Hello,
I came across an ad on the sf gate website regarding entry-level marketing positions for recent grads. As we all know, times have been very tough and even interviews are hard to come by. I decided to respond and was invited to an interview by the receptionist. This should have caused a red flag to go up in my mind immediately. It did not however, but I was nevertheless skeptical.
I was lucky because I did some previous research on a similar company affiliated with Cydcor. I came across this consumer complaints page and am now filing one of my own. I am doing this after my second interview because up until now, I did not know that SAS Marketing Group is a subsidiary of Cydcor.
At the first interview, after being kept waiting for 20 minutes or so, I met with Jason (Jay) for a whole ten minutes. Anyone that has any experience with professional interviews knows this is ridiculous. If a prospective employer spends ten minutes interviewing you, chances are very good that you won't be called in for a second interview. We did not even discuss my resume and I'm pretty sure he didn't even care.
He pretty much just gave me a shpeal and was ready to dismiss me for the time being. I interjected and asked him if I could ask some questions as is customary in the interviewer/interviewee situation. I asked him, "Why was it so easy for me to get an interview?" He basically told me that he likes to meet with people one on one because resumes dont really mean that much. "I can't tell anything by looking at a piece of paper. It just tells me that you worked somewhere and did some thing." He then tried to make me apprehensive by saying that if he was just strictly looking at my resume, he would not have called me in.
The rest of my experience mirrors the other complaints regarding Cydcor. The second interview consisted of another 20 minute wait and my shadowing an "account manager" going door-to-door, attempting to get businesses to switch from SBC to AT&T. However, this was only for a couple of hours, rather than a full day. Remarkably, the lady I was with succeeded in switching one line and making $44, if indeed this is the real figure.
Before going out into the field, I was told to fill out some forms including a W-4. I asked why, and the receptionist told me that since I was going into the field, the papers ensured that I would be covered if anything should happen. Basically, I was expected to make a commitment upon returning to the office. I'm not sure what kind of commitment because I did not stick around long enough to find out. Upon returning, I was given a little "quiz" about my day that anyone with a set of ears and some sort of attention span could figure out. After that, it looked as if thre was going to be more waiting.By that time my BS detector was going haywire and I excused myself to go to the bathroom. I never went back, but instead raced home to do more research and file this report.
The Cydcor/SAS shpeal closely resembles pyramid scheme type companies such as Amway. Basically, to get ahead, you have to recruit others in order to collect commission from them.in any case, the pyramid/direct marketing model works very well for some, but for most folks, it's considered a SCAM. I admire the entrepreneurial spirit, but people should definitely know what they're getting into. This is not at all what I had in mind when I called SAS.
The last part of my little rant consists of an observation of how SAS is able to fly below radar. SAS is actually a telecom term meaning "single attachment source." I worked as a legal researcher while in college and got quite good at conducting effective internet research. I tried to look them up before my first interview, but my search engines were overloaded with technical jargon that my key words generated.
My advice to others is to keep your eyes and ears open because opportunities that seem too good to be true often are. If you're considering interviewing with SAS, BE CAREFUL! To me, this was a huge waste of time. I went to college to get a real job, not to sell door-to-door like a girlscout.
Paul
Hayward, California
U.S.A.
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