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Despite only having $100 in the bank, I lowered my standards in my job search to find a new job. I went to a job fair and most of them consists of insurance selling and such. Some of the them stated they offer benefits and bonuses or how I can make $800 a week.
I managed to get 3 interviews this week. One at Primerica, MetLife and American Income Life. All of which are insurance companies.
I avoided the ones that offered 100% commission because I need something with base pay and salary.
I researched all three companies on glassdoor. Primerica had four stars and had mostly positive reviews. But there's a fee of $99 that covers background checks. MetLife had three stars and had overwhelmingly positive reviews. American Income Life also has a $99 fee and has about a 3 star review.
The only thing that raises a red flag for me was the fee to get hired. I've heard about the scams where you have to do pay for.a business starter kit. But the positive reviews the companies are getting made me unsure.
Do some companies charge background check fees for entry? Am I right to think this over?
It costs the company money to run the checks. Perhaps they feel that they have so many applicants going for these entry level positions (and possibly high turnover) that they could pass the buck on to the candidate without consequence.
I would be annoyed by this; however, I don't think it is a red flag. That being said, I have never had to pay for anything to interview (background check, drug testing, airfare, hotels, meals)... But, I am also not in a field with a ton of applicants rushing to get through the gates.
I have seen local postings for city government jobs in my area where the applicant is required to pay for a civil service examination.
It sounds scammy to me, honestly. I put up my resume on Monster.com and got a bunch of emails that said "you'd be perfect to sell insurance! Call today for your interview!" My resume has nothing at all to do with insurance or even customer service or sales... I'd keep looking.
Not my industry, but I would be suspicious. I have never seen a company require an applicant to pay a fee to be hired. It sounds fishy to me.
I would look out for a few things.
1. What does the fee cover?
2. Will there be additional costs or fees at some point for training? You might ask a question similar to: How is training and licensing done? What are the schedules, what are the costs, if any? Can you give me some documentation?
3. Sales jobs are usually commission dependent. Even if you are given a salary, it is usually a 'draw upon future earnings'. If you don't earn out your salary, you are ultimately out of a job.
Don't get your hopes up I only have some knowledge about Primerica. In short, its basically a pyramid scheme. Basically you get paid by enrolling others into the selling practice.
One "VP" was actively trying to recruit my 18yr old son a few months back with lots of smarmy sale-sy talk about earning lots of $$$. Not saying it doesn't happen, as a "few" become quite successful at this scheme. Just go in with your eyes open, and don't get caught up in the promises they dish out.
BTW my son, while of course was all googley-eyed at the prospects, quickly came to the conclusion that its a scam. Just Google Primerica - you'll get the gist pretty quickly.
Despite only having $100 in the bank, I lowered my standards in my job search to find a new job. I went to a job fair and most of them consists of insurance selling and such. Some of the them stated they offer benefits and bonuses or how I can make $800 a week.
I managed to get 3 interviews this week. One at Primerica, MetLife and American Income Life. All of which are insurance companies.
I avoided the ones that offered 100% commission because I need something with base pay and salary.
I researched all three companies on glassdoor. Primerica had four stars and had mostly positive reviews. But there's a fee of $99 that covers background checks. MetLife had three stars and had overwhelmingly positive reviews. American Income Life also has a $99 fee and has about a 3 star review.
The only thing that raises a red flag for me was the fee to get hired. I've heard about the scams where you have to do pay for.a business starter kit. But the positive reviews the companies are getting made me unsure.
Do some companies charge background check fees for entry? Am I right to think this over?
Run.
I have never had a job require me to pay anything to get hired. The cost of hiring and onboarding is a company expense, not your expense.
Sounds like scams, which are notorious among the "insurance" industry.
I've heard of Primerica. It is MLM. Run don't walk. Use google next time there is tons of info about them and other MLMers. This is why I don't go to job fairs. The legit companies just hand you a pen or water bottle and tell you to apply online and the rest are temp agencies, MLM/insurance, for-profit colleges etc.
Despite only having $100 in the bank, I lowered my standards in my job search to find a new job. I went to a job fair and most of them consists of insurance selling and such. Some of the them stated they offer benefits and bonuses or how I can make $800 a week.
I managed to get 3 interviews this week. One at Primerica, MetLife and American Income Life. All of which are insurance companies.
I avoided the ones that offered 100% commission because I need something with base pay and salary.
I researched all three companies on glassdoor. Primerica had four stars and had mostly positive reviews. But there's a fee of $99 that covers background checks. MetLife had three stars and had overwhelmingly positive reviews. American Income Life also has a $99 fee and has about a 3 star review.
The only thing that raises a red flag for me was the fee to get hired. I've heard about the scams where you have to do pay for.a business starter kit. But the positive reviews the companies are getting made me unsure.
Do some companies charge background check fees for entry? Am I right to think this over?
Run as far as you can from companies attempting to charge you for background checks. No legitimate operation will do this especially before they even know if you're a valid candidate!
The NEED for background checks in general is very limited outside of specific occupations that deal with either a lot of high risk employees, take place within secure environments, or involve working with children. Yes, running background checks is a cost, but the cost is not all that high and like any business expense it's tax deductible from your bottom line. Those insurance companies have no business asking you for $100 up front to run one.
Keep in mind that "positive reviews" can be and frequently are astroturfing from companies that need a constant stream of employees due to churn. Ask questions during your interview to determine if you want to be there. Ask what kind of employee does and does not succeed there. Ask how long the typical employee stays in the position. Ask about median salary and how long it would take to "ramp up" to making that $800 a week.
If the answers to any of the above answers sound like bull****, walk away.
Edit: I agree with the poster above as well. If "Multi Level Marketing" shows up in your research for ANY employer, or you need to generate your "own leads" from your family and social network don't even bother.
I did do some research and found some negative reviews on Primerica. Compared to the positive reviews it got on Indeed and Glassdoor, it confused me even more about its legitimacy or if it's an MLM. While it is possible that people can pay to make fake reviews on their company, the negative reviews might by simply butthurt people who complain about something they know nothing about, like the reviewers on Yelp. I'm not saying I don't believe you guys. I am being a little analytic.
They offered me the job, and our next meeting is on Monday. I have 4 more interviews to do along the way, and I will continue to research the companies.
I found that it will cost me $99, which will cover not only the background check, but the insurance licenses I will be getting during training. I told him that I don't have any money to pay for it. The $300 bonus from training will cover the costs.
After reading the posts, I seriously have to think this over.
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I only have some knowledge about Primerica. In short, its basically a pyramid scheme. Basically you get paid by enrolling others into the selling practice. 
