Rebirth: Starting from Lighting Up the Tech Tree

Chapter 68 Interview

The next morning at nine o'clock, conference room 402 was full of people.

Zuo Cheng, Zhang Lei, Chen Hao, and Han Lu sat on one side of a long table, opposite the candidates they would be interviewing that day. Their resumes had already been screened; those who made it to the interview stage at least met the basic requirements.

The first candidate to come in was an algorithm engineer named Wang Lei, 30 years old. He had worked at Huawei for two years before joining a startup, which went bankrupt and he had been looking for a job ever since.

"Tell me about the projects you've worked on before," Chen Hao asked.

Wang Lei spoke eloquently for ten minutes, mainly about algorithms for optimizing base station signals. He explained how to reduce signal interference, how to improve transmission efficiency, and how to maintain stability in complex environments. Chen Hao listened attentively, occasionally asking about technical details. Wang Lei answered well, with clear logic and a well-defined line of thought.

"Base station optimization and satellite communication are very different," Chen Hao said. "Satellite latency variations are more complex and have a wider dynamic range. Are you confident you can switch over?"

"I'm confident," Wang Lei said. "The underlying principles of algorithms are the same; they're all optimization problems, just with different constraints. Give me two weeks, and I can get started."

"One last question," Zuo Cheng began, "Why did you leave Warwick?"

Wang Lei paused for a moment, then honestly replied, "Huawei is great, but I want to do something more challenging. I've been working on base station optimization for two years, and I feel like I've hit a ceiling. I want to change direction."

"Project Sky Dome is much more difficult than base station optimization. Are you sure you can handle it?"

"I'm not sure," Wang Lei said, "but I want to give it a try."

Zuo Cheng nodded and drew a checkmark on his notebook.

"Come to work tomorrow."

Wang Lei was somewhat surprised: "It's settled already?"

"We look for two things when hiring: ability and attitude. If you have the ability and an honest attitude, that's enough."

Wang Lei stood up and bowed deeply: "Thank you, Mr. Zuo."

The second interviewee was a hardware engineer named Li Ming, a recent graduate with little experience, but he had worked on several IoT-related projects during his school years.

Fang Ze was in charge of the interviews and asked many detailed questions about the hardware design. Li Ming's answers were somewhat immature, but his foundation was solid and his learning ability was strong.

"We don't hire many recent graduates," Zhang Lei said. "Are you willing to start from the bottom?"

"I can accept it," Li Ming said. "I just want to find a place where I can learn something. The salary doesn't matter; the key is to be able to participate in actual projects."

"Project Sky Dome involves many cutting-edge technologies, so you'll probably need to brush up on a lot of knowledge once you arrive."

"No problem, I'm a pretty good learner."

"A three-month probation period with a 20% pay cut. Is that acceptable?"

"I can accept it."

Zuo Cheng drew another checkmark on the notebook.

I interviewed five people this morning, and three of them passed. I have three more to interview this afternoon, including Ma Hao.

During lunch, Zhang Lei leaned close to Zuo Cheng and asked in a low voice, "Brother Cheng, what about Ma Hao...?"

"A normal interview," Zuo Cheng said. "Don't make exceptions."

"I know, but he is, after all..."

"He used to be," Zuo Cheng interrupted him. "Now he's just like any other candidate outside; whether he can come back is up to him."

Zhang Lei nodded and didn't say anything more.

At 2 p.m. sharp, Ma Hao appeared at the door of room 402.

I hadn't seen him for six months. He had lost some weight and his hair had grown longer, but his eyes were still as sharp as ever. He was wearing a gray jacket and carrying a black laptop bag.

Zuo Cheng stood at the door, looking at him.

The two looked at each other for a few seconds, but neither of them spoke.

"Come in," Zuo Cheng finally said.

Ma Hao nodded and followed Zuo Cheng into the conference room.

The interview setup had changed. Zuo Cheng sat alone across from him, with Zhang Lei, Chen Hao, and Han Lu beside him. This wasn't a normal interview process, but Ma Hao wasn't a typical candidate either.

"Long time no see," Zuo Cheng said.

"Two years." Ma Hao's voice was calm. "I heard you did a good job; you've completed the second phase of the Sky Dome project."

"good."

"I applied for a hardware engineer position."

"I know."

Ma Hao placed his laptop bag on the table, took out a resume from it, and pushed it in front of Zuo Cheng.

My resume.

Zuo Cheng took the resume and stared at Ma Hao for a few seconds. Ma Hao's expression was calm, but Zuo Cheng noticed that his fingers were trembling slightly. That was a sign of nervousness.

Zuo Cheng flipped through the resume quickly.

"Your technical background is good," Zuo Cheng said, putting down his resume. "But I have a few questions."

"you say."

First, why did you leave Shenzhen?

Ma Hao remained silent for a few seconds.

"The company ran into financial problems, and the project was halted," he said. "The chip industry in Shenzhen is too competitive; it's difficult for small companies to survive."

"Secondly, why choose 402?"

"Two reasons," Ma Hao said. "First, I'm optimistic about the Sky Dome project; space-ground integration is the direction of next-generation communications. Second, I need a place where I can utilize my technical capabilities, and 402 is doing just that."

Zuo Cheng nodded: "I have no doubts about the technical aspects, but I have one concern."

"you say."

"Back when we were in the research group, our collaboration wasn't very pleasant. You tended to be quite independent and didn't listen to others' opinions much. Now, two years later, have you changed in that regard?"

Ma Hao was stunned for a moment.

"I know what happened back in the research group." He lowered his head. "I was too arrogant back then. In the past two years in Shenzhen, I've learned one thing—no matter how strong your technical skills are, you still need a team."

"Do you really think so?"

"Really." Ma Hao looked up, meeting Zuo Cheng's eyes. "Zuo Cheng, give me a chance. If I can't integrate into the team, you can let me go anytime."

Zuo Cheng looked at his expression; there was sincerity in it, but also unease.

"Okay," Zuo Cheng said. "The probation period is three months, the same as everyone else. Salary is market rate, but will be 20% during the probation period. If you can integrate into the team, we'll continue. If not, we'll part ways amicably."

Ma Hao raised his head, a hint of gratitude flashing in his eyes.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome," Zuo Cheng stood up. "This is an opportunity you earned yourself."

As Ma Hao was leaving after the interview, Zhang Lei leaned over and asked, "Brother Cheng, are you really planning to hire him?"

"Why not?" Zuo Cheng said. "He's a technical expert, and his resume meets the requirements."

"But back in the research group..." Zhang Lei hesitated, "weren't you two not on very good terms?"

"That's in the past," Zuo Cheng said. "Now we're hiring; we only look at ability and attitude, not the past."

Zhang Lei nodded thoughtfully.