A trap for job seekers

Looking for a job can be a bitch. Especially if you moved to another country and you don’t speak fluent their language. Even worse if you live in a province. That´s why I decided to change my qualifications and learn something new and more useful. I started a year-long professional training (in Dutch!). Few days ago I also updated my CV on one vacancy website. Soon after that, my phone rang.

A very nice lady from a recruitment department of a company I have never ever hear about called with an offer. She started complementing my skills and job experience (oh, all those languages and previous jobs…) and I felt really pleased, that after so many rejections someone is finally appreciating me. Than she enthusiastically moved to describing the vacancy. When I heard word “sales” I shook in disgust. I seriously dislike this particular kind of job and hate when someone intrudes the potential clients trying to sell them what they don’t need, while implying  that it’s absolutely essential for their existence.  However, after two years of studying a new language and abasement by doing several random (and crap) part-time jobs, this sounded like they are throwing me a bone. We agreed for a meeting. I also immediately got an e-mail with confirmation of our appointment.

I happily shared this news with Maurice and checked their website to do a little research. Quite surprising, there was not many information there and definitely nothing specific. Luckily Maurice also did his little investigation. He called me back with some very disappointing news. I quickly checked it myself by typing the name of the company into Google.

Appco (that’s how they’re called) definitely doesn’t have a good opinion. On internet you can find a lot of stories of people who got caught into their trap. It always starts the same way: a nice lady finds your CV on a vacancy website and calls you with a job offer. Of course she’s extremely positive about you. You make an appointment, where they give you some papers to sign as soon as possible. Later it’s hard to get out of the whole deal. No the worst parts: they don’t give you a contract, but force you to register your own business as their partner (in this moment they are already violating the rules of using the vacancy websites). The job itself is indeed in sales… door to door sales! There’s also no basic salary, just a commission if you manage to sell something. So to see some actual money, you’d have to knock to many doors. Terminating the agreement is also not so easy. Many people who have signed it got into big financial trouble because of it.

To make it sound even more ridiculous, the negative information like this are to be found as well on Wikipedia. I mean, how bad it has to be, that it’s even on Wikipedia? Not only there actually. A Dutch TV show “Trosradar” investigated the company. Unfortunately there are too many partners registered to fight with all of them or sue them in court.

As you may suspect, I didn’t go to the meeting. I preferred not to take a risk (and not to waste my time). You also watch out! For me it was yet another proof that a passive job seeking can be nothing but useless (or in this case even harmful).