Job Seekers Beware!
The last thing I needed while searching for a job was feeling like a fool for going to an interview for a "marketing" position with Niko-Laos. I was told it was urgent that I come in for a same-day interview, with only two hours notice, because the person interviewing me would be leaving town the next day. I showed up, spent all of ten minutes with a man name "Ray" who didn't tell me his last name. He also "didn't have any business cards on him" when I asked for one.
Shortly after I left the interview, I was invited back for a "second interview, " the next morning, the implication being that I would be meeting with decision makers. Wow! Exciting, right? I was told to allow three hours for this "interview, " but after researching Niko-Laos and company owner, Eddie Sardinha, on the internet, I did not attend.
Because the Niko-Laos website makes a big deal about Eddie Sardinha's "impressive baseball career" with both the Boston Red Sox and the Milwaukee Brewers, I was surprised to find no information when I Googled him. I also was unable to find any record of him on the official websites for the Red Sox or Brewers (www.boston. Redsox. Mlb.com and milwaukee. Brewers. Mlb.com).
I even checked Wikipedia for a complete list of major league baseball players. I found only a couple of people named "Sardinha" with association to the Red Sox, the Brewers, or even minor league teams. One is named Bronson Sardinha, and the other is his brother, Dane.incidentally, they are Hawaiian, not Venezuelan. I was unable to locate anyone named Eddie or even Eduardo Sardinha. I not saying he never played baseball or that he has no association with those teams. I'm just saying that, despite my very best efforts, I couldn't find any reference to anyone by that name.
At that point, I Googled Niko-Laos and saw so many negative entries on the "complaint" site that I had a big list of questions for their human resources representative. She was extremely evasive with her answers. It went something like this:
Q: The Niko-Laos website says you are not a "full-service marketing company, " so what marketing services do you provide?
A: We market in person on behalf of the large clients who contract us, like AT&T.
Q: You mean door-to-door sales?
A: No, our clients come to us and sometimes we go see them.
Q: Specifically, who will be interviewing me today?
A: Oh, you'll be paired with one of our managers.
Q: I assumed I'd be meeting with decision makers and discussing a job offer. Is that what I should expect?
A: You'll be spending time with one of the managers, yes.
Q: So when you asked me to set aside three hours today for my second interview, is that because I'm really going on a field trip to experience how Niko-Laos calls on customers to get business?
A: Um... Yes. That's right.
Q: And what is the compensation for this position?
A: Your manager/interviewer will talk about that with you.
Q: Okay, but what is the basic structure of the compensation?
A: Well, it's not 100% commission. There is industry-standard compensation with it.
Q: So there's a salary?
A: No, there isn't a salary.
Q: Then how would I be compensated? Are you talking about an hourly wage?
A: Yes, it's hourly.
Q: What is the hourly wage, please?
A: It's normal for the industry.
Q: I understand. So what you're telling me is that this is a minimum-wage job, and the rest is commission?
A: Well, yes.
Add it all up: 1) high pressure to come in for a same-day interview, 2) no last name or business card given by the man who interviewed me briefly, 3) immediate call back for three-hour "interview" the next morning (crash-course field-trip lesson in door-to-door sales) with an unnamed manager, 4) evasive answers about the nature of the job and the compensation, and 5) the company owner's apparently invisible "impressive baseball career"... Are these the hallmarks of a legitimate marketing job or company?
I politely canceled my "second interview" and felt like an idiot for ever going to the first interview or for believing, even for a moment, that this was a professional job and a legitimate interview process. It was sickening to realize I was being misled and having my time wasted while earnestly seeking employment. But as bad as I felt for myself, I felt worse about the other job applicants being cranked through this meat grinder. At least I figured it out before I lost any more time. But before I returned to my job search, I felt obligated to speak up about my experience. Beware. All that glitters is not gold.
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