- The company (Zalando) acts as an investor for teams. You aren't hired by the company but by your team. You don't have any rights, at least while you are on the mandatory probation. They can let you go anytime for any arbitrary reason, like cultural misfit, or due to change in their requirements. There's no law to protect you. You're just walking in to their trap by yourselves and it's all at your own will.
- They won't tell you any rules or policies but may directly punish you for leaving early in the evening than expected by someone from your team. There's no attendance or record system but your co-workers may be tracking or monitoring you and feeding in to your manager like covert spies.
- One of the worst employers I have ever worked for and they attract some of the worst lot of people. Salaries aren't any great either and it's perhaps hard for them too, to get rid of toxic full time permanent employees, because of the pathetic German laws.
- They are so poor that they can't offer to bring you on-site for a face to face interaction before making you an offer and hence, all the onus is on you to take that risk and gamble with your career. For them, it's all a matter of two weeks salary or a couple of thousand of relocation assistance.
- Your Eastern European co-workers may dislike you for being a non-European and still getting a job. Beware of talking to them, they might be feeding it all, against you to your manager. If you can't trust your co-workers, you shouldn't be here at all.
- Getting promoted is a game and not a matter of merit or some achievement. Good for nothings make it well in the company just by being liked by the right people.
- Don't go by any positive Glassdoor reviews, as they may again be manipulated and fabricated. They have it written on their glass doors in the building that writing good reviews on Glassdoor helps them attract talent. They perhaps even have special sessions for people to write good or better reviews on Glassdoor. Don't go by any positive review of this company. They are cheap and manipulative as hell. Don't be convinced even if a manager or HR from Zalando attempts to cover up my review through some sugar coated justification or explanation here. They're all liars.
- They hire people in bulk and skilled employees leave them all the time. You're nothing special if you get a call or offer from them. Don't think you can perform well and progress here. They hire new people all the time to make up for the deficiencies of incompetent management.
- They won't even offer you the hardware of your choice unless it serves a business purpose for them. Your comfort or convenience, isn't one of them. If you're having second thoughts about joining them and checking reviews to make the right decision, my advice would be to not come here for anything other than being in Berlin. That's all to it.
