New Faces
The hiring of everyone except Mr. Yeongsu had gone very smoothly.
One week for document screening, one week for the coding test, one week for the first interview, and one week for the second.
“Even the people who applied for non-regular positions are taking this incredibly seriously. Nobody came in with the attitude that this was just some light extracurricular activity.”
“Maybe that’s because we filtered the applications well?”
“Or maybe because we made the coding test so hard?”
“Could be.”
We had been spared from running into any real villains during the hiring process.
People who couldn’t code were eliminated by the coding test from the start, and people who might have looked down on us as merely a startup never even applied, since they already disliked the very idea of a coding test.
“There’s almost no common thread among the people who passed the coding test. It’s honestly amazing.”
“Right? The ratios are almost equal among people who want full-time work, non-regular positions that could convert to full-time, and internships.”
Truly, applicants from all kinds of backgrounds had gathered.
Even their reasons for applying were all over the map.
Some people had contacted us first asking about openings, some had come through campus communities, and some through job platforms.
“What would you do if you ended up wanting to hire more than ten people?”
“I’d hire them all. But I think the odds of that are low.”
Our hiring process began with a ruthless coding test.
The first interview was conducted entirely through the practical judgment of the people on the ground.
The second interview evaluated whether the applicants understood TA Medical’s vision and could adapt to the working environment of a startup.
For more than ten people to make it through all of those stages and end up in one early-stage startup was, frankly, almost impossible.
So if we could gather them, gathering more wasn’t a bad choice at all.
“I’m already breathing easier even though only one person has been added to my team.”
“Exactly. We’re still in the middle of handover periods for two people, but it already feels manageable.”
Choi Yeonghun, Seo Jeongwon, and Jeong Hyeonwoo all seemed very satisfied with the situation.
The people who had just joined were all interns for now, but since they had been recommended by existing members, they seemed to fit in well with one another.
They were only here as interns because they were still students, but their abilities were all at expert level.
“Oh, Mr. Yeongsu is supposed to come in at ten today, right?”
We sipped our coffee with satisfied expressions and checked the clock.
The talent every developer had wanted, but that had been snatched away by HR duties, Mr. Yeongsu.
“Wouldn’t he come at 9:30?”
“Why? Because it’s his first day?”
“Yes. I think he would.”
I pictured Mr. Yeongsu, so neatly dressed and composed, and guessed his arrival time.
Of course, the others all shook their heads.
And then, almost immediately, the office door clicked open.
“Good morning. I’m Kim Yeongsu.”
Of course.
I had the feeling he would show up thirty minutes early on his first day.
“Welcome, Mr. Yeongsu~”
“Why did you come so early?”
“Ah. It’s my first day.”
“You’re wearing a suit again? We’re casual here, so you don’t have to wear one.”
“Haha. I’ll dress comfortably starting tomorrow.”
In the middle of the warm, easy atmosphere, hiring and daily work were proceeding side by side without trouble.
“When did you start coding, Mr. Yeongsu?”
“Not that long ago. I started because I wanted to change the payroll system at my previous job.”
“What?”
The interns who hadn’t been at the interview looked at one another in bewilderment at Mr. Yeongsu’s answer.
“All right, all right. Let’s take this into the conference room and introduce him properly there.”
Jeong Hyeonwoo led the dazed members of the development team into the conference room.
Left behind, the researchers who had only watched the scene looked at me with curious expressions.
“You’re curious, aren’t you?”
“Yes. What does that mean?”
I grinned and answered lightly.
“When he gets back, why don’t you ask to set up a coffee chat and talk to him properly?”
I meant they shouldn’t be afraid to speak with him directly.
It made sense.
With an office full of people in their twenties, a man in his forties was bound to feel unfamiliar to everyone.
It was obvious they were also confused about how to treat him in a company without formal ranks.
“He seems like a pretty interesting person.”
Still, everyone would adapt soon enough.
The Mr. Yeongsu I had seen during the interview was relaxed and flexible, unlike the stiffly tailored suit he wore, and he also had a good sense of humor.
They would all fit together just fine.
“Siwon, the person scheduled for the ten o’clock interview arrived a little early. Should we just have them wait in the conference room, or start a little sooner?”
“Hm. I think we can start a bit early. I’ll just grab my laptop and head over.”
“Yes.”
Because we were trying to meet as much talent as possible, interviews had been running for nearly two months.
But thanks to the pleasure of watching the company slowly take shape, I didn’t feel exhausted or worn down.
This was how everyone in our company would have to adapt to one another, to the project, and to the new work ahead of us.
In truth, TA Medical’s hiring had gone so smoothly thanks to a great deal of hidden effort from many people.
First of all, Professor Hwang Junhak’s role had been huge.
“Is there anyone in our lab who wants to do an internship or part-time work at TA Medical? It seems like it would be a useful side job.”
Simply making such an unusually generous offer to the people in his lab had played a major role.
As a result, TA Medical had nearly ended up with most of its research team filled by people from Professor Hwang Junhak’s lab.
