These days, it is so difficult to be unemployed and desperate for a job. Unfortunetly, many honest trusting people are in that position; they are hardworking, motivated and have all of the qualities needed to be successful in their choosen field of work (in this case, let's call it marketing/management). It becomes disheartening when a company comes along offering these hopefuls a world of promise but instead traps them in a cult-like world of lies, deception, denial and false hope.
This report is regarding businesses that falsely advertise to stimulate their employment ad response. There are businesses, one in particular (Advantage Marketing) and others in general, that lure prospective employee talent by misleading in their job advertisements.
If you are reading this you have probably seen an employment ad that boasted false promises, interviewed with a company with deceptive business practices, or even worked for a company that was generally misleading during your experience working for them. In any case, I appologize on behalf of the cowardly facade of a company with no integrity.
New companies emerge on trusted job search engines (like Hotjobs, Careerbuilder, and Monster) claiming that they can offer marketing and management opportunities to prospective employees; some are legit and others simply give the field of marketing/management a bad name. There are companies, all over the United States, that target their prey: industry newcomers, entry-level, sports-minded athletes, military, etc. These companies use these keywords and terms to get people in the door for their initial interview.
After they get you in the door for the first interview.
They introduce themselves as well-to-do business professionals.
They paint an image of a "successful" marketing/management company.
They brag about their fortune 500 clients.
They build up the job to make it sound wonderful.
Then the interview ends, and if they have put on a good enough show, you leave thinking that this could be the job you have been waiting for.
When they call you back after the interview, they cleverly orchestrate another performance.
They congratulate you on your impressive first interview.
They create an image that you are the prime candidate for a second interview for this hot, desirable marketing/management position.
Then they give you vague instructions (involving business attire, comfortable shoes, etc.) for your immediate second interview (usually the following day).
Then during your second interview (which will last all day), you are lead to follow one of their employees on a job shadow or day of observation in the field:
When you ask questions about what the day will entail, you will be told to wait to ask any questions until lunch time or recieve some other evasive response.
The person you train with will take you out to their vehicle, remove their business shirt and coat and proceed to change into a polo shirt with one of their clients names on it.
You will attempt to ask more questions about what they day has in store for you, but again your questions will be dismissed.
The person you train with will then drive you miles and miles away from the main office, "out into the field", and will begin talking about direct marketing.
When you arrive at the chosen location, you will be expected to follow your trainer around a neighborhood (going door-to-door) selling another company's ("your client's") new service. The peculiar thing is that when people ask for a pamphlet to think it over, a catalog of some kind, or even a business card or phone number to stay in contact, they are denied. The person who is training you will be pushy and persistent; asking each household for a commitment or a better time to come back that same day because it is a now-or-never offer.*
*As a result of the high-pressure sales techniques, few services are actually sold.
Mid-day, you will go to lunch (which you will probably pay for yourself) with your trainer. During which time, you will have so many unanswered questions that you will have forgotten most of them at that mind-numbing point of the day. The doors that have been slammed in your face from people telling you not to bother them will still be fresh in your mind:
This is when you are told that the pay structure is commission only. This is where you realize that if this were your job, you were not being paid for the last 4 plus hours of work you have just done. This is where you start to wonder why there was salary listed as your pay on your job ad and discussed during your first interview.
Next you are told about the business/promotion structure (aka the company hierarchy):
It has four levels and you start at the bottom and rapidly work your way up within weeks or months.
As you move-up the rungs of this ladder (aka pyramid scheme) your pay magically increases.
The idea is to get entry-level people to do the door-to-door selling and all sale proceeds result in commission for the entire office: the person who made the same gets a small portion of the commission from their sale while the boss lady makes a percentage of the sales of the entry-level staff.
As you move-up, your primary job duty is to recruit more entry-level saps to do the grunt work you witnessed today.
And the more you work, the more you move-up and eventually you can make a career sitting around while other people are out walking door-to-door selling stuff for you.
After that you are dragged out to continue the door-to-door chore (even after you have expressed an interest in leaving the second interview). You will follow your trainer into the dark night. mostly to backtrack to the houses that politely asked that you come back and bother them some other time. Chances are that it will be cold outside, and that your feet will be blistered from walking all day in business shoes, and that you will worry about your safety in this dark and unfamiliar neighborhood.
Just imagine that this second interview is 1 out of 100! There is not just one special applicant, like you, being taken out on this interview. there are many. What if I told you that this trainers job everyday was to trick interview applicants into going door-to-door sales when what they thought they were going to be doing was sales and marketing? Wouldn't this make you feel a little decieved.
The problem, though, is not sales.
Let me add that there is nothing wrong with an occupation in sales or sales positions. Many businesses thrive because of their hardworking sales departments - sales people can be the heart of a great company. Most sales people who love what they do and make lucrative careers selling feel a great deal of pride and accomplishment in what they do.
But there is something terribley wrong with high-pressure sales techniques and making a living pedaling stuff to unsuspecting consumers.
The problem, here, is misleading job advertisements.
Traditionally, we think of sales as the activity of selling, (an integral part of commercial activity) it is the art of persuasion in convincing people that they should buy a product or service and it can lead to increased business productivity and success for the company that offers those products or services.
Marketing is not the same as sales. They call their sales "direct marketing". Direct marketing is a discipline within marketing that is used when measurable leads, sales, or traffic (retail or web) are the objective. It typically involves direct mail: catalogs, postcards, envelope mailers, etc. These are frequently thought of as "junk mail" or "spam".
This sales position is better described as a small role or method of promotion and distribution. This position is a sales position. This entry-level postion involves face to face sales to new customers. It is a sales position in a giant multi-level pyramid scheme. While multi-level marketing is not illegal, pyramid schemes are illegal. The other operations in this company are primarily in their recruitment efforts.
This company makes money by tricking young, inexperienced workers to destroy themselves for poor compensation. Then they guilt people into devoting their entire day, everyday to this effort. It is not right to play on the emotions and vulnerabilities of others just to make a quick buck.
The reason I am writing about this is because it is wrong to falsely advertise marketing/management positions that pay salary when only offering sales/recruitment positions that pay commission only. There are too many people across the country being victimized by these scams. I feel sorry for the people who were tricked into devoting energy into a lie in the form of an interview. My heart goes out to the people who were so desperate that they accepted and worked at this job because they needed the small compensation and the temporary fullfillment of fake friends. The worst part of all and the people I feel the most sorry for are those that think that using people for selfish gain is not going to come back to haunt them - it breaks my heart that those people still think that a company called Advantage Marketing is about taking ADVANTAGE of other people.
Elizabeth
San Diego, California
U.S.A.