Ever wonder what an IT job at Walmart.com would be like? Shaz Rajput, a senior software developer for the big-box retailer's Website offered up his experience at the Tech Career Expo in San Francisco recently.
Rajput was assigned to revamp the retailing giant's search feature on Walmart.com. Over the years, Walmart.com's search struggled with both relevancy and giving priority to better selling products. Instead of just improving search, they decided to completely gut it and start from scratch. The project turned into challenging fun and, says Rajput, was far better than the mundane task of babysitting software. But the task also called for a lot of late nights.
During the Walmart.com search revamp, Rajput says he was working late into the night, not going home and not knowing the difference between night and day. It’s not a ringing endorsement for working at Walmart.com, but Rajput says it wasn't so bad because it was so much fun and challenging. Besides, he noted, it’s not a constant situation and things are now back to normal. "When you’re passionate about something, time goes by," Rajput says.
Walmart.com Perks
As for the benefits of working at Walmart.com, you get complete access to any technology you could possibly think of, says Rajput, who argues that not many people realize the degree of technology that resides inside Walmart.com. For example, Walmart Labs is a front runner on many of the company's social projects. Walmart.com also allows for telecommuting, but Rajput doesn’t like working from home because he ends up working more. When telecommuting, Rajput finds he works through lunch, forgets when it’s 5 p.m. and ends up working until 9 p.m. He prefers going to the office. The company doesn’t appear to be filled with micro-managers, he notes. 'If you act like a professional, they treat you like a professional," says Rajput. You can walk in anytime you want and walk out anytime you want - as long as you get your work done.
