When you’re on-line submitting resumes and filling out ridiculous applications, the idea of an interview is enough to make you almost run on foot. You just want the job! And sitting in front of someone, means you’re one step closer to getting it. I’ve just recently re-booted my job search 2 weeks ago, and I will be the first one to tell you
I HATE THIS ENTIRE PROCESS.
You upload your resume, only to be asked for 10 years employment history with full details on the next page. You politely tip toe around the fact that you were bored/hated your boss on the “explain your reason for leaving” section. When they ask “salary desired”, you’re tempted to go full Don’t Be A Menace and write “three…million dollars….cash.” And then you have to wait. Trust me, I know the struggle.
Now we all know to side eye 80% of the “jobs” on Craigslist, that aren’t backed by a recognizable company. But there are some hidden gems every now and then. Within the last 2 years, I’ve fallen in love with Indeed. You can read full job descriptions, refine your search, there’s an app and you can set your account up to notify you of jobs that fit your interests, you can build a resume on there, all types of stuff. And the jobs all feel legit, because Indeed is legit.
And this is where shit gets tricky.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve wasted time and gas, jumping at an interview for a customer service/marketing/sales position at some “consulting firm”. They all sound way too good to be true, and they always are.
“This position is full time, Monday thru Friday 8am-4pm. No weekends! No cold calls! B2B sales. Paid training, no experience necessary, earning potential of $45K! Get hired immediately! Call blah-blah-blah to set up your interview.”
Sounds amazing right? The shit is all a lie. One thing I learned in the car business is how to sell myself, my dealership and my product. These consulting firms are selling the hell out of themselves. Mon-Fri 8am to 4pm sounds great, if you’re sitting comfortably behind a desk; not driving around the entire state of GA. Sure, no cold calls because B2B= business to business aka door to door aka Vector Marketing. Paid training with out any specific dollar amount means COMMISSION ONLY (which you’ll never see). And look out for words like “earn up to” “make as much as” or any “potential” that has something ridiculous like $35K-$120K! These are numbers they’ve pulled out of their asses. For most of these jobs, you’ll actually lose money. A big red flag is an immediate interview. Before you can close your browser, your phone is ringing and someone reviewed your qualifications and would love to set up an interview the next day. Doesn’t work like that.
I legit just received an email from a “marketing firm” and this is what is said verbatim;
Reviewed & Accepted Resume
Hi Jamariah, thank you for your interest in employment at Supreme Retail Solutions. Our manage has reviewed your resume and after careful evaluation, we are eager to meet with you in person to discuss potential employment with our company. Contact our office between the hours of 9am-5pm at ***-***-***. We look forward to hearing from you soon!
There’s a name and the title underneath says “human resources”. That’s it. Not HR manager or anything legit, and a website as well as a Facebook & twitter link. Now, I didn’t respond, because of the logo.
Seen it before? I have.
I’ve watched Wolf Of Wall Street 11 times, as soon as I saw that logo I said “stratton oakmont” out loud. Like I was Atreyu reading the got damn Never-ending Story in that library. Hell, in the movie, Stratton Oakmont wasn’t even a real company! And this sense of deja-vu came over me, and I remembered the pointless interviews I’d gone on in the past for phony companies. First thing I did was google this company. And boom.
Also, majority of the glass door reviews were clearly made by people who owned this company and were trying to save face. I stumbled across this gem of an article and found a few “companies” on this fraud list. You might wanna check it out too. And this article too.
Run, immediately if you’re told this during an interview;
There is a four step ‘business progression’ which takes 9–18 months to complete. You’d (theoretically) move from Field Representative to Team Leader to Assistant Manager/Owner to Manager/Owner. The last stage is where you’d earn the big bucks.
And especially if;
You are required to sign an Agreement that states you are not associated with the company and that the role is 100% commission based. You are told that you are ‘self employed’ and need to pay for all expenses.
What’s truly disgusting to me is that there are people being taken advantage of by these “firms” selling rusty pipe dreams. One of them I interviewed with, Buckhead Business Consultants, was so damn good I almost quit my job at the time so I could start with them that Monday. But nothing felt right. The office was empty, and they kept saying they had a staff of 15 people. But I only saw 3 offices, including the waiting area. I later learned “out in the field” meant driving from business to business, begging. When I asked the manager again, the day after the interview, to clarify the salary to me; she got irritated and said “we already discussed that. Are you interested in the job or not?”
I politely told her, FUCK NO.
If you’ve experienced something like this too, comment below. What happened after you found out it was a scam?
