When the HR manager contacted me, within an hour of submitting my
application, she told me that they had reviewed my resume and wanted to
interview me for a management position. I accepted the interview even
though she avoided providing information about the company, made no
mention of a company name, and failed to provide an explanation of the
position. All I was left with was the name on my caller ID to use for
research.
After attempting several different search phrases and keyword
combinations, I was unable to find a website. The fact that an
advertising and public relations firm did not have a website prompted me
to broaden my search. What I found were countless claims like this company has changed its name several times, they do not pay what they promise to pay, and they train
representatives to lie to customers, to name a few. I thought to
myself, "this sounds like one of the typical employment scams.
At this point, it would have been very easy for me to cancel my
interview based on what I learned, but the desire to experience it for
myself completely outweighed my concerns. More importantly, I needed to
hear what the principals of this anonymous company had to say about
these claims. So, I emailed my concerns to the HR manager and included a
direct link to the website where I had discovered the claims.
She responded by denying the claims and defensively suggesting that I
cancel the interview if I believe everything I read online (good
point). She also mentioned that she had brought this to the attention of
the higher-ups.
I respectfully responded by saying, Don't get the wrong idea; I
found it comical. It's very clear that it was from ex-employees with
below-average communication skills. Unfortunately, this kind of lible
can make the job of attracting talent more difficult than it needs to
be. I like to provide real solutions to real problems that companies
face when I interview. I can show you how to capture the first page of
search results to eliminate this issue. See you at 11:45 A.M.
After waiting for well over an hour, I had the pleasure of
interviewing with the top hiring manager and the self-proclaimed owner
(my email worked like a charm). I was told by the owner that they have
been doing this for 32 years (he looked to be about 30 years old). He
boasted that they get over 200 online application submissions per day.
Both the hiring manager and the owner agreed that employees normally
only last a week, which intrigued me, so I probed about the particulars
of the position.
They hiring manager informed me that I would be driving all around
town (on my own dime) to cover events at Sam's Club and other major
retailers. I would also be expected to go door-to-door and from small
business to small business to sell free auto glass replacement services
(covered under insurance, but most can be repaired). Basically, I could
make $50 per sale, and if I made it through the six - to nine-month
training program, they would give me my own office to manage (the math
is self-explanatory).
As the interview progressed, I couldn't help but ask, "Wouldn't it
make sense to find ways to increase the concentration of qualified
applicants that have the skills to last more than a week? What if you
had more employees last for a month or maybe even three months?" They
laughed, and acted as if they could care less. The owner abruptly stood
up and said, "I have 26 locations just in Florida. So that is not
necessary and what people are saying about us hasnt hurt our success
yet; even if it is true.
Copies of email correspondence available upon request.
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