KDS Consulting deceptive business Chicago Illinois

I went on an interview today for a Customer Service/Marketing position with KDS Consulting. I was a little leery based on the blog I read on this site so I had my eyes and ears open for similar clues and red flags.

The interview was held in a practically empty office; a desk, phone, sporadic art work on the walls and the television in the reception area, this did not look like a company that had been up and running for some time, but KDS personnel did make it know that they were looking to open a new Chicago office.

I was interviewed along with another individual, I was asked to tell about myself first. I think I am a very intelligent, well spoken person who is no stranger to interview etiquette, if there is such a thing, so I think I represented myself rather well.

The other person was not as well spoken and based on his past work experiences, as described by the interviewer, had worked in allot of jobs in the service industry.

We were then told that this was considered the preliminary interview and if called back we would be given more detail about the job and its responsibility. When asked if we had any questions, I asked what they were specifically looking for in a job candidate, I did not see how he could have ascertained anything about either of us besides what we looked like and how well we spoke.

I did not get an answer to my question, the interviewer instead talked in circles around the question. I then asked what percentage of the time would be spent in the office and I was told that 80% would be spent out of the office and 20% in the office. We were then told that if they were interested we would be contacted by them by 6 pm; if we did not receive a phone call then they decided to go in another direction.

My impression of the whole experience and from what I observed, after KDS receives resumes via email they are screened for specific geographic locations within the city, because Chicago neighborhoods are not as diverse as other cities it is pretty easy to determine which race of people lives where. They then schedule blocks of interviews with people they are hoping have similar backgrounds, my guess is they are not looking for the brightest and most intelligent people, but people who can easily be manipulated.

Something else I thought was strange is that when you get there you are asked to fill in your personal information on a generic job application which asks for your social security number, I may not be the brightest person in the world, but what reason would they have to ask for your ss# if you were not definitely going to be hired.

Thanks to the previous warnings posted on this site, I was saved from wasting anymore of my time.

Monica
Chicago, Illinois
U.S.A.