STV Interview Questions
& Process

So I had an interview in early October with one of their doing business as (21st Century Distributing) and it went well. The follow-up interview was in early November. They told me that they wanted me to do a contract for them, and I signed an NDA saying I wouldn't show any confidential info to other people. Coolcool. I figured this was a kind of test, and they were willing to pay me for the work. So my usual contract states that I want 50% down before any work actually begins, and the remainder paid over milestones before the code touches the server they own. I'm always willing to show them that it works, and I also offer a warranty of 7 days in case something didn't work, I would fix it (if due to my code). So I sent them a contract and they said they weren't expecting a contract back (?) and they sent their own. Spoiler Alert, it was crazy. * Their 2 milestones were after I dropped the code onto their servers. * I can't terminate the contract (unless they break a rule of it and don't fix it), but they can cancel the contract anytime they want. * If the contract is canceled, all code is theirs (code created becomes theirs at the moment of creation). * They give themselves 10 days to review it, then another 20 days (total of 30) before deciding if it is working and any problems even after that period, I need to fix. No time limit. It could be 2 years from now. But after those 30 days, they gave themselves Net 15 so I wouldn't see a dime potentially 45 days from when they possess my code and presuming they don't terminate the contract within that time. * If they don't like my code, they can hire someone else to fix it, but I have to pay the cost of that other developer. While I am desperate for work, this sounded too many alarm bells to be healthy. So I told him today in a call that because he wouldn't budge on any of this, then I will have to decline the contract.

I had a recruiter call first, then a Teams phone interview. They asked about the role and some problems they were having. I helped them figure out solutions and how to answer questions to move forward with the implementation. I accepted the contract, I signed, the recruiting company signed, and STV signed. They said they were sending equipment overnight, but then ghosted me for a week. After I followed up a bunch, they told me they didn't need a consultant anymore. I'd turned down two other offers while waiting for a laptop that never came. It was super frustrating, and I'm still without a job during the holidays. Avoid them.

It was a pretty standard interview process, and everyone I met was friendly. STV is a medium-sized company and it looks like they have pretty good benefits. The hiring manager seemed a bit unpersonable but knew roadway design well. I ended up taking a job elsewhere, but overall STV seemed fine. I'm not sure if their social media presence is a plus or minus.

It was a good and easy interview process. I made sure to prepare well, stay positive, listen carefully and ask questions. I also tried to build a connection, show that I was interested, and I sent a thank you note afterwards. It left a good impression.