
Ask HN: Have I been mislead with my job offer? - randomize88990
Half way through my last year as a comp sci undergrad I was hired as a &quot;Entry Level Software Engineer&quot; at a major tech company.<p>When I got my offer letter I noticed that the team I would be on was called &quot;Client Technical Support&quot;. This immediately threw a red flag for me because it sounded like over the phone tech support. I emailed my interviewer to clear up what exactly I would be doing. I absolutely did not want to be doing tech support and wanted to be developing and growing my skills. I was quickly assured this was a bad name for the role and that it primarily was a development role. I accepted the offer and forgot about any of my concerns until I started.<p>Once I started, I quickly was told my role involves providing technical support, over the phone, for enterprise software and as they put it &quot;no you will not actually be doing any coding, but don&#x27;t worry you&#x27;ll be looking at plenty of code and providing solutions for other engineers&quot; They also assured me it was fun and I will be learning lots about one specific product.<p>I feel as though I have been mislead. I really want to be growing my skills. Should I stick it out at in hopes of moving into a developer role or should I begin looking for another job?<p>Much appreciated :)
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otoburb
>> _I was quickly assured this was a bad name for the role and that it
primarily was a development role._

Next time, refuse to start unless they re-issue the offer letter with the
corrected job title. For any future contract, always ensure the final and
corrected version of the contract is in hand before counter-signing. One way
to do this is scratch out the incorrect words or terms, handwrite the new
words, initial the change, and scan the signed paperwork back.

>> _I accepted the offer and forgot about any of my concerns until I started._

Everybody here agrees that the company lied, but next time accept the offer by
scratching out the wrong words and writing in the correct ones. Then you will
have legal grounds to fight back.

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noonespecial
Bail.

You were lied to.

That's a terrible way to start a business relationship. If they're willing to
do that, you are almost certainly walking into a toxic waste dump of a
corporate culture.

~~~
gigatexal
Yup bail. And burn any bridges. You were told a flat out lie. There’s no
universe in which entry level software engineer means phone tech support.

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abawany
I am just adding to the existing crescendo but here is my take:

* If it is not written down, it is meaningless. Never believe anyone's verbal assurance, especially if it is someone whose compensation is tied to your assent (such as the interviewer, it seems.) This is true generally for many areas of life but is particularly true of transactional interactions such as buying a car, signing up for a job, buying a house, etc. Pretty much if the person dealing with you will suffer no consequences of lying to you once you have agreed, you should insist on seeing the concern addressed in writing.

* Better late than never re. departure. If your next potential employer quizzes you about the short duration, present the departure in positive terms ('misunderstanding in the details of the role', etc.) I will also roll out a platitude by saying that you get one shot at life and it is not worth it to be miserable. You have the fortune (depending on your country of residence, true for the US and Canada certainly) of being in a good job market so anyone with half a sense will snap you up pronto.

* The longer you stay in this job doing phone support and looking at code, the more time you will lose building up your future skills. Effectively, the longer you stay, the more you are dulling your ability to move to a non-technical-support job in the future.

* Stackexchange has a job-advice board and you should consider posting there to get additional opinions if you are still concerned.

EDIT: Added one more point re. career.

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greenyoda
_" I was quickly assured this was a bad name for the role and that it
primarily was a development role."_

And then: _" No you will not actually be doing any coding._"

Sounds like they blatantly lied to you to get you to accept the job.

 _" Should I stick it out at in hopes of moving into a developer role or
should I begin looking for another job?"_

What makes you think they'll suddenly start being honest with you, or start
caring about what you really want to do?

I'd start looking for another job.

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The_DaveG
For future reference, I'd always try and talk to the hiring manager and/or the
person you'd be reporting to (if they are different) to see if there is a good
personality fit.

Ask what a typical day looks like and it will get them to start opening up
about the position and what's to come. That might be projects or how you'll be
mentored or anything to get you up to speed.

Like was mentioned, get everything in writing and if you emailed the
recruiter, show it to your new boss and explain your expectations for this
position. It might be a shady recruiter or a misunderstanding that got you
here. All industries are small and everyone important is never more than a
couple of degrees away from the person you could have burned. I'd give them a
chance to make it right before you leave, if only so you can tell the next
place that you gave them a chance to make the mistake right, it will show
maturity and give them the feeling that you're level headed and that they
would want you to work for them.

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randomize88990
I want to thank everyone for their well thought out answers. Being new in the
industry as a recent grad, I will take all your advice into my future search
for a position more suited to me. If anyone else has anything to add that
hasn't been previously mentioned I'd be happy to hear it

~~~
greenyoda
Good luck with your career, and I hope your future experiences will be more
positive than this one.

One more thing: You may want to post a review on glassdoor.com to share your
experiences with this company. It might save someone else the trouble you've
been through.

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arkitaip
They probably have a culture of deception at this place and the risk is that
they will continue to lie and mislead you.

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Powerofmene
I would say that if they have to mislead you from the start that there will be
little you can expect from this relationship moving forward. You will not
trust anything that your boss or this company promises moving forward so I
would suggest you start looking elsewhere.

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mindcrime
That is, like, totally bogus behavior on their part. I'd say bail and find a
mondo righteous job.

