Remember folks, unless you're some sort of high flyer, if the hiring process is more like a sales pitch to you than a trial to prove your value to the organization, it's probably not something you want to do.
Red flag 1: Yesterday I got an email and then a phone call about a job opportunity. Either I had clicked on an "apply now" thing on Indeed for a vague posting or they found my resume, but the short description about the job on the phone was that I'd be assisting members of labor unions, credit unions, and professional associations learn about their benefits. The "interview" was to be today. I figured, this is probably nothing I'm interested in, but on the face of it so far, it seems like it could be legit.
Red flag 2: Confirmation email sent immediately after phone call. It states "Attire: Business Professional, Business Suit."
Red flag 3: Arrive to location, find two people waiting outside the entrance to the suite inside the building for the same interview time,
Red flag 4: Wrong entrance (other entrance I had seen had different company name on it). We are escorted to another entrance where several others are in line to check in. A lady in pleather pants and gaudy heels is escorting folks to the back as they sign in.
Red flag 5 (I should really have left by now, right?): I am given a "personality profile" multiple choice question sheet to complete. I am also asked if I have something to write with.
Red flag 6: Upon completing check-in, I am ushered into a presentation room with maybe 40 total people in the audience. These, I realize, are my fellow "applicants," but I really feel rube is a better description.
Red flag 7: Observing the other applicants, it's clear they are a broad mix of ages and backgrounds. Some are are clearly folks that can at least present themselves professionally, but others are clearly not able to do so. From their chit-chat with one another, it doesn't seem like many of them are the kind of people I have a lot in common with.
Red flag 8:The presenters enter, four men and one woman. Man 1 has spiked, gelled hair buzzed on the sides, but it isn't artfully done. He is wearing a loudly patterned suit. Man 2 looks much better dressed and groomed, but has two rings on his right hand, including a pinkie ring with some large emblem on it. Man 3 is reasonably dressed, but Man 4 is wearing a shiny, patterned suit; a pique shirt that is monogrammed; ostentatious cuff links; and a shiny, chain bracelet. His hair is also spiked with gel and buzzed on the sides, thought it's better done and fits his build better than with Man 1. Man 1 looked like someone who just didn't know any better, but on Man 4 is was straight up "bruh." Upon standing it becomes obvious that Man 4's suit is tailored to his body but still bunches at the shoulder oddly, indicating that he probably ordered it from a made-to-measure website rather than a bespoke clothier in person. Man 4 is also not wearing a tie. Upon removing his jacket while speaking, it is clear that Man 4's shirt is actually to small for his bulging biceps.
Red flag 9: I never get a chance to assess how the woman was dressed, because she never presented. If she did interact with the audience, it would have been after Man 4 finished speaking, but I left when it was clear he was winding down and was asking each person in the audience what they liked best about he presentation. So it looks like the entire leadership team of the org are somewhat douchey-looking guys.
Red flag 10: We are all asked (again) if we all have something to write with.
Red flag 11: Multiple company names are thrown around. I was recruited by the Hartwig Agency, but the job is for Surace-Smith, an agent of American Income Life Insurance Company, which is also owned by Torchmark Corporation.
Red flag 12: The company's business model is to sell expensive insurance benefits to members of labor unions, credit unions, and professional associations. In their sample material the full annual premium of the benefits package they market is $1,600, but they pitch is as only costing $30 a week. There is lots of "think about your family / children / these benefits can be passed on to them when your gone" talk, but it's stuff like funeral insurance, supplementary health insurance, and mortgage pay-off insurance. Stuff that is expensive and should be taken care of with a simple term-life policy that's way, way cheaper for the consumer. In short: this business model is somewhat unethical.
Red flag 13: During the presentation the company's success is hyped up. A lot. Lots of talk about their growth and about their revenue and stock price. An impressive chart showing 1996 to now is shown. They talk about how Warren Buffet owns a lot of it. No mention is made about the plummet in value the company experienced in 2014, only about half of which is accounted for by a stock split, or of how growth has been significantly slower since then.
Red flag 14: A description of who they are looking for is given in the form of the "Seven Cs." We are urged to write down the Cs and to contemplate which is most important to us. Later, the five Ps are also brought up in terms of how to get clients to purchase their product.
Red flag 15: They claim to be rated in the best placed to work by a Cleveland newspaper. A search shows they are not, at least not in the top 75.
Red flag 16: Man 3, the presenter on "technology," extols the virtue of their system in which "representative" (those hired) use laptops to show what is essentially an interactive video as the primary pitch to potential customers rather than have to make the pitch or explain anything themselves. Later is it implied we will need our personal laptops for this.
Red flag 17: Compensation is entirely commissions based, and it is further revealed that it's a pyramid scheme. After the first 3 months, can can train other reps and get a match on their commission. As you age into the company, these matches increase in size and become tiered. We're told that as the folks we once trained have trained other folks and they start making sales, we earn a match on that commission too.
Red flag 18: When they talk about the charities they support as a company, I only recognize one (FCA), and they all appear to be faith-based.
Red flag 19: Man 4 removes his jacket during his presentation, revealing a shirt that was too tight. He hands his jacket to the one woman, who hasn't spoken to us at all. She places it lightly on his chair back. Man 4 proceeds to sip on a large can of energy drink during his presentation.
Red flag 20, and perhaps the biggest: Man 4 encourages audience members to pay ~$250 for the various online training courses and license application fees to be legally able to perform this job in the state of Ohio with a credit card. He had strong recommendations for which online training site to use - to the point I suspect the company owns that site. He makes it clear that "this isn't for us, this is for the state. We don't pay for this because this is a licence that you keep and will put on your resume."
Red flag 21: At the conclusion of Man 4's presentation (by which time men 1-3 have left), he asks each audience member to say their name what they liked best about what we've all just heard. At this point I simply leave, uninterested feeling dirty all over.
Red flag 22: As I exit the office, the lady at reception is very concerned about getting my name before I leave.
Edit: OMG, GUYS, THEY HAVE A HYPE VIDEO!!!
Submitted November 03, 2017 at 03:39PM by elkoubi http://ift.tt/2iZX7Cy
