my experience
I suppose I'll just say my story so you know where I'm coming from.
I graduated with a degree in Finance (and a few grad Financial Engineering courses) in May 02. Job market's been tough for finance grads so I've been looking. So sometime in late October, I get a call from someone who asks to schedule an interview. I ask some questions. They say it's a management training program. It was at the Merck, so I figure, hey it's my lucky day. They give me a website, www.iscscorporation.com to look at. Now, being a good interviewee, I do my best to research the company so I can look schnazzy for the interview. I couldn't find ANYTHING. Oh well, mabye they're a young company I thought.
So I go to the interview. I get there and notice that there about 10-15 people there too. They didn't say it was a group interview, but whatever. A couple more people get there. While we wait, I chitchat with some folks who also say they couldn't find any info. on this company. Anyway, then we're brought by a Joseph Rupert to the 22nd floor of the Merc. I thought it was strange that their décor did not match at all what I seen in trading companies or computer companies. In fact, it looked almost as if they sold furniture. Well, perhaps their computers are on some other floor, and this is for guests. We're all shuffled into this room and we take our seats.
What begins is a 40 minute schpiel by Rupert about how great ISCS is. How no one has ever been fired. How they want the top notch employees and all of us had some skill in some area that they figured they could use. (Later I found out that really, any mention of the word computer, finance, or anything on your resume, would get you selected) They said we'd be cross-trained in different areas and consultants. They said that their training program was so wonderful that big name companies like Goldman-Sachs and Merill-Lynch would regularly recruit from them. It all sounded great. He also had us fill out these cheap forms. (whatever you do, DON'T give your social security number. In fact, Rupert seemed ahead of the ball on this, telling us that if we were uncomfortable with giving it, we didn't have too. How nice.). They business they were in was intrusion detection software. Essentially developing firewalls for computer system of traders. (you know, stocks, optiosn, etc.)
So he finally finished, and said they would call within a few weeks if we got past this cut. Afterwards I decide to do a little chitchatting with Rupert. Just some schmoozing to show that I actually new a lot about the field he was recruiting for. So I talk with him about the options markets, and the recent Nobel Prize for Economics and whatnot. The guy parried my questions, but it didn't seem like he knew what I was talking about. Strange, I thought. A senior consultant working with computers and the stock market not knowing basic stuff like that? Well, I thought, who cares. He can give me a job right? And I got he card.
This was the most important thing I had when I decided to do some research on this company. I get home, and later I check up on the info. I typed in "Joseph Rupert" like that into google, along with various additions like : chicago, iscs, "iscs corporation". I forget which one it was, but I hit about some information finally. Some threads on various pages about some scam being run. SHIT. First thing that looked bad was finding this. www.receivercorporation.com. (unfortunately, it has been recently taken off, but the website was EXACTLY the same as the www.iscscorporation.com site. Just with a different name.)
The more I read, the more I found that it was obvious something fishy was going on. But I decided, hey, y'know, these are only internet sources. You never know what's true. What I'll do is if I get called for the interview, I'll go and check it out myself. At least I'm armed with that knowledge, because you know. What if this is a real opportunity? I don't want to blow this chance.
Sure enough I get a call about 3 weeks later scheduling me for an interview. I had some temp jobs lined up so I set one up for the following week. It was on Tuesday, November 26, 2002.
I go, and I have to wait in this waiting room for a long time. About an hour. Now, while I was there, I met some other folks who had suspicions, but who had been unable to find anything on the internet (using standard searches). I told them what I had read, but also said, don't go by my word. Find out for yourself. I felt sorry for this one lately, a programmer who was kept waiting for 2.5 hours! She finally left before the interview even.
We after getting the secretary to contact my interview, Glenn Smith, he finally came. Great. Now I could find out what was up. So I go into his office. He sat me down and then excused me to talk with another interviewee that I had chatted with before. While waiting there I deciding to soak in the environment. It seemed like it was a temporary deal. It was as if the whole place could be packed away in 5 minutes if need be. He also gave me some papers to look at concerning the history of the company.
He gets back, and from the beginning, he tries to get me to sign up for some training software. I had heard this would be the case, so I made sure to have some questions ready to test the validity of the company. For example, one the subject of computers, I asked about "how do you guys deal with thought spikez or empees". I then proceeded to explain what they were. (in reality, I had made up the definitions and terms). He said they handle them decent, but then said that he is only an HR guy, so he really doesn't know the computer stuff. Okay. He didn't know what I was talking about when I mentioned stuff on financial engineering, economics, and other stuff. Fine, HR guy. Whatever.
