Summary: please do not waste your time and fall for this as I did. I'm not exactly sure what this company falls under, but it's somewhere between a MLM, pyramid scam, street promoters, etc.
I applied through LinkedIn because I desired to gain transferable skills. One day later, I was surprised when they called me to ask if I could go in for an interview (the next day)! I said yes but asked them if next Monday would work. I started to do my research in preparation and found it odd that their website was rather vague and didn't tell me the specifics of what they did. I didn't take it too much to heart because I knew they were new, and emailed them with a few short questions, such as what companies they've worked with and how would someone in the position I was applying to be helping in projects. I received a prompt response, saying that they have a "brand ambassador" position open, but that the internship would blossom into full time. I was a little skeptical since they seemed to have avoided my question, but decided on going to the interview on Monday since if anything I could gain experience and I had the to ask more questions.
Come Monday, I took the train into NY from NJ. When I arrived, I realized that they were a VERY small office, shared with another company. What alarmed me was that they only had a piece of paper on the door naming them. I was asked to fill out info form and to wait to be called. There was a few other people waiting for interviews, and a few more people arrived after me. Around 7 minutes after 1 (my appointed time), a large man came out of one of the offices and called a girl who had arrived after me. Confused, I tried not to get nervous, and continued to wait. To my surprise, approximately 10 minutes after, both emerged from the room. He then called me in, introduced himself, and asked me to sit down. He didn't seemed tired and uninterested to be there, and didn't make eye contact when we talked. He seemed less interested in knowing what I had to say to his questions. They had asked me for a hard copy of my resume, but he didn't ask me any questions about it. Instead he asked what skills I wanted to acquire and if I thought I fit into the role. At one point, he seemed so bored out of his mind that he just mindlessly dropped his pen and let it roll on the desk. I've done interviews in the past, and NEVER come across someone as him. He made no room for questions, told me I would be contacted by 5, and got up to escort me out.
I got a call at 4, asking me if I could go in the next day for the second round. I was skeptical but agreed again, but asked what the second round would look like. The HR lady who was contacting me hesitated before saying it would be a presentation on marketing, etc. My confirmation email told me to arrive at 9:30 am in business formal wear and pen/paper to take notes. It also said I was allowed to ask questions. When I arrived on Tuesday, I needed to sign a agreement which told me that it was a "presentation" and I was agreeing to observe their work for the day. At any time I was allowed to leave, but it meant I was terminating my application. I was confused because the agreement made it sound like I might be there for the whole day, but the HR person who contacted me and the email did not mention any of this.
The interviewer gave his "presentation" on the company. Basically he tried to sell us the "direct marketing" technique Eagle International uses. He claimed that they worked with very big companies (i.e. Sprint). He explained the structure, and said that we were paid by the amount of units were were able to promote (in his case, he talked about Sprint's Lifeline program) and given bonuses once we reached a certain mark (i.e. 65ish units). He claimed that we get promoted after a certain amount, and that it's quick money, and within 8 months, we would be part of their office management. The moment he started talking I was turned off and knew they were trying to pull me into their business. A few red flags were that he tried to avoid telling us that we'd be part of the team that was on the ground (i.e. street promotion). He tried to sell us the company by saying we would start off as "account executives", and we would develop skills such as public speaking and time management (which I can see how he could justify, but I think it's was just sugar coating the truth). Lastly, he said that from 7:30-9AM is training and 9-5:30 is making money. Once again, let me remind you that it's not hourly pay; PURELY if you succeed.
I'm annoyed, and a little angry that I didn't stop when I could have. I definitely saw the red flags, but because of inexperience, and pressure by my family to try it out, I wasted a lot of time and money. It costs approx $25 for transportation for one day (so $50 wasted in total). And I lost valuable time I could have spent looking into other work and companies. Not to mention the interviewer was rude, uncouth, and unprofessional.
