Job Seeker Beware: Lessons in Research
I got a call yesterday. Someone called me directly about my resume!! So exciting!! We set-up an interview for the next day (yes, today) at noon.
But something didn't sit right with me. Something felt 'off' about the conversation. The recruiter worked so hard to sell the company to me.
But hey, it's an interview and Unemployment says I need to apply to two places a week. (Despite the fact that I've already applied/submitted for enough jobs to cover 7 monhts of unemployment.) So I decided I'd give it a shot. You never know.
I didn't google the company last night but figured I'd have time to do it this morning. After a little Mafia Wars on Facebook (what?), I googled 'Primerica'. Now Google has this awesome feature where it pre-fills in answers/options for your search. And what was the first suggestion it gave me? "Primerica Scam."
I skipped it at first but then thought better of it. What were other people saying about this company? Why did they think it was a scam? And that's when I found someone's journal entry from 2007.
Basically - Primerica sounds all good and wholesome ("Our company has never laid anyone off in 32 years!" - Seriously, she told me that.) but it turns out that it's a pyramid scheme. Someone in the area is recruited and once they have people underneath them, they are called 'Regional Vice Presidents'. And 'recruiter' is just a secondary title they give to their 'consultants' so when they call you they are more legitimate.
Taking the 'high' road, I called and canceled and used the wonderfully polite reply this wonderful blogger did: "I'm calling to let you know that I need to cancel today's interview. I did some research on Primerica and it's not the direction I want for my career. Thank you for your time and the opportunity. Best of luck to you."
Now, there were thousands of entries about Primerica being a scam. I didn't base this off of one entry, but hers was the first to come up. But lesson learned: Research the company as soon as you get off the phone. I can't believe I almost wasted a few gallons of gas and a few hours of my time for something that I would never get involved in.