Onboarding & Team Culture
My onboarding was difficult. The colleague assigned to bring me up to speed was upfront about not wanting to assist, and at one point told me to figure things out myself. I was left out of team communication channels, had routine questions met with dismissive responses, and early mistakes were called out in front of others rather than addressed privately. There was a noticeable sense that QA was viewed as a lesser discipline. Over time this shaped how I was perceived by people who barely knew me, which was a hard position to start from.
Management
Expectations were intense from day one, including being expected to work through public holidays with no acknowledgment. Raising questions with my manager was usually met with visible frustration rather than guidance, which made it hard to feel safe asking for help.
Working Hours
Long hours were the norm regularly past midnight, and on multiple occasions through the entire night until around 4 AM, followed by an early commute and a full day in the office. Despite this level of effort, my commitment was still questioned.
Equipment
New joiners were reportedly given degraded or partially broken equipment as standard practice. I worked with a laptop that had ongoing hardware issues for weeks, and requests for a replacement were declined.
HR
My interactions with HR felt unprofessional. When I gave notice, the representative seemed unaware of the notice period clearly stated in my contract, and the conversation included inappropriate comments about my previous employer. After leaving, repeated follow-ups requesting a service letter were met with delays and an unhelpful attitude I was dismissed rudely.it was never issued.
