The most important part of this review is at the end, but first I'll outline some initial red flags.
- You are paid commission, based solely on the number of people you can manipulate on the street or in shopping centers into signing up to monthly charity donations. Your commission is equivalent to over 2 months worth of their monthly donations, and is paid to you by the charity. Your managers don't have any risk in hiring you or anyone other than their personal secretaries.
- You aren't actually told about the nature of your pay during the three interviews. The interviewer tells you that entry level staff earn 250-350 a week, when in reality, they can earn anywhere from 0-2000+ a week, depending on their ability and willingness to use whatever tactics necessary, however unethical, to get strangers to sign up to charity donations.
- During the interview, it is said that the expected working hours are 8-5, Monday to Friday, but you find out week 1 that you're expected to be around from 7am until 7pm or later, Monday to Saturday.
- ***Never trust a company that posts the same position under more than 10 different job titles. 'Graduate Marketing Assistant'? Really?***
- These guys are manipulative liars. And I feel bad for everyone who drank the Koolaid and works for them because most of them are genuinely nice people who've been pulled into something they didn't initially sign up for and have changed their personalities in order to suit the atmosphere in the office and the manner in which they need to manipulate people on the street into signing up for things.
The 8 Steps of Cult Indoctrination - Bear with me
1. Invitation to a Non-Threatening Event
- They want you to feel safe, because if you knew that you'd be making their business your life during your first interview, 72 hours a week on commission (10-15 of which are totally unpaid because you're in the office doing "training" or you're traveling), you probably wouldn't want the job. That's why when they email you inviting you in the interview, they tell you not to prepare anything like you normally would so you feel more relaxed. The office is very loud and friendly, with group chants and forced mingling, so that you're forced to feel a sense of family. `
2. Love-Bombing
- As a new recruit, you get a LOT of attention and praise during your initial training. Lots of high fives (which they'll teach you later on is a manipulation tactic to make 'customers' feel more on your side) and telling you how wonderful/special you are. The initial email might even tell you that they weren't actually taking anymore CVs, but yours caught someone's eye, and they thought you'd be especially suited to the role. But what they don't tell you is that they have ten people interviewing every single day because the turnover is so high. You're NOT special to them.
3. Dangling 'the Prize' in front of you
- From day one, managers tell you about all the money that they make and how much money the VP has to throw around, and how every single Manager has been able to fulfill their biggest dreams with the money they made in the business. Money is constantly dangled in front of you, like expensive watches, the cost of the gin and tonic they bought on vacation, how much money they spent on food or wine.
4. Extracting an Agreement from you that you want that prize
Don't you want that? they ask, knowing you'll say yes. And then they get you to tell them your hopes and dreams, so that they can dangle them over you later when you don't perform. "Meet this guy here, he made 2000 pounds last week! Don't you want to be like that?" Who wouldn't want to make 2000 ponds a week? But most people would probably want to do that ethically.
5. Shutting down your dissent by threatening to withhold the prize
- Are you worried now that you've been surprised that the pay is 100% commission? Or do you not like the idea of begging strangers for money? Does it make you uncomfortable that the charity is paying you instead of your bosses? Well, you should know that they tell everyone that no other job or business can make your dreams come true like this one can. If you're acting in a way that they don't approve of, they can keep you from going on the field therefore withholding your ability to make an income.
6. Establishment of guilt
- You'll be called lazy if you mention that you're tired or sore or soaking wet after standing outside for 8 hours in the snow. People who don't show up on the 'non-compulsory' Saturdays are made to feel as though they don't care about the business or realizing their dreams. Not performing as expected invokes anger and harsh criticism from the managers, as your lack of performance not only means you don't get money, it means they don't get money. I could go on and on on this guilt one.
7. Carrot/Stick
- Behaviour is reinforced by rewarding good behaviour and punishing bad behaviour. This concept is actually taught to you by the managers as you progress to the leadership position. I don't need to say much else.
8. Control of identity, information, and environment
- Like I've said, you're working 12 hours a day, 6 days a week. They've taken control of your time by day one. They send you home from work exhausted and with homework to do before the next morning so that you don't go home and spend time doing other things. More sinisterly, they teach new recruits not to listen to the concerns of their parents, friends, and significant others (aka everyone who cares about them) when it comes to the job. They also teach you that you need to cut out people in your life who are earning less than what you want to make, after telling you ho much money they make and making you agree that you want to make that much too. Basically, they'll subconsciously telling you to cut everyone but them out of your life in order to make the money you want to make.
- They control your identity by forcing you to learn one pitch and one pitch only. You practice it all morning before you go out on the field, and then you're told to practice and perfect it at home. You're never allowed to make any 'negative' comments, and they teach you from day one that you're never allowed to think negative thoughts about the job or the business because it'll get you down and make you perform less. Only a business that knows it's shady would tell it's employees not to doubt the business for one second.
Guys, they know that no one would want to do this if they advertised it as it was. This business model is equivalent to that of a pyramid scheme, except much more elegant, but as the manager once told me, “it’s not [quite] a pyramid scheme, because pyramid schemes are illegal.” Not a great defense.
