[SI Developer Story] 02. How to Choose a Good SI Company

SI Developer Story
#2. How to Choose a Good SI Company

SI companies are often known as a place that new graduates avoid for employment. There are various reasons for this, including inflated experience claims, endless overtime, weekend work, low salaries, and low technical skills. However, on the other hand, SI companies are always short of manpower and there are many of them, so if you lower your expectations, it can be a quick start for developer employment. Therefore, today we will look at how to choose a relatively good SI company.

1. Check for IT Union Information
Before attending the interview, you can access the IT union website and check the job Q&A section to see if there are any inflated experience claims. Since most reviews are posted there, you can filter out some companies based on this information. You can find information about the company culture, inflated experience, salary information, and other details about the internal workings of the company, so make sure to check it out.

2. Check for the Presence of a Mentor during the Interview
In the case of 'bodobang' (a term used to refer to SI companies that send employees to various projects as needed), they send employees to different projects where they need them, so the people on the project you are assigned to may be from different companies, making it difficult to seek help when you don't understand something. While some might be helpful, it's not the same as having a mentor from the same company. Therefore, when you interview for a project requiring deployment, make sure to check whether they send people as a team with a mentor.

3. Check the Office during the Interview
Generally, if it's a 'bodobang', you can think of it as a staffing agency because they send people to other projects. If the office is in an old and rundown building with only the CEO and an accountant, there's a 90% chance it's a 'bodobang'. Even though SI companies often send employees to other places, they should still have some people at the headquarters or working remotely for maintenance.

4. Check the Company Website
If the company has a website, check the business areas listed on it. If the partner list mainly includes large corporations or major public institutions, and the words 'ITO' or 'outsourcing' are frequently used, there's a 90% chance it's a 'bodobang'. They often send 1-2 people needed for projects at large corporations or public institutions to the project sites as temporary or contract workers.

While not absolute, based on experience, checking these four points can help you avoid 'bodobang' companies 50% of the time. Sometimes, during interviews, they openly mention inflating your experience to 3 years, but you should absolutely avoid such companies. You could face legal consequences for falsifying documents, and it's also inconsiderate to your teammates.