They were almost all cut in the second interview, though.
“I heard TA Medical is hiring interns and part-timers too.”
“Really? Then isn’t that a chance to build your résumé while you’re still in school?”
“Yeah. They said even undergrads can apply for the part-time positions, so it sounds pretty good.”
Students in the computer engineering departments of Korea University and neighboring schools had also taken interest.
Normally, you had to take a leave of absence to do an internship, and to be hired full-time you had to be at least a second-semester senior, but here was a chance to build credentials outside those restrictions.
Word had spread that the company was made up of unusually capable people, and many applicants wanted to work there briefly just to learn something.
“If TA Medical goes public, its stock price is definitely going to rise.”
“You aiming for stock options? As if you even know when the IPO will happen.”
“At this pace, wouldn’t it definitely go public within two years?”
TA Medical’s recognition was high not only among university students but among developers as well.
Maybe it was because the company had been on the media several times, or because so much related research had been done, but TA Medical had become one of those companies every AI developer had at least heard of once.
So there were people who applied to TA Medical with nothing but stock options in mind.
It was an investment play.
“If you work at TA Medical, you’ll never end up with dead-end experience.”
“Probably not. They’re pioneers in their field, after all.”
“Could be fun too. They call themselves a medical device company, but it’s basically an IT company.”
There were also people who circled TA Medical for career reasons.
And people who chose TA Medical because of the work-from-home and flexible commuting system.
The reasons for applying had no choice but to vary, and so the applicant pool had to widen accordingly.
Thanks to that, TA Medical was able to choose exactly the talent it needed, on its own terms.
“So, in the end, for the research team we hired two juniors, two part-timers, and one intern, correct?”
“Yes.”
“And for the development team, one senior, no, one junior, two part-timers, and two interns.”
“Yes.”
Of course, we hadn’t been able to hire anyone with long experience.
Still, Kim Siwon didn’t feel too disappointed, because he believed he could cover that senior role himself.
Choi Yeonghun was already quietly asking Professor Hwang for help whenever he ran into a snag, so he didn’t feel any inconvenience.
Seo Jeongwon and Jeong Hyeonwoo both had ambitions to lead teams themselves, so they didn’t think it was necessary to have a senior on board anyway.
For TA Medical, as it stood, the composition of the team was just right.
“To the new TA Medical!”
“To it!”
TA Medical’s company dinner, now more than twice the size it had been, was definitely noisier than before.
It was a welcome party held all at once for everyone who had been expected and successfully joined.
Most of the conversation was awkward, hesitant chatter between people who didn’t know one another well, but there was never a moment when the room fell silent.
“You don’t have to drink if you don’t want to.”
“You can order the expensive stuff too, the expensive stuff!”
Maybe because most of the company was in its twenties, the mood became lively very quickly.
Kim Soo-young, who was in his forties, also had a good wit and blended into the dinner naturally.
“I can finally breathe a little now. Now that the team’s bigger~”
Jeong Hyeonwoo, who had happily downed a shot of soju, looked at Kim Siwon with a blissful expression.
But Kim Siwon brought up something Jeong Hyeonwoo had not wanted to hear at all.
“Now we can’t settle down; all that’s left is adding new features and keeping up with updates.”
The pupils of the entire development team shook.
The research team pretended not to have heard Kim Siwon at all.
“To celebrate everyone joining us, I’m thinking of holding an in-house innovation contest.”
But Kim Siwon calmly carried on with his plan.
Everyone at the company fell silent at once.
“An in-house innovation contest?”
At the sudden silence, Kim Siwon laughed to himself.
“Yes. Something like an idea competition where we look for ways to improve our own products.”
“Ah.”
“I’m thinking of setting the prize money at one million won for now.”
One million won.
All the people who had been staring blankly finally widened their eyes.
So if they just beat those low odds, they could win one million won?
“Could we know the exact topic?”
“Can we only submit development-related ideas?”
“Which of our two products are we supposed to make suggestions for?”
As questions immediately poured in, Kim Siwon’s expression brightened a little more.
He had actually been thinking of gradually raising the prize money to 1.5 million won, but if a one-million-won prize got this kind of reaction, there was no need to increase it.
“First place gets one million won, second place gets five hundred thousand. How does that sound?”
So he increased the number of people who could win prize money.
Immediately, the tables at TA Medical erupted in applause.
“Haha. Everyone, you’re not applauding because of the one-million-won prize money, right? You’re applauding because your ideas will actually be reflected in the product and play a major role in the company’s growth, right?”
“Of course~”
“Exactly~”
Of course that wasn’t the reason.
But that hardly mattered.
What mattered was that everyone had shown a willingness to take part in the contest actively.
“Anyway, I’ll post the announcement about the contest next Monday. For today, don’t worry about it and just enjoy your dinner!”
“Yes!”
“Understood!!”
The energetic members fell back into cheerful conversation once again.
Kim Siwon’s mouth did not stop curving upward for the entire dinner.
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