Pros
You'll see a lot of reviews on the internet. Some legit, some not. This is a personal, very real experience. One that I do not regret having (as I learned a valuable lesson) but feel extremely glad that I passed on. I'm sure a lot of people by now might've heard about the famous MLM and pyramid types of job scams. They will have tons of job postings, the majority being under different names and position titles (look them up on this website on the jobs tab or online if you don't believe me). Better yet, do a google search for marketing-sales job scams and MLM jobs. These job titles/positions, will basically be the same and start at entry-level with minimum wage salary. This company pays minimum wage to start and you get about 20% (from what their contract says) commission. If you did a good number of sales that day, you get the higher pay (product commission instead). If you did a poor job and had little to no sales, you still get the minimum wage for the day. Which isn't bad considering most MLM/sales companies operate solely on commission pay. Sounds stable, right? There are 3 rounds of interviews (you can check the other comments on this site for more info/similar experiences). They will interview and hire literally anyone (no previous experience required). The company calls you about a day after you sent your resume (no cover letter or references asked for) and asks you a few basic questions to determine which office you should go to that is closest to your home, and to see if you'd be a fit candidate. 1st interview is with the CEO (Andre) or possibly someone else who is in a high position. It was the fastest, vaguest and most direct interview of my life. He asked only a few basic questions and from there you usually make it to the 2nd round interview which is done on site (Canadian Tire) with one of their employees. It was a very pleasant interview, pretty quick and informal, it felt more like a casual conversation than anything. They had tons of people coming for interviews, of all ages coming in and out all the 3 interview rounds I was there. All were done in the same quick, and rushed manner such as mine. Round 3 consists of witnessing a day/meeting at their office before the employees are sent into the field to demo and promote their products. The meeting was excellent, they had awesome electronic music playing in the background and everyone looked young as hell (possibly below 30, with 1 or 2 people looking like they are in their 40s or 50s). Everyone takes notes, practices pitches before they go out and has an awesome time listening to their coach and training new, future employees (such as myself at that time). They sell you the position, promising extensive training, high pay and extremely quick career advancement and benefits. Sounds like a dream job, right? Yes, until you read all the cons and see through the disguise. Pros: - Excellent and talented individuals work there (mostly very young, freshly graduated with little to no experience in whatever field they studied - as the company literally takes anyone) - Fast management/leadership promotion - Minimum wage guaranteed hourly despite how many sales you make (gets replaced by the commission that day if you sell a good amount of stuff) - You get your own team to coach/lead very fast - Great training - You can carpool with people to get to the locations if you don't have a car (preferred that you do just for the sake of making your life easier - travel time is not paid and can get difficult after a while) - Very nice office/atmosphere (feels like a legit and professional company) - Everyone is super nice, has extremely high energy and is very supportive and sweet - Their sale tactics are not as bad comparing to other companies/salespeople (if a person declines twice, then they let you go and don't insist). Depending on the person working that day, some can be more or less aggressive than others in their pitch - Actual good/money saving promotions on promoted items - Lots and I mean lots of travelling (all paid) opportunities internationally and networking (if they decide to keep you around for that long) - The CEO/employer is an outstanding speaker and truly a master at this field - Good and constant communication between members and the employer - The people I met while being there were genuinely happy and content to work for this company
Cons
- A regular MLM/pyramid sales (sorry, I mean promotions - they HATE it when you call them salespersons at this place) company with extremely long hours (8 am meetings like the one described and you can end up working until 7 pm or more, 6 days a week with no weekends off and only Monday being off). - Guaranteed you will be on your feet between 8 to 10 or more hours per working day - Selling products that are kind of bland and unappealing (the same products all the time - they pitch you the famous "the product is so good it sales itself) - The job description and duties at 1st are very vague and confusing (what is said by the employer can differ in the written contract) - The contract has a lot of typos, is very vague and unclear in some parts, uses big and elaborate words just for the sake of using them and it asks for a lot of very unusual personal information (if you are married or live with your parents - what job/contract asks that?). It also capitalizes on some very random and unusual words or letters (the contract was clearly very carelessly made). - The leadership/management promotions you get vary very little in pay and you're literally doing almost the exact entry-level duties you started off as but have your own team to coach - You get trained/coached by people who were promoted in just a few weeks (their fastest promotion was of an employer working there for 4 days - if that's not alarming I don't know what is) - They get upset if you call them sales representatives instead of marketers/promoters, even though your job is clearly stated within the contract to sell items and close deals with costumers - In the meeting I was in, an employee who made a relatively small, beginner's mistakes and was not only singled out and talked badly about but was also named without him being present and laughed at by everyone (very unprofessional) - If you do not meet the quota and make good sales, you will get laid off very quickly (I assure you) - Typical MLM company scam mistake (has a different name/domain in the U.S similar to its company name in Canada with barely any information on it) - Their website (said they're working on it) looks professional but is very small and limited in context, seeming vague at times) - The employer was on his cellphone/or emailing during interviews or final interviews when I