Derivco
September 3rd, 2003
I work here.
Update July 2006:
Since this post keeps getting around 11% of the recorded 1st entry hits on this blog (according to Google Analytics) I think it’s time for an update, and a FAQ to answer the most common Derivco-related questions I receive.
- Firstly, the website is no longer in the “cheese” category :-) The current Derivco.com website is a huge improvement on the 2003 version.
- Yes, it is a fantastic place to work – I’m not being facetious, it really is a world class company. Brilliant people (plenty of highly intelligent geeks), exciting and ever-changing projects, beautiful location and fun environment.
- Yes, Derivco is hiring in all sorts of areas. See the website for details. I am however biased towards Flash ActionScript developer candidates :-)
Since Derivco’s address is already easy to find, check out the office and surrounding Forest Park via Google Earth [alternate link] (choose to run the linked KMZ file if you have Google Earth installed, and it will fly you directly there). If you don’t have Google Earth installed, then install it (!) – or use Google Maps instead (lower resolution though, and not nearly as fun).
Update September 2006:
Derivco vacancies / positions are not currently listed on the Derivco.com website, but you can find them via Google or on sites such as Career Junction (search for “derivco”).
Derivco Offers Bursaries
Derivco is offering Bursaries for the 2007 academic year for students studying towards a Bachelor of Science degree with majors in Computer Science, Mathematics or Statistics with an average of 75% per subject taken and who will be studying for either their 2nd, 3rd or honours year in 2007.
We are also looking for bursary students who will be studying to their 2nd, 3rd or honours year in the 2007 academic year in the areas below or any other relevant Project Management/ Business related area, with an average mark of at least 65% in the subjects taken.
* BComm IT
* BComm Economics/Finance
* Business AdministrationStudents who will be studying towards their 2nd, 3rd or honours year in BComm, BA or BSoc Sci in Human Resources Management in 2007 are also invited to apply as we will be offering bursaries in this area as well.
Should you know anyone who would be eligible to apply please contact Vukile (Vukile.McKenzie@derivco.com) or e-mail their CV as well as the most recent copy of their results to bursary@derivco.com.
Please note that you need to be a full time student at a Tertiary Institution in order to take advantage of this offer.
Update March 2007:
I posted an entry with some of my job interview opinions, experience and suggestions for all those who ask. Use at your own risk: Job Interview Opinions.
Update September 2007:
Derivco wins IT Company of the Year (KZN) at the Computer Society of South Africa (KZN Chapter) gala event.
Update August 2008:
Derivco is now a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner, and is a platinum sponsor at Tech-Ed 2008. Check out the new Flex derivco.com site.
Update late August 2008:
Hiring for IT positions is on the go again – Derivco IT is looking for skilled IT people at all levels. Head over to www.derivco.com, email your CV to cv@derivco.com (remember to state what specific or type of position you are applying for) or ask questions here.
Update November 2008:
Derivco will be hosting a SQL Server Enterprise Architectural Summit in December. Speakers are Stuart Ozer, Gert Drapers and Thomas Kejser (members of the Microsoft SQL Server dev team and of SQLCAT – SQL Customer Advisory Team).
See the Derivco site for details and to apply (only experienced DBAs considered :-)
If you have any general questions, post a comment below and I’ll respond when I can. You can also email me directly if you prefer.
Usual disclaimer yada yada applies – I may love working @ Derivco, but I don’t speak for the company or any of its clients. This blog is my personal scribble area, everything here is from my own viewpoint and is often written by an insane Perl script anyway. I am not responsible for any comments left on this site or post either, so don’t get any funny ideas.
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Tags: 64 Responses to “Derivco”
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Hi there not really a comment – just a question if I may.
I am currently applying for a position at the co. you work Derivco, and was wondering if you could give me some tips insights into the company as the co. site is rather bare bones.
Anything at this stage will do.
Thanking you in advance.
Mike
Replied directly to you Mike.
Hi Ewan
Well I bet that you get asked questions about your company all the time. Nonetheless, I would like to ask you how I can get into that fantastic company of yours. I will complete my Honours in Digital Media at UKZN this year and am looking for a post for 2007. Please please can you help me get some information about vacancies or better yet, speaking to someone that could help me.
Thanks in advance
Much appreciated
Terri
Hi Terri,
Happy to help – I’ll contact you directly. I know vacancies are not listed directly on the Derivco website, but you can usually find them listed on job seeker sites such as Career Junction.
Hi Ewan
Like Mike above, I am currently applying for a (graduate) position at Derivco, and would appreciate some tips & insights into the company.
