I first learned about this company (NAQ GAMES) on Monster.com. I submitted my resume, and received a confirmation email right away, saying that I was being considered as a Entertainment Director. They also included a questionnaire (20 questions), that I took the time to fill out thoroughly, and promptly submitted back to them. I guess they liked my answers, or the time that I spent answering their questions, because they then sent me another set of questions (20 questions again), which I again filled out and submitted to them.
I later got a email saying that I would be contacted for an interview with Nick Dipaolo, the founder/Pres. Of NAQ Games. I was excited, ready and confident that this could be a nice career change for myself. I spent hours studying up on the company, learning all about their product and vision. I didn't find any negatives on the company, so I thought I had struck gold.
Shortly after, I get an email saying to call Nick Dipaolo, which I did and left him my name and number via Voice mail. He called me back several hours later, for the actual interview. The interview was very elementary; asking the most general questions, on top of that it seemed rushed. That hit me as a red flag.
Anyhow, after he quickly breezed through his nonstrategic questions, he told me that in order to join the team, NAQ requires a 6 month commitment. This really alerted me!!! I never worked for a company, that was based on integrity that asked for a 6 month commitment, but I figured that since the company is new, that's their way of making sure they are not wasting their time with me.
I agreed to this commitment, and then Nick moved on to the next phase of his interview, where he told me that I would need to purchase flyers for $. 49 each, at a minimum quantity of which comes to $980, but it would be billed on my credit card at $25 month, and it would be completely refundable in 6 months. I was aware of this, because the email which said that I will be interviewing with Nick explained this, but I figured this was a volunteer scenario.
I've never had to put money down for employment. And the issue I really had is that Nick was being pushy about it, like a salesman, used car salesman in fact. Making comments like: "come on, you said you did good in XXXX business, and that you saved a bunch of money, what's $25 per month." I was completely taken by this, after reading up on the company, I completely didn't expect to have such a weak interview, followed by a pushy salesman trying to get money out of me, so that I could work for him.
To top it off, after I let him know that I wasn't up for the 2000 flyers, he told me that I could purchase a smaller quantity, but I'd need more really soon. I even asked if I could speak to a established District Manager or Entertainment Director, and his comment was something like: "well, everyone is pretty new, so that wouldn't give you a good idea at the position is really like." This comment was followed by a push for my credit card number, so that we could get the ball rolling. Of course I declined, I would have been a fool not to.
I'm not here to slander Nick, or NAQ Games. I'm simply sharing my experience with you, so you can know what to expect if you have began the interview process of answering all those emailed questions. I don't believe that any job that cost money to acquire is worth pursuing. This seemed too much like a scheme to make me commit. I'm sure they figure some will last long term, but those that don't will loose about $980 with that company.
They have goals to be a best seller board game like Monopoly, Like, Sorry, etc. But I think their out of the box mentality is going to stagger their ability to grow, because they will not be able to capitalise off of individuals with the skills to help them get to that next level. People like myself would never put money down for employment. Why, because there are thousands of companies out there who don't require this nonsense. So, those companies are going to be the ones who continue to grow, while NAQ Games makes money off of six month commitments that don't pan out.
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