Thursday, March 02, 2006

A New Job: I'll really be "Intuit"

I got the Job

For those of you who were at coffee when I was home alone, you know what I’m talking about.

For the rest of you, I’ll start at the beginning.

My wife left for the weekend. Hopped on a plane and headed to Vancouver for her brother’s wedding. The day after she left, I got an email from Graham Thompson, Talent Acquisition for Intuit, the makers of Quickbooks, Quicken, Quick Tax and I’m sure a few others. I figured it was a long shot for the job but I want a career in software development and they seemed to be a reasonable fit. C++ is their specialty, and it’s mine too, so we seemed to be a pretty good match.

Sunday came, and I had a 30-minute phone interview with Graham after I spent a few hours going over things I would say, trying to relax and trying to build up my confidence.

I kicked that interview’s ass.

Graham told me, at the end, that I sounded like a reasonable candidate for the position they were hiring for. I figured I’d get a second interview.

That Friday, I did.

When Kim sprained her ankle, I took two days off to take care of her, and that allowed me the opportunity to sneak off for a bit for a face-to-face interview with Jim Whitelaw, the hiring manager. It turned out that he interviewed me with a senior Software Engineer (though that may change soon if Apegga has their way). Partway through the interview, Jim turned to the senior man and said, “Do you have any more questions for him?” He said, “Yeah, but he’ll get them. Do you want me to ask them anyway?” At that point, I was fairly confident that I would get the job. They asked some good problem-solving questions, some programming questions and some about my history of conflict-resolution, predicting how long it would take me to finish a project and things of that nature. I had good answers for all of them. Still, I wasn’t entirely sure. I wasn’t ready to hand in my resignation, anyway.

Yesterday, I found out that they were going to offer me a package. Today I found out what the package was going to be. Either tomorrow or the next day, I’m going to go to Intuit and sign an agreement and I’m going to give my notice at the Big Red (hustling on!). The money is more than I expected out of a junior position and as much as I’m making now. With taking a car off the road, not using the gas, balanced by a bus pass, I’ll be taking home more than I was before and doing what I want to do for a living, not to mention that I’ll be at the bottom of the totem-pole, rather than at the top, so my opportunities for advancement will be more prevalent.

While 2006 started with a fairly nondescript aura, it’s turned out to be a fairly significant year. Thank god for the green years.

According to Intuit.ca:
Perks:

Fitness Incentive and Games Room:
Our Edmonton office has a gymnasium and associated equipment onsite. Our onsite fitness facility is complete with treadmill, weights, exercise bike, showers and towel service. Our games room is equipped with a big-screen TV, VCR, billiards and fooseball! We have nap rooms too - three of them; each with a bed, bedding, nightstand, reading lamp and clock radio. Calgary and remote employees are eligible to receive a fitness incentive to help defray the cost of a gym membership or monthly gym fees.

Tuition Assistance:
Employees who choose to continue their education through an accredited school may qualify for assistance with books and tuition. Intuit reimburses employees up to $2,000 per fiscal year for job- or career-related courses.

Computer Loan Program:
After six months of regular employment, employees can borrow up to $3,000 to purchase a computer. The loan is interest free and is paid back through payroll deductions.

Product Discounts:
Employees enjoy substantial discounts on Intuit products.

Corporate Giving:
Intuit encourages and supports employees' community involvement efforts through the We Care and Give Back Program. It includes two components:

Employee Volunteer Program:
Employees are encouraged to develop and demonstrate leadership skills by organizing team volunteer activities. The program includes financial support and time off to volunteer for corporate approved projects and programs.

Employee Matching Program:
Intuit provides matching funds to charitable organizations that employees personally support, and/or funds raised through an individual's personal efforts for a charitable organization. We match donations made by eligible employees, dollar for dollar, up to $1,200.

Adoption Assistance:
To help offset the cost of adopting a child, Intuit reimburses up to $4,500 (net) per adoption.

On-Site Cafeteria:
The Edmonton location has a cafeteria on site, which includes a sandwich-bar/deli, salad bar, soups, pizza, pastas, roasted turkey, beef or pork, desserts, fruit - just about anything.

16 comments:

Sean Woods said...

My INTUITion told me that you would get the job.

Congratulations! This is fantastic.


Just fantastic!

KimLiving said...

I like it when good work-related things happen to you since it makes me feel better about not bringing home any moolah.

You're the moolah-man, I'm the, uh, lactation lady and life is good.

Liam J. said...

Sean: Agreed. Now you get yours.

Tim: I will make an effort toward that.

Kim: Keep that milk-a-flowin'.

Strider: What do you use right now? E-File?

KimLiving said...

Oh hey Liam...you should clarify for people why the adoption thing in the benefits is a good thing.

Krista Leddy said...

Woo Hoo!

Intuit was listed as one of the top fifty employers in Canada.

Liam J. said...

Yeah, the adoption thing is awesome because it means that we can finally get around to my adopting Nicholas.

Neither Kim nor my mom saw that when I told them about the adoption allowance.

Strider: I generally use H&R Block because they give me my money right away.

Anonymous said...

Right on, man! Good stuff! And, you do realize that, since you were, in fact, acquired, you are no officially recognized as talent.

Oh, and Moolah-Man and Lactation Lady are either the greatest, or creepiest, couple of superheroes ever.

Liam J. said...

Which one?

Thanks, everyone, for your best wishes (and your desire for cheap/free software)

Anonymous said...

Great to hear the news Liam, although initially I thought you'd be really inuit... maybe you'd be skinning seals to make moccasins, but I guess accounting software is kinda the same thing.

Anonymous said...

Congratulations on the new position. If you run into Eric Fleury (I think he's on the build team) say hi to him :)

I had a chance to tour the facilities, and it's a pretty sweet building. I really liked the individualized climate control for each cube. You get to control a bit how hot/cold your cube is.

Nap rooms were nice and the entertainment facilities were good. As far as I remember they even had laundry available.

Anonymous said...

Liam,
Truly awesome. Truly well-earned. In celebration, I will come visit in a month. That is celebration for you, as I will be humbled by your software knowledge, thereby muting my joy. Also, my computer has been fucked for a week now and I blame the man who gave it to me. That, and she-male midget porn.

Helen Mueller said...

hey Liam,

I want to send you congrats too - now that I'm finally up on my feet. So glad you got this new position. I wish you all the very best and hope you are really happy there.

Liam J. said...

Dylan: I look forward to your coming, if not your whining about the computer. And really, except for English Literature and History, I know more about everything than you do. Especially the dissection of a defense in Madden.

Cranky One: Glad to hear that you're feeling better. Or at least that you're able to walk. I'm sure that this job will have its share of frustrations - especially when it's just about time to release the software but it's gotta be better than shuffling emails across my (virtual) desk.

Helen Mueller said...

a.k.a. cranky mom says:

I especially like the idea of the whole room for promotion thing. It does a whole different thing to a person as far as motivation goes, eh? Anyway, have a blast!

Earl J. Woods said...

Congratulations, Liam! My friends Pete and Mike work at Intuit, and they seem pretty happy there. I'm sure you'll enjoy your new job!

Liam J. said...

Sean told me you had some friends there. I believe that may have been the original impetus to go there.