Thanks,
Shane
Replying directly to you Shane.
im currently at university of zululand kzn studing bcom(acc) i wanted information on bursaries since you guys offer them i would be greatfull if you help me. im acedemically the best with 3 A’s in,economics,business economics and english
Hi Bongani,
You should contact Vukile (Vukile.McKenzie@derivco.com) or e-mail your CV as well as the most recent copy of your results to bursary@derivco.com – Vukile will answer any of your bursary questions.
Let me know if you have trouble or need anything else, and I’ll do whatever I can to help you out.
Update: Your Yahoo email address does not exist, so I haven’t been able to contact you directly.
Hi, hello, how are you.
Im also applying and got an interview, again, tips would help. I know im a complete stranger and you might be getting anoyed with all these requests, but i do appreciate any effort you may send my way.
tanks
Hi Ja,
If I got annoyed by requests like these, I wouldn’t offer to help and leave comments open on this post now would I :-)
Happy to help. I’ll contact you directly, and see if I can help based on what position you want etc.
Hello
I was contacted by Derivco today to come in for an interview. I am very interested in working for this company as it looks like an awesome place, and I am interested in this type of work. As with the above request, any interview tips, or tips in general, would be greatly appreciated.
Many thanks
Duncan
Hi
I have also been contacted by Derivco to come in for an interview. If you have any tips I would really appreciate it.
Kind Regards
Will and Duncan, replied directly to you. I’ll post my opinions on general interview tips in a separate post methinks.
Hi
Could you please contact me regarding Derivco? I have submitted my CV, and am interested in finding out some more substantial information about the company.
Thank you
Chris
Hi
If this is my second post, I apologise, however, after my first post, your website returned some error, and my comment appears not to have been logged.
I was wondering whether you could contact me directly, as I have sent my CV through to Derivco, and would be interested in finding out a little more about the company from the inside.
Thanks
Chris
Job Interview Opinions
Over the years I’ve gathered a bit of experience on both sides of a job interview, so here are some of my suggestions for candidates (including recommended reading) since I often find myself sending these out in response to…
Chris, I replied directly to you.
You Were Looking for… what?
Inspired by Kyknoord’s "You were looking for" post, I present a list of popular or just interesting search phrases / keywords people use before stumbling on this blog. Almost 80% from Google (more than half of those Google Images),…
Hi..
I am planning on doing a C++ assessment at Derivco for a position. Can you answer some questions of mine?
Sure thing Anon, I’ll do my best. Replying to you directly.
Derivco wins KZN IT Company of the Year
Derivco just won IT Company of the Year (KZN) at the Computer Society of South Africa (KZN Chapter) gala event. Criteria:The IT Company within KZN that exhibits outstanding leadership and is well respected in the KZN market place The IT…
Hi
Im actually going for an interview tomorrow at derivco. I just wanted to know if i should be nervous and am I going to be interview in a panel,the job is release engineer.
Any advice will help
Thanks
Of course you should be a little nervous Seema – if you weren’t you probably wouldn’t care about getting the job ;-) But don’t panic – this is a great company, and the people who make it that way are great too. I can’t say whether it will (was – sorry I only just saw your comment!) be a group interview, that depends on the position and whoever asked you to come in for the interview. I hope it went well.
Hi Ewan
I cannot find your Job Interview Opinions page. Have you taken it off the site or is the link broken? Probably the latter…
If you can, please e-mail me the page.
ttfn
Oops – I upgraded MovableType and entry filenames started using dashes instead of underscores. Fixed for all entries, and I have emailed you the page content. Thanks for pointing that out Praveen.
hi i am interested in the DBA position…any info in this will be much appreciated
thanks
Hey Ewen, I’ve been called in for an assessment this monday. Can you give me any insight into what might happen? Also, I would like to know if you could give me your personal description of what testers do. Thanks, Brent.
Brent – if this is your first first assessment/interview, you may not be interviewed by a team – it may be simply an online or manual assessment of your abilities and suitability for a Testing role (attention to detail etc).
That said, I’m not a Tester and don’t know exactly how Testers are interviewed these days (it often depends which specific testing role you are applying for). But don’t stress, you’ll be in excellent hands – and I hope you succeed, we always need good Testers.
Testers test software written by developers – usually :-) The type of testing ranges from pure black box to white box and everything in between, depending on the software, team, and experience/talent level of the Testers concerned. Software includes public, internal, front end, back end, web, standalone, database – everything you can think of. Again, depends on your team / role. You’ll have to ask.
Hi Anon,
There are two DBA positions currently open, both (at least initially) contract positions. This is a database administrator role – obviously – and so focuses on the administration and maintenance of MSSQL databases (installing, modifying/upgrading, troubleshooting, analysis, supporting, monitoring, security, development team support etc) as well as the processes around that work.
Wikipedia has a pretty good overview of an average DBA.
Hey Ewen, thanks for the advice last time.