had questions and vaguely and dismissively answered them (again, unprofessional) continuously selling me the dream and how I can make 6 figures within a year working there - The hours are terrible (very long, only a 30 minute lunch break in the entire 8-10+ hour daily shift with no access to a lunch room and you aren't allowed to eat at your booth) so depending on the Canadian Tire location if there's nothing else around, I guess eat wherever you can find in the store or worse, outside - They promise you can get some weekends off if you request them (almost impossible to due to the weekends being their busiest sales times) - Working your butt off, competing against coworkers for sales (some pay/commission you make going into the pockets of the leaders, managers, executives, etc. - depending on your current position) - Many days where you won't make sales due to the product being overdone and saturated in that Canadian Tire location - The contract dictates that they can fire you with or without a cause (not mentioning the without a cause part being only to the initial trial period of working there as most companies are allowed to do - basically if you're not good enough they can replace you at any time without a just cause). You can't make the sales we need? Next! - Company claims that it has 35 years of existence in the U.S and almost 3 years in Canada (couldn't find much history info on the web about it to confirm if it's true or not) - Getting trained by people who reached leadership positions within less than a month and even within a few days (would you really trust a fresh employee with little to not prior background in the field to actually train you properly?) - The fastest they promoted someone to leadership/train a team was 4 days (article available online). Yes it's at the cons sections. Why? The person literally just started working there and they're in charge of their own team already. Do you really trust someone like that with your training? - The work hours plus full weekends make it almost impossible to have a regular life/relationship outside of work - No actual work benefits (except for the commission) for either full-time or part-time (part-time benefits are rare anyways, but not so much full-time). For a company that claims it cares so much for their employees, treats them like a family and wants them to succeed, they sure move through people fast and offer almost 0 benefits as to working there (health or otherwise) - You will burn out extremely quickly if you're not a fast talker, extremely energetic or a physically active person (as mentioned before, expect to be standing the entire day, every day - yes, morning mandatory meetings included) - The fast, vague and slightly unprofessional interviewing process - The Facebook page has only 300+ likes, most being from past/current employees as well as the stellar reviews (really? just that many likes for a 35+ year old company?). Maybe they joined Facebook late but still... - The U.S (other similar name/initial company) only has about 50+ likes (same reason as stated above or is something else happening here?) - Contract advertises 41 hours a week (you will end up doing much more in the long run weekly) - There's a review website if you look it up on google, that has about 20+ reviews if I remember correctly, from current or past employees, all sounding and looking almost EXACTLY the same with everyone rating 5 stars in every category. If that doesn't look sketchy I don't know what does, especially the people who commented on those reviews noticing this too and never getting a reply back from anyone - 20+ interviews a day coming in and out of the office (if you say you promote job stability and such amazing perks, why are you interviewing so many people constantly on a daily basis and have tens of job postings online?). They don't have that many branches in this part of Ontario (the GTA) for them to hire so many people. They've started off in Canada very recently - On the phone interview they say you need to come in for an interview before Friday (their 3rd round and hiring day) because of the urgency of the position needing to be filled, yet there's tons of job postings online from them always Conclusion: My review here is the longest and most elaborate so far because I feel that I must warn people (especially fresh graduates and newcomers such as myself, to avoid these kinds of jobs like the plague). There are legit people who can be extremely good at this type of job and can make a living by selling an abnormal amount of products daily, but that's only the 5% or less that they employ on a yearly basis. What's the point of promoting almost everyone who does decide to stay for more than a few weeks to a leadership/manager position? They're giving out promotions and titles like candy with almost exactly the same duties and exactly the same hours. This is a typical MLM/pyramid type of job which disguises itself exceptionally well with it's decent website, very professional yet small offices, and by selling the dream to many naive, and young people, eager to quickly advance to positions and titles that vary very little and have the same horrible hours and no added benefits. It also helps that they partner with Canadian Tire which is the biggest retailer in Canada so it makes it seem super legit. One perk that is very good however is the constant traveling aspect and getting to see Canada, the U.S and sometimes other parts of the world. If this extended review was not enough (plus all the google research and sketchy reviews which you should always look at before applying anywhere) and you wish to try your luck at this company, then be my guest. I guarantee they will call you back with a very basic resume and little to no work experience. The only thing I feel bad for are the genuine, kind, hard-working and smart people who work there and who probably won't be around for long. Everyone I met (except like 1 or 2 other people and their very sweet admin) has been working there for barely a few weeks to a few months (and they've been in Canada for almost 3 years now). I'm talking about the entire (about 15+) people working at the location I was at who were there for less than a year, rarely meeting someone who stayed more than a year or 6 months. I know they're a new company in Canada but again, you've been around for almost 3 years now yet the large majority of people there are very new with almost no veterans and you're having interviews daily? Apply at your own risk, if you think you can handle the pressure, long hours, little pay and superficial promotions. You might be one of that 5% that makes it in this field/location and actually be happy at this job.