Work#

Time really flies. It’s been almost two years since 2015, and my journey as a frontend developer has been surprisingly smooth. I’ve been quite lucky.

Back then, I self-studied for three months, then applied for jobs and received several offers. Everything went too smoothly. I then joined an internet finance company. My boss was very good to me, but after more than a year, I still chose to resign in May this year. The reason was simple: the company’s development model was too conservative. Staying there would truly lead to no progress. The work I did all day felt more like what a graphic designer would do. The company didn’t value frontend development, and frontend and backend weren’t separated, with two people from frontend and backend modifying the same file. It was truly painful to think about.

After resigning, I had to look for a job, and I must say, the job hunting experience was quite interesting.

Job Hunting#

There was a startup company that was quite satisfied with me, but we couldn’t agree on salary, so I let it go. Who knew that later, after I had already received an offer from another company, they said the original salary was acceptable?

There was a foreign company where I was very satisfied with their work environment during the interview. However, my interview performance was terrible; I couldn’t even write a Sass loop. The result was predictable. The interviewer was very kind and told me to wait for news. Less than five minutes after I left, I received a text message: “You are not suitable for our company’s requirements.” Well, that’s efficient, I quite like that.

There was a large company in Binjiang. I passed the interview, and we agreed on the salary. The HR told me to wait for the offer, which usually comes within three days. I was very happy and submitted my resignation to my old company the next day. However, after waiting a week, I still hadn’t received the offer, so I called to inquire. The other party apologetically replied that the department’s company structure was being reorganized, and the business unit I interviewed for no longer existed… (Ծ ㅂ Ծ). I didn’t know what to say.

In between, there were also a bunch of unreliable companies, and of course, some interviews I didn’t pass due to my own insufficient skills.

One direct example was someone from Mogujie asking if I could accept overtime. I said occasionally, but not frequently. Then they replied, “That won’t work. We have very serious overtime here, almost every day until 11 PM.” And then, there was no “then.” Later, a friend referred me to Alibaba. I failed the third interview for Tmall, then interviewed for the B2B department in Binjiang.

During the second interview for Alibaba, I received an interview invitation from Netease. I had a very pleasant discussion during the Netease interview; both sides were very satisfied. Finally, the HR asked if I was interviewing with other companies. I said, “Of course, for example, Alibaba, where I’m already at the second interview stage.” Then the following conversation ensued:

HR: "So, if Alibaba and Netease both send you an offer at the same time, which one would you choose?"
I casually replied at the time, "Whichever sends the offer first."

That very evening, I received a phone call informing me that I had passed the interview, and the offer was sent the next day. Thinking back now, I was really clever, O(∩_∩)O.

Netease#

My job hunting came to an end, and I joined Netease. First and foremost, my initial impression of Netease was how good the cafeteria was (though I’ve grown tired of it), it felt like being back in university. And then, there were so many girls, yes, really.

I have to say, there are many differences between large companies and small companies. Firstly, the processes are very standardized; you won’t encounter situations like in my previous company where the product manager would constantly change requirements. But at the same time, there’s a drawback: too many meetings. Thinking about whether those meetings are necessary, yes, they are, but the overall efficiency of the meetings is truly low.

When I first joined Netease, besides business requirements, I also voluntarily took on several non-business tasks for the frontend technology department. Perhaps this made my boss think I was very proactive and he started to think highly of me. At one point, I was also supposed to build a frontend monitoring system, but unfortunately, just as the preliminary work was done, the person in charge resigned, and the project was shelved. It’s quite a pity.

They say you gain weight after joining Netease, but in just half a year, I actually lost seven or eight pounds. I have to admit, work is quite busy; I often don’t get off work until 8 or 9 PM. Thinking back to when I used to finish at 6 PM, read for two hours, play games for two hours, then go to bed—work-life balance, simply perfect. Now, as soon as I get off work, I’m like a dead pig; I don’t want to do anything. I’m too lazy to play games, just scroll through Weibo, A, and Bilibili, then sleep. I read very little now, occasionally some frontend-related blogs and articles. So, I feel that in the past six months, apart from accumulating work experience, my personal knowledge expansion has almost stagnated. This definitely can’t continue long-term.

Moreover, after the lead of our business line resigned, my boss asked me to take charge. Although this is a good opportunity for me to grow, the pressure is immense. Every day, besides business requirements, I have a pile of miscellaneous tasks to deal with, which leaves me overwhelmed.

However, it’s not all bad. My colleagues at the company are quite interesting, and overall, I’m happy at work, which is pretty good.

Life#

I flipped through last year’s diary—oh, no, it should be called a monthly log. It seems my daily life is still the same, not much different from last year.

Finding a Place#

At the beginning of the year, it was time to find a place again. My previous landlord directly raised the rent by 500 yuan, which was truly unacceptable. So, I had to embark on another apartment hunt. I visited many communities and finally found a decent one in a neighborhood near my old place, but the price was really high. This feeling of having to find a place every year is truly annoying.

The apartment I found was a three-bedroom, one-living room unit, so I pulled in a former colleague, and we began life as three roommates.

My new roommate has a cat, which is quite cute. The only thing is that the cat sheds a lot, and the owner rarely cleans, which is a bit unpleasant. But thankfully, everyone gets along well. We watch movies and have dinner together on weekends, and occasionally visit places like West Lake and Jiuxi. It’s pretty good.

Direction#

I’m still a bit lost, still don’t quite know what kind of person I am or what kind of person I want to become. I feel a bit directionless.

At the beginning of the year, I chatted with a classmate about where we wanted to develop our careers. He said he didn’t really want to stay in Hangzhou and didn’t want to go back home, preferring Shanghai. However, by mid-year, he got married and settled in Hangzhou. As for me, I want to go back home and yet I don’t, just like everyone else who works away from home—conflicted.

I always want to live a more carefree life, but I’ve drawn so many lines and boundaries for myself, trapping myself in a self-made prison, stuck in place.

Indeed, it’s quite difficult for a person to change themselves.

Goals#

Let’s look at the goals I set for myself last year:

Here are some simple rules for next year:

Write at least one blog post per month.
Watch at least one movie every two weeks.
Read one book every two months.
Increase physical exercise.
Keep up with American TV shows.

Except for 2 and 5, none of the others were completed. My execution is indeed lacking.

Blog: I haven’t updated it since joining Netease.
Books: I only read four books all year. Many books I bought, I haven’t even torn off the cover.
Exercise: I bought a yoga mat and new swimwear, but my exercise has been intermittent, and I haven’t been able to stick with it.

So, this year’s plan will be simpler:

At least one blog post per month.
Go out for a walk every month, even if alone.
Still need to read books, so one book every three months.
Still need to exercise, just keep it in mind.
Write and publish a personal project, no matter how simple.

Relationships#

→←

Finally#

The overall feeling is that this year passed by so quickly! In the blink of an eye, it’s been over two years since graduation. Sometimes it feels quite scary, and I must remind myself again: Seize the day.