Thankfully I’ve been called back for an interview tomorrow, so I was wondering if you could give me any insight into what might occur in this interview.
Thanks again,
Brent
Congrats on becoming a “Dad”, soon soon will change to a “Dad can I”.
Nice blog, nice attitude to have in life, and I hope to meet you some day.
Can you forward me some extras on the co. I have applied for PM job, any advice would be appreciated.
After 23 yrs in IT, this is the 1st time that I’m actually feeling nervous, “cause I want it so bad”:o)
Still waiting on the call.
Wishing you & yours, lot’s of “ Love & Light”
Ciao
P.
Replied directly to you Paulo.
Hi Ewan, I have heard sooooo much about Derivco and how fantastic it is, are you guys ever looking for admin/secretarial people, as i would love to work at Derivco, it has a been a dream of mine for a long time now!!! pls let me know. thanks!
Hi Danielle, replying to you directly. There are no admin positions open at the moment, but Derivco continues to grow and hire so send in your CV.
Hi Ewan,
I am a graphic designer with two years experience: one year in the fashion industry, and one year and 4 months in the signage industry. Unfortunately my problem is I don’t have a matric. I have an NIC in art & design (National Intermediate Certificate). I am skilled with Adobe Illustrator; and Adobe photoshop (Intermediate skill level). As well as CorelDraw; Freehand; InDesign; and AutoCAD (Basic skill level). I would like to learn Flash and Dreamweaver.
I would like to work for Derivco because it is a professional environment where I amy learn and grow as a graphic designer. Derivco seems like a place that would recognise and nuture potential, and I would be very excited to work for them. I am a fast learner, I have good communication skills and work well in a team.
Considering my lack of qualification, do you think I may have a chance? I would be happy to take any opportunity to get into the company so I may work my way up.
Thank you for your time.
James.
Hi James,
I’ve emailed you directly so we can discuss – but you definitely stand a chance! I can’t speak for the design team (I’m a techie) but it’s more about your attitude, aptitude, talent and passion for design than any one qualification. Derivco does have a large and wonderfully talented design team / studio (I believe it’s the largest in the country).
how do I apply for a job with Derivco I am currently in sales and studying Marketing management?
Hi Tanya,
Send your cv through to cv@derivco.com. I have emailed you directly if you have any other questions.
hi there
i got called to write an assessment for qa position.cam u tell me how to pass this test
It’s easy – show up on time, write the test, and be a good fit for the position. Seriously, what do you expect me to say – it’s an assessment, there is no formula for passing. I’ll email you.
Hi Ewan, thanks for sharing all the tips with us. What type of questions can 1 expect during the assessment? (QA testing)
Hi. Im a student currently studying at the Durban University of Technology. I have completed my s1,s2 and some s3 subjects. is it possible for derivco to take on students to do their inservice training?
Hi Hayden, I have emailed you directly.
hi ewan… would it be possible to please send that email again. had a slight problem retrieving it. will really be appreciated. thank you.
Hello, I have an interview for testing, could you tell me what to expect please?
Not really – it depends on the position you are interviewing for, the team interviewing you, if you have ever been for an interview at Derivco before etc. Your first interview may be with HR only, and include an aptitude test – something you can’t prepare for. Just arrive as relaxed as possible, be open and honest, and if you and the position / team are a good and happy match I may see you around :-)
I have emailed you directly if you have other questions.
Hi,
I recently wrote an assessment test at Derivco for a QA Tester position, now they would like to have a telephonic interview with me, and if I am successful they will fly me down from Jhb for another interview, I have experience working as an Implementer, do u think I will be a successful candidate?
I really want this position.
Thanks
If you made it through to the second stage (sounds like you have), then you have a good chance already. The rest depends on the other candidates – your competition for the position – and the phone interview itself. Sounds like you have the aptitude, be sure to make it clear how much you want the position in the interview!
Hi
I just want to know if you can list all the IT positions/careers that are offered in DEricvo. I graduated with a BSc in Computer & Information Technology degree at UKZN last year. I have now 1 year of telecommunication experience as a service engineer. WHat positions do I qualify for. I see mainly programmer positions advertised. Jus want to know if you also have also other positions related to this field. eg networking,IP,Systems analyst, java developer,business analasyt,architect.
Replied to you directly Jashin… but you can generally find currently public open positions listed on Career Junction (e.g. http://www.careerjunction.co.za/companies/jobs-at-derivco-23851). Otherwise Derivco has a huge range of positions in software development (developers proficient in a large variety of languages, architects, testers etc), IT (security, networking, DBA, deployment, monitoring etc), project management, business analysis, documentation etc etc – and a large art and design studio. That said, different positions become available at different times, so watch Career Junction and the web in general, and send through your CV to cv@derivco.com.