3W Marketing deceptive hiring, misrepresentation of duties, pyramid scheme Cherry Hill New Jersey

3W Marketing is a very clever operation. They are very similar to many other marketing/sales/promotion companies reported on this website. I have decided to report what happened to me at my series of interviews last month so that other people can decide before they go to an interview whether or not it is worth their time.

My first interview was the result of 3w's response to an email I sent their company. They advertised on careerbuilder.com as a growing marketing firm. I did my research on them and found they were a real company with real clients. Being an unemployed college graduate, this was enough for me.

When I arrived in the waiting area, there were about 5 other people besides me waiting for interviews. Most of us were young and well-dressed. The music in the waiting area was very loud, which struck me as odd. There was also a plasma screen TV showing ESPN with the volume turned up.

The interview itself was with a man who ran an office in New York. He talked very quickly almost the entire 15 minutes. My interviewer only asked one or two questions about me. The rest of the time he talked about the promotions work 3W does. I was told about one of their campaigns with the New York Yankees. 3W distributed discount tickets to Yankees games to fill unused seats, therefore increasing NYYs merchandise sales. I was also told that I was being interviewed for a fast-track management position. This position required me to do some entry level promotions work, so I would understand what the lower level people were doing as I quickly worked my way up in the company. At the end of the interview I was told that a select few would be called for a second interview.

A few hours after my interview I was informed that I was invited to a second interview. I was told that I would be observing a typical day by shadowing one of the employees. An appointment was made for a few days later.

The second interview started in the same office. I was paired with an employee. She told me that we would be going out into the field, and this would take up the next eight to nine hours of my day. We went out with another employee/applicant team to a town about an hour away from the office. When we got to our "territory" we spent our time going door to door offering people free quotes on home improvement projects. We did this all day, until dusk. At the end of the day I was offered a job, which I politely declined.

From what I understand the way that this company works is that you start by doing door to door solicitation for a certain item. After a month or so you get more responsibilities, and supervise over other people. You accrue your own team and management skills. Eventually those people on your team will develop their own teams and management skills. After a certain amount of months you will become an assistant manager where you won't have to go door to door anymore. Then you can move up to running your own company and office. You get a certain amount of money for each person working in your office. Your office becomes your own company which you can name whatever you want.

This job actually does appeal to some people. In my case, it did not. I disliked going door to door. There were no benefits being provided for entry level workers, which was a requirement for me. I am not willing to use my own car and cell phone for a job with such low pay.

One thing that also bothered me was that I was told numerous times that this was the only company that would consider fast-tracking anyone to management in such a short time. To any new job searchers out there, this is not true at all. Many companies greatly benefit from fast-track management programs where they start you off doing a variety of jobs and then groom you for management.

One final note; I know lots of people who have been succesful in the sales industry. It is difficult and demanding work. I expected long hours in the field when I arrived for my second interview. On my second day interview I was lied to by ommission. Had I know that the field was just a housing development where I would knock on doors I would not have gone.

If this job is for you, good luck. It wasn't for me, and perhaps posting this will save someone else a day attending the second interview.

Kelly
Cherry Hill, New Jersey
U.S.A.