I have been contacted by multiple multi-level marketing "job opportunities" this week.
It's starting to occur to me -- and nobody really tells you this -- that unless you are looking for something specific (and probably not entry-level), Indeed is not the place to look for jobs. I was applying for jobs pretty indiscriminately on there a few days ago, and have since been contacted by what looks to be multiple multi-level marketing (MLM) schemes.
Here are some red flags I've found in these job postings that point toward a pyramid structure:
[Company] is a [PR/marketing agency/local startup] that is looking for outgoing, motivated candidates who are just out of college or looking to make a career change!
[Company] will pay for you to be trained in business and sales, so don't worry if you don't have prior experience! This is an entry-level role with HUGE opportunities for growth!
You'll have networking and travel opportunities, such as leadership development conferences and seminars!
Sounds good, right? But if you look up these companies on Glassdoor, you'll either find nothing or you'll see a mix of reviews:
positive reviews from the current employees who are incentivized to talk up the company
negative reviews from former employees that will often flat-out tell you it's an MLM
there's a lot of repetition in the phrases you'll see across the board: "a great opportunity," high turnover/burnout, manipulative management, lack of transparency, no job security, "hard work pays off," "not for everyone"
sometimes you'll find out that the company was renamed from another company, and if you look that company up, you'll find even more bad reviews explicitly calling it a pyramid scheme/MLM
If you go to the company website, you'll see a clean interface with stock photos of people looking happy, and all of the "who we are" text on the site will be utter jargon that doesn't explicitly tell you what the company does. It will tell you, however, that they're hiring now!
If you make it to the interview portion, (which, if you apply, you almost certainly will, because these companies are preying on people who are desperate for a job) you will be rushed through an initial interview, which will look something like this:
You'll be interviewed alongside another candidate or in a group.
It's a quick 10-minute getting-to-know-you call so the company can see if it's a good fit.
They will ask you to tell them (in front of the other candidates) what you would bring that makes you stand out.
They will ask you if you have reliable transportation.
They will go over the "job description" without ever making it clear what the day-to-day looks like.
They'll tell you about how you're going to be trained in different departments. The departments will have names like "Marketing & sales," "HR & PR," "Leadership development," "Logistics, numbers, and operations," and "Client relations." This is an actual example from a Zoom interview I just did less than an hour ago. These are the "departments" of this company, according to my interviewer.
They'll emphasize that expansion is the goal. Top-level customer acquisition. Their clients are looking to open to new markets, so they're looking for go-getters to quickly fill the role.
IF YOU ASK A QUESTION ABOUT THE COMPANY, THEY WILL DO EVERYTHING IN THEIR POWER NOT TO ANSWER IT. They'll tell you that you'll have the opportunity to ask as many questions as you want if you make it to round two; they'll tell you they have another interview in 2 minutes and don't have time to answer your questions; they'll repeat that this is a preliminary getting-to-know-you call, so there's no need to get into the details just yet.
If you do manage to get a question in, they'll put as vague & positive a spin on it as they can. I asked if the company I interviewed with was a new company (because I couldn't find it on BBB or Glassdoor) and the interviewer told me yes, it's a "branch-off company" to a company that's been around for a few years. He did not tell me what that company was, and I didn't ask, because at that point I knew I wouldn't get a straightforward answer either way.
Y'all, if you find a job that raises any red flags for you, DO YOUR RESEARCH. You should be looking up any company that reaches out to you. Find their website. Read their reviews on Glassdoor and Better Business Bureau. BE SMART AND DON'T LET THESE COMPANIES PREY ON YOU.
