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- Feb 15, 2005
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- Torrington, CT
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- www.drakeleonarts.com
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So long story not so short:
I posted my resume on careerbuilder.com to try and get some bites on possible secondary or a new primary job. Within a day of posting it, I get a call from a mysterious company that I didn't fill out an application for, but turns out it's the very same one that my roommate had *just* gotten home from an interview with. They called themselves "Vision Quest Consulting." I've come through research to understand that this is a division of Cydcor, a marketing firm. Now, I don't have a stellar resume, as I've only held entry level positions before, but they had promise of an account executive position. I learn from them that they are aggressively hiring to expand business, so they are fast tracking people to a branch manager position within a year to two years at the company. No experience required. So, too good to be true right? Wrong. It's true. They do, in fact, have plenty of opportunity for growth in the company. There are several success stories per branch of the people there.
Now for the buts. After doing research online there were some strong tips that this is not a legitimate place to jump to. The first problem I found was that the company did not have a website, at least not one under the name Vision Quest. After doing a little googling, I found who they are owned by and whatnot. The link below shows an article that has a more in depth description of how things work at the business and how it's technically legit. However, after reading stories from *many* folks that worked for these types of companies, I've come to see that it's just not right for me.
The second problem is just how aggressive they hire. I got a call a day after posting my resume, not even, which has happened to me before so no big there. They asked for an interview the very next business day, ok so not that weird but suspicious. They declined and outright refused to give me any information other than times and address over the phone, getting real strange, but ok. I get to the interview and it goes *really well*, I know I'm good with interviews, so not shocking. The partner who interviewed me is one of the top 6 most successful in the company, and like me, started with no experience in the field of sales marketing.
The thing that really irked me was that they pretty much told me that I had to come back for a second interview the next day, not really giving me time to arrange for a day off my current job to come, but I still managed to do it. After all my research, despite how positive I left that interview, I've decided to call and cancel my second interview in the morning. I'm not willing to spend an 11:30 to 7:30 shift doing an "interview" which is glorified shadowing, just to figure out that what was sold to me as a sales marketing position, is actually door to door solicitation.
My roommate, as mentioned before, went to that second interview, and I learned what his day was like and it didn't sound that bad. However, they told him at the end of it that he could have the job, but, he'd have to start the next day and told him that if he delayed the job wouldn't wait for him. He needs at least a week to get his previous job finished up, so as not to burn a bridge on a whim and to keep up a reference. That's not an option for them. They require instant hire; no ifs, ands, or buts.
Ball that all up with this being a 100% commission based job, something they don't tell you till they give you the job offer, so at the very least wasting up to 12 hours of your time and travel expenses without pay. It's just not worth my time. I'm just ashamed that both myself and my roommate were sold on what boils down to a MLM with a severely high turnover rate. They're certainly good at what they do, but it's really shameful to sell hopeful people on a promising career, and then shoving them head first into door to door B2B sales at 100% commission in a poor economy. Not only do they do that but the pretty much guarantee you that if you can meet your goals you get scheduled promotions, which in under a year will lead to having your own company that does the very same thing, and you're the branch manager who continues the cycle.
In the end, I was sold, but figured out the game before signing any paperwork. Especially in this down economy, one has to watch out for just how twisted some companies are getting. Be careful about the jobs out find online, if it's too good to be true, it usually is. Or even if it's not, you'll have to be perfect to succeed. Do you research, which you should before the first interview so you look better at it when you understand what it is they do. If it's not up front and honest, don't do it. You'll save yourself the embarrassment and financial losses, and spend that time and money on finding the legitimate job that is right for you.
Here's the link to one of many "glowing reviews" of the practices of said company, which has changed its name more than 3 times in the past year, so it's hard to find any listing on things like the better business bureau.
http://cydcor.pissedconsumer.com/cydcor-the-ad-group-tag-pyramid-scheme-employer-20080902133726.html
I posted my resume on careerbuilder.com to try and get some bites on possible secondary or a new primary job. Within a day of posting it, I get a call from a mysterious company that I didn't fill out an application for, but turns out it's the very same one that my roommate had *just* gotten home from an interview with. They called themselves "Vision Quest Consulting." I've come through research to understand that this is a division of Cydcor, a marketing firm. Now, I don't have a stellar resume, as I've only held entry level positions before, but they had promise of an account executive position. I learn from them that they are aggressively hiring to expand business, so they are fast tracking people to a branch manager position within a year to two years at the company. No experience required. So, too good to be true right? Wrong. It's true. They do, in fact, have plenty of opportunity for growth in the company. There are several success stories per branch of the people there.
Now for the buts. After doing research online there were some strong tips that this is not a legitimate place to jump to. The first problem I found was that the company did not have a website, at least not one under the name Vision Quest. After doing a little googling, I found who they are owned by and whatnot. The link below shows an article that has a more in depth description of how things work at the business and how it's technically legit. However, after reading stories from *many* folks that worked for these types of companies, I've come to see that it's just not right for me.
The second problem is just how aggressive they hire. I got a call a day after posting my resume, not even, which has happened to me before so no big there. They asked for an interview the very next business day, ok so not that weird but suspicious. They declined and outright refused to give me any information other than times and address over the phone, getting real strange, but ok. I get to the interview and it goes *really well*, I know I'm good with interviews, so not shocking. The partner who interviewed me is one of the top 6 most successful in the company, and like me, started with no experience in the field of sales marketing.
The thing that really irked me was that they pretty much told me that I had to come back for a second interview the next day, not really giving me time to arrange for a day off my current job to come, but I still managed to do it. After all my research, despite how positive I left that interview, I've decided to call and cancel my second interview in the morning. I'm not willing to spend an 11:30 to 7:30 shift doing an "interview" which is glorified shadowing, just to figure out that what was sold to me as a sales marketing position, is actually door to door solicitation.
My roommate, as mentioned before, went to that second interview, and I learned what his day was like and it didn't sound that bad. However, they told him at the end of it that he could have the job, but, he'd have to start the next day and told him that if he delayed the job wouldn't wait for him. He needs at least a week to get his previous job finished up, so as not to burn a bridge on a whim and to keep up a reference. That's not an option for them. They require instant hire; no ifs, ands, or buts.
Ball that all up with this being a 100% commission based job, something they don't tell you till they give you the job offer, so at the very least wasting up to 12 hours of your time and travel expenses without pay. It's just not worth my time. I'm just ashamed that both myself and my roommate were sold on what boils down to a MLM with a severely high turnover rate. They're certainly good at what they do, but it's really shameful to sell hopeful people on a promising career, and then shoving them head first into door to door B2B sales at 100% commission in a poor economy. Not only do they do that but the pretty much guarantee you that if you can meet your goals you get scheduled promotions, which in under a year will lead to having your own company that does the very same thing, and you're the branch manager who continues the cycle.
In the end, I was sold, but figured out the game before signing any paperwork. Especially in this down economy, one has to watch out for just how twisted some companies are getting. Be careful about the jobs out find online, if it's too good to be true, it usually is. Or even if it's not, you'll have to be perfect to succeed. Do you research, which you should before the first interview so you look better at it when you understand what it is they do. If it's not up front and honest, don't do it. You'll save yourself the embarrassment and financial losses, and spend that time and money on finding the legitimate job that is right for you.
Here's the link to one of many "glowing reviews" of the practices of said company, which has changed its name more than 3 times in the past year, so it's hard to find any listing on things like the better business bureau.
http://cydcor.pissedconsumer.com/cydcor-the-ad-group-tag-pyramid-scheme-employer-20080902133726.html
