In my first month after recieving my Bachelor's Degree from a well-known university, I applied to an ad placed by Grace Marketing and Consulting on craigslist for a job that claimed to be a position in entry level marketing / advertising / sales / promotions. I went to the job interview and their office seemed a little shady, they informed me they would be moving to downtown in a nice office and that this position was just temporary due to their recent move.
The second round job interview is 9 hours! You will spend 8 hours knocking on doors in neighborhoods, hassling employees at strip malls and bothering people at various office parks trying to get them to buy "Smart Circle" discount cards for Grace Marketing and Consulting clients. They service they provide is having the reps walk around and try to sell these cards, therefore getting the name out for that company. Would be nice, but their clients don't pay them anything, therefore they have no money to pay you!
They only money you make is a small commission off of the cards you sell. That equals is about $15 bucks in your pocket for each $50-$40 card you sell. You will spend your own money on gas to drive your own car around town, lunch everyday, permits for solicitation ($10-$75 a piece depending on neighborhood), and all other expenses needed to do your job. It all comes from your own pocket and the girl I shadowed sold 2 cards (so she only made $30) for the day despite the fact that we knocked on about 80 doors and hassled about 30-40 people at strip malls and office parks.
They will feed you some crap about how 1 out of every 10 people you talk to will want to purchase what you have to offer. I'm guessing she would have sold a lot more if it were actually true. After our day of shadowing, you wait in their office while the person you shadowed talked to the CEO about hiring you. They'll talk to you and tell you that they aren't sure if your serious about the job and they need you to tell them more good things about yourself so that they know your serious about wanting the job.
You'll be offered the job, and then told to hide and enthusiasm you might have until the other prospective employees can't see you. Then you'll be told that your friends and family will probably be suspicious and jealous of your new job. You are told to tell them you are going through a high level management training program. Oh and did I mention they promise you that if you work really hard and bust your ass for them they will give you your own company branch and make you a CEO in as little as 3-6 months!
It is not your typical rip-off, but it is surely a pyramid scam (after you move up the ladder or door knockers, they assign other door knockers under you and then you get to keep a portion of the money they make as well as your own). No one that is college educated, or hell even has a lick of common sense, should be dumb enough to fall for this shit. You will work your ass off, end up in the hole (from always having to spend your own but never making any), and not have a decent job to add to your resume.
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