Job Hunting at a Marketing Company

Initiating a new series relative to my ongoing job hunt.

This screenshot is so ambiguous it could apply to any company’s marketing material. And therein lies the rub.

I recently applied for a marketing position without knowing the name of the company, and received the following email within two days that pointed me to this nondescript website:

I am pleased to tell you that we are interested in meeting with you to further discuss career opportunities with COMPANY-NAME-HERE. After reviewing your resume, our management team has requested your attendance for a brief interview. At the time of the initial interview we will express to you our company goals, our growth and further discuss your qualifications and career goals.

We are expanding rapidly due to our continuous success with our clients. This has led us to bringing people in for various full-time opportunities. Currently we are filling entry level positions which include areas of sales, marketing, promotions, advertising, customer service and public relations. Ideally we are looking for individuals to advance beyond entry level and progress through to management. Interviews are being conducted to fill these positions immediately.

Please feel free to call our office at PHONE-NUMBER-HERE Monday through Friday, between the hours of 9am and 5pm to speak with us, regarding your future career goals, and background.

In other words, I responded to a job vacancy announcement and am emailed with instructions to call them to set an interview. Doesn’t it work the other way around? Should they call me if they are interested in me?

I didn’t immediately call — and received a phone call within hours. I set up an interview for later that week at their office 30 minutes away.

To make a long story short, I was one of about a dozen people brought in that day for an interview with the “office manager” who seemed around my age and was interviewing applicants for five minutes at a time. I’ll write that again: She told me I would have a five-minute interview before asking me routine questions about strengths, weaknesses, and why I was applying.

The waiting area looked like a cattle weighing station when I walked out of their tiny office — and I mumbled to the others waiting they would have five minutes.

Should I add the two people I met — the HR manager who called me and the office manager who interviewed me — had business cards with their yahoo.com and gmail.com email addresses, and not company email addresses? For a sports and entertainment marketing company, you would think they’d market themselves with their corporate email addresses, no?

And for the final straw to add to your imagery, here a link to a video that appears on that nondescript website. See how it can apply to any company?

I can look past the interviewing company asking me to call them to come in, and beyond their webmail accounts. But the imagery of herding unsuspecting candidates into their office for a five-minute interview was a turn-off. I wonder who got the part.

Care to guess the caliber of the individual they hired?