I Was Offered The Job, And I'll Be Declining Tomorrow!

[The Albatross]

Sorry girl, didn't mean to hijack your thread... I just retrieved the whole thing. I can't tell you how empowering it was to thwart assholes who were trying to manipulate and sucker us in... by love an acceptance. Be glad it was only a job you passed up. Seriouslyl. I totally get, though how the need for love and acceptance can be stronger than reason. I'm really really glad though that your need for a job didn't eclipse your need to be ethical.

 

[Kintsugi]

Also Alba, thanks for reminding me of something. I LOVE this BS. I'm actually glad I went now. Because researching these kinds of things is exactly what I love to do. I've seen probably everything there is to see and read on Scientology, and I have all of their "classified" information (the stuff about the Church you're supposed to pay tons of money to know), which was leaked during the hacker war I mentioned above.

So... thanks. You helped me to take a step back and realize that I actually appreciate this experience, because it gave me a chance to get inside a scheme and see it unfold. So sad, the faces of the others who were hired.

Now that I think back on every single question he asked, if he had been speaking with me one-to-one and I had a couple of seconds to just think about the questions he was rapidly firing at me, I would have been able to actually answer them correctly.

Why do you think we interview in groups?
(Answer being looked for: so that you can see our interpersonal skills)
Answer: so you can raise the pressure, pit us against each other in terms of attempting to answer questions quicker than others, and to further convince us by putting on a performance that would draw us all in in a unifying way (everyone else is convinced, so why am I skeptical?)

Why do we only have sales appointments with middle aged couples, one of whom works full time, and only meet with one person?
(Answer being looked for: so that you can customize your presentation and be more personable)
Real answer (which I almost actually said at the time): so you can easier dupe them because no one is around to help question what you are saying, and they are middle-aged and trying to help a poor college student get on their feet, and they are wealthy enough to buy your $200 knives.

 

[KP the nut]

I am so proud of you staying so strong. I could do with some myself :unsure:.

People like these prey on the vulnerable, how many of your fellow interviewees would have fallen for it and the go after the money of even more vulnerable people.

:tup:MAS....

Alba, what is MAS? :confused:.

PS. njray, I love the new avatar

 

[Kintsugi]

I'm really really glad though that your need for a job didn't eclipse your need to be ethical.

I don't understand the value in work that does not actively help others. I kept forgetting to turn in the hours I worked at the Writing Center last semester, because tutoring is just what I do. I forget that I'm supposed to get paid for it now that I'm off-campus. I just go in and help people and come out feeling good.

I would rather go back to landscaping 8 hours a day than hurt someone. Mulching a field of native grasses for eight hours in the sun so that those grasses can be used for mountain top removal sites is WAY cooler than working for 45 minutes at a time duping people.

 

[Kintsugi]

how many of your fellow interviewees would have fallen for it

All of them. They all really wanted the job. I don't think they were thinking about certain elements, though. At every step in the process we were being told how competitive this position was, how not everyone at this stage was going to be hired, yet we were also asked to refer them to people we knew who needed work.

Then, during his final "selection," we were all made to sit in a room (and spaced apart in seating as we answered three long answer questions??? I see why they target people right after high school. I felt like I was in school taking a test, being told not to cheat). He would come in and call one of our names in seemingly no particular order. The person he called would go with him to his office, just one at a time.

I am thinking we ALL got "hired" and just led to believe that there is competition. I just don't understand why the run-around with this particular facet. Why is it important that we think it's competitive or that not all of us were hired?

 

[The Albatross]

MAS = Miss Anti Sunshine.

Yeah... I hear you... drudge work, shoveling shit for minimum wage... instead of disceptive practices. I got to be able to look myself i the eyes when I look in the mirror. If I don't or can't... then I got to reexamine my life against my principles. Live be damned, I'm choosing principles... even if it means I live under a bridge and eat dog food.

 

[Kintsugi]

I know that this thread is long and ridiculous, and maybe I'm being a little obsessive, but...

I'm pretty familiar with the local newspaper (mostly through my school--a couple students, a professor, and a staff member write for them) where I originally found this ad. The more I think about it, the more it is disconcerting that this company has opened a branch here. The people here would run them out of town if they caught wind of what's happening (I live in a place with a lot of rich hippies/artists/liberals who protest 24/7 when they're not sipping $15 coffee and talking about their new gallery). Sooo... I called the newspaper and informed them of my experience and that I think an article on the company would be a really good story. I was transferred to the editor... so I think I made a good case? Left a message. Hope he calls. If I can write the article in part or in whole, even if there's no money involved, I would be ecstatic, but even if they just follow up on my call, I will be very pleased.

I'm not trying to make a mountain out of a molehill, but this place is crawling with poor college students who have few options and are who are very naive. Plus, I truly DO think this would make for a GREAT story, particularly for their demographic.

 

[The Albatross]

Take your experience... and build on it... if it's disceptive it will be exposed. (((So good for you)))

 

[freakofnurture]

Doh. I forgot to say my line to him: Sure, this is a real job, just like Scientology is a real religion.

Sh*t, lady, I should have read the thread to the end before starting to 'like' your posts. Now I've flooded you, forgive me :D You're great.

 

[Kaleolani]

When I first started reading your post, I thought - "Wow, this sounds familiar." Then as I read some of the responses and learned you interviewed for Vector, I know why it was familiar. LOL. I worked for Vector, briefly when I was in my early 20s. And, you're right. They do a lot of NLP stuff - like setting rapid induction trances. When I first started, I was desperate for a job that fit around my college schedule, being a mom, and my weekend warrior duties with the Air Force Reserve. Vector was not that. :( The product itself (Cutco Cutlery - now available for purchase via website) is truly worth the purchase price. Real Quality. Huh, I wonder if the students that have raised concern with respect to Vector are the reason Cutco now offers its product online? (Vector pushes the idea that the only way to purchase is through one of their college student reps- *grrrrowl at the lie.)

I don't really know you , but I do know how hard it has been for me to sit through interviews. Not pleasant - mostly. It's a lot of work to just, not dissociate. I send you warm hugs and lots of kudos. Thank you for sharing.

 

[The Albatross]

MAS... if that ain't affirmation, I don't know what is. Good on you girlfriend. :tup:

 

[freakofnurture]

Why is it important that we think it's competitive or that not all of us were hired?

It's a trick to make you really really want that job (light anxiety) and feel special when you get it (ego boost). Once you feel relieved and like you've achieved something by getting the job you are more likely to employ cognitive biases to paint a pretty picture of your job's practices and justify what you are doing.

It's just another basic psychology trick to draw you in :)

EDIT: Which works best on people with a standard psyche, of course. PTSD brings in factors that make some of these tricks a real turn-off.