I contacted a recruitment agency in Durban who forwarded me an opportunity that Derivco was advertising. The job was advertised as a C# Developer. I have many years experience in the VB.NET field however very little programming in C#. I thought I would have a go and agreed to my CV being sent to the company. I was then requested to complete a programming assessment which I had seven days to complete (the rotating rectangle problem). I didn't complete the problem in the given time unfortunately I have a demanding job and struggled with C# a little. I first submitted the assessment 98% complete in the given time frame (I was under the impression that that the assessment would be talking point during the next phase of interview I wasn't aware failure to produce a 100% fully functional assessment would eliminate me from a second interview). However being the person I am I couldnt let it go and even though I was eliminated from the second round and my chance at working at Derivco had come to an end I completed the problem and produced a well organised and 100% fully functional project. I packaged it up and forwarded it on to the consultant as a code sample for further prospects. The consultant then forwarded it onto the HR Dept anyway. They offered me a second interview. The interview consisted of four people initially, one from HR to initially introduce me to the others and three from the tech side, one from the tech side I had communicated over email previously during the assessment period the other two were unknown to me. After a brief intro to everyone we started with the interview, I went through a history of my work experience and the latest projects I had been involved in. We then spent more than half the interview concentrating on the programming assessment I completed. To be honest the fact that so much emphasis was placed on the assessment in the second round was a surprise I wasn't prepared enough to answer to my failings, the apparent lack of a good excuse as to why I didn't complete it on time in the first place was apparently the only reason why my application was rejected. Something they could have done without a second interview in my opinion. This was the second time in a week I was rejected by the same company for the same reason? A little odd I thought, the mere fact that I went on to complete the assessment after I was already rejected sure should give the prospective employer an insight into my character, however as I have seen many times in my career even clever people fail to see the wood for the trees. Alas it was not meant to be and I must say a lucky escape for me, it was a great learning experience and eye opener to the way "big companies" in South Africa operate still astounds me. In Durban they obviously have a lot of industry experience so don't bother if you have that, if you have recently left university and have an aptitude for solving puzzles and challenges which quite obviously is a lot of what Derivco desires then by all means apply. I am a little critical because I know as well as anyone else that you don't want idiots working for you and if your future relies on a programming assessment then good luck with that. God knows how I have managed to keep a job in the technical field for over 8 years in one company but lets just say in the words of great artist Vanilla Ice "if I have a problem yo I'll solve it!" and in all honesty I find the failings to be more with the interviewers than the interviewees because if you can recognise the obvious then you're a fool! Pro's - They did give me a second chance, based on the fact that I had send a second 100% fully functional assessment. Cons - The company image like you see it on the website. The hype about Gym, Pool, Great social events, Company spirit and a great work/life balance. These attributes werent projected through the interviewers they were bland and to me didnt seem excited by the technology by whats going on the tech field at the moment, in short they didnt sell it! Too much emphasis was put on the assessment, FFS I completed it you're happy to give me second interview lets move on and discuss other things, grill me about development cycle, object oriented programming, my greatest achievement just ask me how my day is!!! or some real world questions like "what can I bring to the table?" "What can we offer you?" these are second round interview questions. Anyway from the outside they seem like a good company to work for, however I feel they also have an underlying agenda, with research they seem to be investing off shore for instance Jersey which is a tax free haven. Nothing wrong with that, however in my opinion with great emphasis on company /style (free food, gym etc) its a bit propaganda'ish. While they pay well what does the future hold!?