We found North Korean engineers in our application pile
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Re: We found North Korean engineers in our application pile
#2I had similar experiences at my last employer when hiring last fall.
In both cases, the fraud was easily made plain when I asked details about their work history. In one case, they claimed to live in the same metro area I had previously lived for 18 years, but couldn’t answer any basic questions about the place. In another situation, they claimed a workplace that was in a community I was familiar with and that was far too small to have corporate headquarters of any type I wouldn’t be familiar with.
After 5-10 minutes of probing, both candidates bailed on the interview realizing they were wasting their time.
They also exhibited some of the other signs as described at the link - no employment profiles on LinkedIn or just a basic profile, names that didn’t match their ethnicity, etc.
I have no evidence or intuition to conclude they were North Korean, as employment fraud is certainly not limited to North Korea. I can’t imagine either of the candidates I spoke to surviving even casual scrutiny, so I highly doubt this kind of fraud results in much success.
Re: We found North Korean engineers in our application pile
#3I wouldn't mind hiring a NKean for my company. Just get them to defect to the US first! Lol
Re: We found North Korean engineers in our application pile
#4THe NK developer will think, wait, I'm making a fraction of what I'm actually earning, I will smuggle in a Starlink receiver and set up a bank account in China and work for myself. This is how Communist regimes end.
Re: We found North Korean engineers in our application pile
#5I can think of maybe 20 countries where people would do this before DPRK, not least China, but quite a few in Europe to, Poland, India. why DPRK? like the level of Pakistan CS grads is probably better than most US ivy league grads, cant imagine DPRK has much of a CS education system.
Re: We found North Korean engineers in our application pile
#6Are they any good at their jobs?
The article makes it sound like these guys are none too bright and not especially well trained. Are companies just that desperate?
Re: We found North Korean engineers in our application pile
#7THe NK developer will think, wait, I'm making a fraction of what I'm actually earning, I will smuggle in a Starlink receiver and set up a bank account in China and work for myself. This is how Communist regimes end.
Then his family in NK will be executed or sent to prison
Re: We found North Korean engineers in our application pile
#8THe NK developer will think, wait, I'm making a fraction of what I'm actually earning, I will smuggle in a Starlink receiver and set up a bank account in China and work for myself. This is how Communist regimes end.
The one who did the interview and the ones who do the coding may not overlap, and as OP mentioned, they don't need to be particularly good. Even if they get fired after a few months, it's still a net win.
Re: We found North Korean engineers in our application pile
#9THe NK developer will think, wait, I'm making a fraction of what I'm actually earning, I will smuggle in a Starlink receiver and set up a bank account in China and work for myself. This is how Communist regimes end.
From the article:
> They are often required to leave family members behind as collateral to prevent them from defecting while outside their home country.
Re: We found North Korean engineers in our application pile
#10First, I highly doubt this story, because it’s just too perfect of a fodder for your puff piece marketing blog post.
Second, you did not find any confirmed North Koreans at all! Come on, now. How trustworthy are you with such a clickbait title?