If you are a college graduate seeking a career with a stable salary, do not waste your time with Keystone International, Inc.in Middleburg Heights, Ohio. I was told over the phone by Jocelyn Lipofski that this was a $35,000-$42,000 base salary job plus commission handling AT&T accounts and required a college degree. When I interviewed with Jason Braughler, "the president", he tells me that there are 3 interviews in the recruitment process, he will go through the salary requirements on the third interview, and the job does not require a college degree. He said they handled already established AT&T accounts but did not tell me what I will actually be doing, perhaps that will come during the second interview. According to Ms. Brenda Crowder, an Associate Director for AT&T, what I will actually be doing is cold-calling and visiting places for AT&T sales.
I present to you the following points and you are the judge of it:
1. If you searched Keystone International, Inc. On CareerBuilder.com, you will see them falsely advertising for "Train in Sales, Marketing, HR, and Customer Service", "Entry Level Field & Marketing Sales Manager", "Want Pharmaceutical Sales But Need Experience?" What do AT&T accounts have to do with marketing, HR, or pharmaceutical sales? Nothing! When I brought up the pharmaceutical sales issue to Jocelyn, the secretary at the office, she told me that it was perhaps another company with the same name because Keystone is such a popular name. You should call the secretary and ask about the pharmaceutical sales position (440) 243-8355 as advertised on CareerBuilder.com.
I called and specifically asked about the pharmaceutical sales position and she told me the position is still open and it does not require a college degree but then she goes on to tell me that I'll be handling AT&T accounts. I asked her what pharmaceutical sales have to do with AT&T and she said that I would have to talk to Jason about that.
2. The so-called "president", if I am not mistaken, is actually an independent business representative trying to sell and keep as many AT&T sales accounts as possible, so his desire is to get as many people to do the cold-calling and footwork for him. I asked Jason to give me the contact information for his AT&T client representative and he gave me a letter with the following contact information:
Brenda Crowder
Associate Director, Midwest National Hunter Program
(708) 283-4178
I called Ms. Brenda Crowder and she was more informative about the position with Keystone International, Inc. Than Jason was. Ms. Crowder was very pleasant to speak with and was extremely helpful. If I am not mistaken, AT&T contracts with Cydcor to market and sell their products and services. Cydcor in turn contracts with people like Jason to be independent business representatives. And Jason hires salesman to do outside sales.
3. I noticed there were only two people in that small office suite: the secretary and "the president"."The president" was doing all the interviews. As I showed up to be interviewed, another person came in at the same time for an interview and as I left after my interview with Jason, yet a third person was coming into their office for an interview. I find it odd that a president does all the interviewing and not just once but three times.
4. Look at their website: www.keystoneintl.net and you will notice its simplicity. They tell you who they are and that they are hiring "Business Client Managers" or as I put it bluntly "a salesman". If you have a college degree, do yourself a favor and check out the career section in AT&T's website for an excellent career opportunity. My phone and internet service is with AT&T and they are a reputable company with excellent customer service.
5. To make keystone International, Inc. Sound like a legitimately growing business, Keystone International, Inc. Says this in their advertisement:
"Since opening our Cleveland office in January we have expanded into Detroit and Indianapolis."
I tried searching for their business in Detroit or Indianapolis in google.com but did not find anything. There may be other independent AT&T sales representatives in Detroit or Indianapolis but I don't think Keystone is there. I did find another company that works for AT&T in Columbus, Ohio:
Commerce Consulting, Inc.
6100 Channingway Blvd.
Suite 605
Columbus, OH. 43232
6. It seems as though Commerce Consulting, Inc. Does the same business as Keystone International, Inc. Commerce Consulting, Inc.'s website is similarly structured to Keystone's, their secretary told me that it was a base salary plus commission job, they handle AT&T accounts, and they have job titles like "Entry Level Sales & Marketing", "Account Executive", and "Entry Level Human Resources, Sales, and Marketing". At least they haven't threw in "Pharmaceutical Sales". For the uneducated, there are huge differences between Sales, Marketing, and Human Resources. Marketing and Human Resources are majors in college. There is no major in Sales at any reputable university.
My point is this: not all sales jobs are the same and some are highly reputable with high earning potential, but Keystone International may not be one of those companies in light of their employment recruiting practices. I could be wrong because I did not go back for a second or third interview. My college 3.9GPA sense tells me that this job may not be a good fit for me but it might be for you.
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