Is this normal?

D. Murphy

Hey, I went to a job interview the other day (see a previous thread by me) and was called back for a second and final interview which is tommorow.

Basically what it will entail is me being with the company for the whole day learning the ropes and and seeing how it functions with the boss giving me a "pop quiz" at the end of the day to see whether or not I learned anything.

Is this normal? Just wondering because I've never heard about it before. I wont be paid for the day either I believe.

I'm not complaining just curious as the company seems fantastic and everyone there seems happy when I went in for the interview!

growler

D. Murphy wrote: »

Hey, I went to a job interview the other day (see a previous thread by me) and was called back for a second and final interview which is tommorow.

Basically what it will entail is me being with the company for the whole day learning the ropes and and seeing how it functions with the boss giving me a "pop quiz" at the end of the day to see whether or not I learned anything.

Is this normal? Just wondering because I've never heard about it before. I wont be paid for the day either I believe.

I'm not complaining just curious as the company seems fantastic and everyone there seems happy when I went in for the interview!

never heard of such a thing either.

interesting idea, not sure how they would make it work either, looks like they are trying to see if you "fit in" but how they can work that out from a day is beyond me.

small company?

chris85

From the sounds of your previous thread you have the job involves door to door sales as many of these "marketing" companies advertise as marketing but are really sales.

I was in similar position just a few weeks ago as got called back for second interview to spend the day with an experienced person and final interview at end of day.

I got a very very dodgy feeling off the place i was at so politely refused the second interview offer.

the_syco

chris85 wrote: »

door to door sales

OP, search for the company on boards, yeah? Sounds like you may be in for an ass-raping by a certain disliked company that has a habit of doing the "on the job" interview...

Tails142

I would gallop away!!

If the above pun doesnt makes sense to you disregard my advice.

kmick

An unpaid training day. Sounds like a heap of dung to me.

nhughes100

To answer the question no it's not normal to have a day long interview as such. When I hear this sort of crap I just say listen I got other things to do, I'll take the job if you give it to me and am sure I can do the job well. All this role playing, so called team building stuff is just American nonsense. I'd imagine you'd be on probation for 6-12 months so if you can't do the job they'll find out then.

Nody

Look up Gallup (they change name often but that is the original thread in this forum) on this board and you will see that no, it is not a interview; no, it is not a job you want; no, the company is not what they tell you that they are and no, you don't want the job they offer.

Claire121

Could someone link to the thread?

D. Murphy

Well its a relatively new company, All i did for the day was watch the boss pitch sales. Yes it is door to door sales but the have good clients such as eircom and sky.

I liked the boss he seemed on the ball and legit, he himself worked for about 14 hours today so he must be dedicated to his company!

On a probation period for the next 6 days. Getting paid commission on what i sell plus a bond.

The commission is actually great at 150 euro per eircom phone watch unit i sell!

well see in the next few weeks how it goes anyway as its getting harder to find a job nowadays anyway and ill try anything!

Claire121

I liked the boss he seemed on the ball and legit, he himself worked for about 14 hours today so he must be dedicated to his company!

Most likely he's on commission and needs to work those hours to get as many sales as possible. With these companies, you can become the 'boss' in a few weeks/months, it seems. Usually they will also be doing door to door sales like anyone else.

The commission is actually great at 150 euro per eircom phone watch unit i sell!

Not bad but you're not guaranteed to sell anything. I suppose if you're very good at it you can make a lot of money but would it not bother you to not have any guaranteed income? What would be the implications of that when dealing with banks, etc (credit card applications and the like)?

It could be your dream job but I'd advise you to be careful as some of these companies are very shady!

D. Murphy

Claire121 wrote: »

Not bad but you're not guaranteed to sell anything. I suppose if you're very good at it you can make a lot of money but would it not bother you to not have any guaranteed income? What would be the implications of that when dealing with banks, etc (credit card applications and the like)?

Well theres a bond aswell to cover bad patches of no sales which is great, Plus this is just my probation period. Ill find out more info tomorrow on what happens afterwards!

Anyway whats the worse thing that can happen, I stay there a few weeks, find I don't like it and shift off to something else. But it does seem quite legit anyway.

Time will tell I suppose.

kmick

My mate did this for a year. He said the hit rate for his product which cost 20 pounds then was 1 in 25. Your product is much more expensive albeit a better one but I would guess the hit rate will be much lower. Say 1 in 50.

If you want to make 50k a year from this you have to sell 334 packages. Using my guesstimate of 1/50 that means you have to knock on 16700 doors.

If you work 240 days a year that is around 70 doors a day. Put it this way if after your training period you are not selling 2 of these a day get out fast.

BTW my mate said the year was a total waste of time. He made very little money despite being a very successful salesman in another field now. People just dont like to be doorstepped.

Just be wise and dont listen to the bull from senior managers.

D. Murphy

Very true kmick, But even from listening to all the lads in the office that do what i do they are delighted with how easy it is sometimes, I mean one of the girls made 19 sales last week thats 19x150 which is almost 3 grand, I mean thats amazing and id guess shes only around 20. I mean ofcourse its the luck of the draw but we shal lsee how it goes and if its all its cracked up to be.

kmick

As you say give it a shot. But dont listen to what anyone says about their sales. Judge it only on what you make. As I said 2 a day or bust.

How Strange

Ever hear the saying about something being too good to be true?

I'd say 80% of the doors you knock on won't even be answered. I never answer the door to a salesperson. As soon as you do they launch into their speil and you can't get rid of them.

Have a go at it if you think you can make a living from it but it's a scam. They have you working for minimum wage with the lure of the possibility (in a land far far away) of making 50k a year.

I'd imagine they have a huge staff turnover too.

krd

If I was you, stick at it as long as you can. You'll learn alot from.

But these operations are incredibly sleazy. They have a very high turnover rate, and in my experience the commision either never materialieses or any who walks early doesn't earn a penny.

Some of them also operate like religous cults. Jonestown as business system. Try not to drink the koolaid.


The last time I did one of these, I walked after one night my supervisor made me sign over 7 of my 11 sales to him,,,,, because apparently I had to pay him for my training. (he was a filthy creep -- stuff of nightmares)

These scams are operated with most of the charity collections you see going on around. None of the money,,, Absolutely none of the money goes to a charity. A small amount goes to the collector -- the rest goes to a criminal scumbag --- and it's not really illegal.