So I started asking him about the training software. Apparently, the deal is that you gave them something like $500 upfront as a holding fee until you finish the training software. I ask for a description of the software. He says it's very top-notch, cutting edge, used to cross-train their consultants in several major skills areas. So when he shows me was it was, it consisted of three things. The first was Powerpoint, were you would just make a cheap Powerpoint presentation on your computer, the next I forget, and the final was making a webpage. I knew how to do all those things but he still said I had train on their software. Though he said I'd probably finish it quickly. What I didn't get, is that a few weeks ago, they had said that their training program, (which was what this was), was so great, that I'd have all these skills. But Powerpoint and Making Webpages (probably Frontpage)? This didn't seem very cutting edge to me.
At this point I pretended that it seemed quite agreeable and make like I'm going to sign. But first I ask what my salary is going to be, just to test him. He writes out $47000 a year, plus benefits. (This was in the range of $30K - $70 they have written out on the paper). Great. So now I ask him, if the training expenses is a little over 1% of my salary, how come they can't just take the fee out of my salary. He says it's because not everyone finishes the training program, so this is a guarantee that they did. But he said, and continually reaffirmed, that if I finished the program, I would definitely get a job with them, and would be paid $1800 upon completion of the program.
So I finally decide to ask him the big question. What' the deal with Receiver Corporation, and how come all the names in the Receiver Corporation are the same as those in ISCS Corporation. He seemed shocked. But the story he gave me was that Receiver Corporation had existed, but the employees had problems with the old management, and so all the employees left the old management and with new management, they founded ISCS Corporation. That's why all the names were the same. When I asked him the names of the old management, he couldn't remember any. I ask him again, when was ISCS formed. He said 1986. So you would think this move happened 16 years ago. Okay, any check on the internet has the names of Rupert and Smith over at Receiver in the past 1.5 years. I guess they were latecomers to the move.
So I take issue with the training program fee again. Making like I'm convinced again and I'm going to sign. So I start to read the contract carefully. Guess what, there is absolutely no mention of $1800 guaranteed when you finish the program. I ask him why it doesn't mention that. He told me, (after some hesitation) well it was because previously, someone would finish only the first part of the training program, and then make ISCS pay them the $1800, despite the fact that they hadn't completed the training. When I pointed out how that didn't make sense. That all that meant was that ISCS just had to write in the contract what constituted full completion of the program, and they would have no problem, we acted like I was completely illogical. I then saw that the wording said "I understand and agree that I need to complete the ISCS Boot camp training program in order to qualify for a position with ISCS Corporation." TO QUALIFY. He had been telling me before that finishing the program guarantees you a job with ISCS. So what is this all about then? Note, the contract also gives you a 30 day limit to finish the training program, or else you have to return it and you get NOTHING. Now, I was willing to let this guy have the benefit of the doubt, but once I saw that contract, forget it. (People, PLEASE READ THE CONTRACT BEFORE YOU SIGN IT. make sure you understand it, and if not, they should not hesitate to let you get a lawyer to check it, if they are a legit company.)
Then he said he was just doing his job. He starts talking about how he doesn't want any trouble, and threatens that they don't want to hire people who aren't team players. Whatever. In the end I ask him to give me the names of all the major people in the company. You can see them in people. I told them I would look them up and call him back if I felt it was legit. I've checked.
On my way out, I asked some people in the lobby about the ISCS Corporation. They told me that EVERY DAY. They see A LOT of people coming to that table they have in the lobby, for the scheduled interviews. For months.
So I get home. I had some errands to run the past week, and then there was Thanksgiving. But now I have some time to set up this website. (date Wednesday, December 4, 2002).
Now as an afterword. If there are any lawyers out there, I have a copy of the contract and some other papers. I just want to know if I can post those on this website legally.
Updates: This is a fresh page, but I know that it will take a while for it to percolate through the search systems. By then ISCS may have changed their style somewhat. The webpage of Receiver Corporation was up for a long time, but the minute I mentioned it to them, it was taken down. No doubt they're gonna either change their papers or their company name soon enough. But no matter what, the names of the people has remained the same.
