised me an onsite interview to simply meet the team and potentially secure an offer. Was that your first tech onsite? The onsite is an interview you have to pass, you're not guaranteed an offer. Also why did you not bring your laptop to your tech interview lol Honestly, sucks to fly out far and get rejected but that's part of the process my guy. Most onsites are 5 back to back interviews.

> Most onsites are 5 back to back interviews.

After after going through a whole crapload of interviews, "most" onsites definitely are not 5 hours. They certainly are a thing. Some are even longer. But out of around 25 interviews, only three places requested that much time (I declined two of them).

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

#498

Post by [deleted] » Fri, May 05, 2023, 2:34 AM UTC

UseStrict wrote: post #120

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 had almost an identical experience, except I was local to Ottawa at the time. Literally a full day of back-to-back interviews. They asked which languages and technologies I was comfortable with, and then gave me a pair programming session with someone who didn't even speak to me, in a programming language I wasn't comfortable in, leading me to have to look up a lot of syntax. Radio silence for a week, then I called…

[deleted]

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

#499

Post by regularjack » Fri, May 05, 2023, 2:35 AM UTC

deltree7 wrote: post #446

mabbo wrote: post #436

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 finan…

I'm sorry for you. The CEOs / Executives are literally appointed by the board who in turn are voted in by shareholders. It is their job to increase the share price. The world is better of with efficient capital deployment. So, I don't understand how the smartest people in this world don't understand the fundamental working of capital markets. Note: it's the same shareholders that have allowed to get $200-$300k TCs wh…

Smart people, as you put it, know that empathy plays a role in the world. It's possible to understand how capitalism works, while not being a sociopath.

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

#500

Post by sodapopcan » Fri, May 05, 2023, 2:38 AM UTC

UseStrict wrote: post #120

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 had almost an identical experience, except I was local to Ottawa at the time. Literally a full day of back-to-back interviews. They asked which languages and technologies I was comfortable with, and then gave me a pair programming session with someone who didn't even speak to me, in a programming language I wasn't comfortable in, leading me to have to look up a lot of syntax. Radio silence for a week, then I called…

I would so love to name names of companies who told me that I was going to do a "pair programming" exercise and the interviewer didn't even speak to me. Of course I won't, but clearly people don't know what pairing means.

One of them was a zoom call THAT I WAS ON BY MYSELF AND BEING RECORDED. I was told it was going to be a three hour pairing exercise and _after the interview started_ dude told me he would be available for questions but ultimately wouldn't be involved. I'm still angry at myself for agreeing to go through with that.