Comment by giantg2
5 years ago
I was on call as a new developer on a system. I was not given any procedures or trouble shooting documents. I got a call at 1 am, missed it, and waited one minute to see if there was a message. I did see a voicemail, so I started listening and logging on. Before I could even get halfway through, the person called again (why not leave the voicemail on the final attempt?). So I'm looking for the issue/fix for 5 minutes and they tell me they know who the SME is for the functionality, so they will call them. Why even call me if you're just going to call the SME without giving me time to look at it? I got negative feedback from my manager about the way I handled it. So, I asked how I should have handled it without any training or documentation. They said I should have called the SME. Well, I didn't know who the SME was and there's no documentation or list of what who is the SME for which part of the system, nor was I instructed to immediately call the SME. Again, why not just call the SME first if they knew who it was and the SME didn't create documentation because they are "too busy".
How was the interview process before you got hired on? Any warning signs that seem obvious now in retrospect?
The hiring process for the company wasn't special. Of course half the stuff they claimed in the interview changed later (was hired as a Java dev but was assigned to Filenet, they said rhet dont outsource or layoff but have started doing both).
This was an internal transfer. There were definitely warning signs in that interview. I was desperate because they were outsourcing my job in an obscure tech (Filenet) and we were expecting a kid.
The hiring manager said something to the effect of, "I was surprised anyone internal even applied to this job".
'Warning flag' doesn't do this justice. I have no idea what to call it, but desperation required I ignore it.
The issues in your earlier post point to a problem with the company as a whole. It is surprising that the issue is with a specific role.
3 replies →
> SME didn't create documentation because they are "too busy".
Because they keep getting shoulder tapped to put out fires. Because they’re the only one who knows the system. Because there is no documentation…
Basically. Except there were 3 other tech leads in that area. They didn't know that specific piece of functionality, but they could be given the new work to take stuff off that team's plate to make time for documentation. The leadership in that area didnt really care about anything other than delivering fast. Testing? Eh... Security issues? They're not that big of a deal - do them on an above and beyond basis (contrary to enterprise policy). On call documentation? Not even going to try to create it. I mean really, all you have to do is create a knowledge document out of the SNOW incident ticket. Then the next time it happens there will be a link to the steps taken. But no.