Does this job sound fishy?

Matt_Harrison

Junior Member
Hey Guys,

Just wanted some advice. I've got an interview for a job as a front-end developer at a company near Manchester. I got the interview through a job board on another design forum (through a recruitment consultant's post).

It all sounds a bit weird to me though. I've had interviews at other agencies for the same role and they offered around £16-20K. These guys are offering £25-28K which sounds too good to be true for a junior role.

Other issues I have:

Website is full of spelling errors and typographical errors. They're based on a trading estate, being a 'arm' of a company I can't find, not having an address on their website, having so many staff and yet no reputation on twitter etc.

Also if they do social web etc you'd think they would use twitter/forums etc to find candidates. They will have to pay the recruitment agency £4000 if they hire me.

And this copy on their site is obviously bull (not to mention hideous English):

We are constantly in search of web2 geniuses, those exeptional designers & developers who make a break from the norm & create the unique. if your looking to get your hands on some world class projects & your based in the NorthWest. Whether you have several years of experience or your fresh from University. If you think you have what it takes and want to improve the content of you portfolio & gain experience from the best in the industry, pop across an enquiry via our contact us form.

Second rate designers & developers need not apply.

We’re looking fo designers who could stand up and talk about UI Design for hours, graphic designers who have won awards for the striking modernity of their work and developers who could for example, stand up and talk about the latest technologies eg. UHTML5 for a solid 2 hours – unrehearsed.

Am I worrying about nothing or is something seriously afoot here? How can these guys pay 28K? :confused:

here's their site: Web Design Agency Manchester - Clown Fish Digital
 
I think if they are any half decent web company they will have Analytics and Google Alerts for mentions. So if they pull you up on this thread in the interview, you know they at least have some nouse, but prob won't offer you the job for slating them. If they don't then you're prob right and you won't want to take it.
 
Sorry, just read that back and it sounded very flippant. In answer to your question i would be very sus of any site that has such a focus on it's vacancies and not it's work.
 
Hi Russell,

If indeed, as you say, they do mention this post in the interview, I will be more than happy to explain what I have said here without the slightest awkwardness.

I am naturally cautious about what seems (to me) like a too good to be true offer. This is the first time I have applied for web jobs so I have no idea what to expect. This is why I have asked some more experienced and knowledgeable people here for a helpful opinion.

If my concern is misplaced, as it may very well be, I would be more than happy to be employed by them and help them to improve the issues I mentioned. I'm not holding any personal enmity for the company or its employees. However, from a critical perspective, it is a bad website and professionals should do better.

Thanks,

Matt
 
RussellHall said:
Sorry, just read that back and it sounded very flippant. In answer to your question i would be very sus of any site that has such a focus on it's vacancies and not it's work.

Just saw this. Thanks for the answer, I appreciate it.

That's also a good point I forgot to mention. The 'call to action' for business is hidden in the notepad tabs. The focus really seems on boosting the workforce. I can think of any reason for this other than having taken on lots of work and needing to fill the roles first.
 
If that is their main customer facing website then something is up, but it could be they get all of their work from their parent company, and therefore this website is pretty much just aimed at expanding the team. I would worry about any company that has been going such a short period of time and has 9 new vacant roles, unless it is heavily bankrolled by a large parent company.

If this is via a recruitment agency can you plug them for some more information and background on the company?
 
Hmmm, it does sound a bit strange. It seems like they are hiring far too many people at once and they seem to boast about a £1 million cash pit, although I don't know how that is relevant to the client... I would maybe go along to the interview and see what they're about.

If you get the job, at least you'll be on good enough money before they go bust!
 
ok I thought I'd heard of the clownfish name before and I have kind of.

Not sure how if it's just coincidence or not but the clownfish I've heard of is clownfish DESIGN and they were definitely around before clownfishdigital.

Personally I'd likely just apply and see what happens, you'll more than likely need an interview and I'd say you'd get an idea for the company at that interview (assuming you get that far), You don't have to accept an offer of work at the end of the day.
 
Levi said:
ok I thought I'd heard of the clownfish name before and I have kind of.

Not sure how if it's just coincidence or not but the clownfish I've heard of is clownfish DESIGN and they were definitely around before clownfishdigital.

Personally I'd likely just apply and see what happens, you'll more than likely need an interview and I'd say you'd get an idea for the company at that interview (assuming you get that far), You don't have to accept an offer of work at the end of the day.

There's another one too: Welcome | Clownfish
 
Levi said:
Personally I'd likely just apply and see what happens, you'll more than likely need an interview and I'd say you'd get an idea for the company at that interview (assuming you get that far), You don't have to accept an offer of work at the end of the day.

Exactly; you have an interview so there can't be any harm in going along and seeing what they're all about in person.
 
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