Michigan Talent Bank Scams?

[kelly261]

Originally Posted by staninalone

My finance lost his job in march and has been desperately searching for an IT job since. His decision to go on unemployment was based of the fact that we have a son and a house. After three months of searching and getting nothing we receive a phone call telling him about a job that is very interested in him, they set up the interview in the Saginaw office and tell him that they will most likely have him start on the day after the interview. Now keep in mind that we think this is an IT postion, with a pay scale around what he was making before. So a full tank of gas and a 45 minute drive later he finds out that Michigan Talent bank has sold his resume and information to some company ( Universal Gas & Electric) who proceeds to tell him that the job is door to door cold sales calls based on commison of 8$ a sale. They then tell him that if he doesn't take this job that he will be reported to unemployment and his benefits will be cancelled....... Is this legal? How can anyone with a house and a car and a child pay their bills off of that kind of money? Any advice!?

OMG, I've seen those ads from them. I knew it was a scam just by the way they described the job. Michigan Works should NEVER have sold your resume to them - can't believe they did that. I've had my resume out on the Talent Bank since being laid off last May and haven't had one call from an employer..and I have lots of Fortune 500 comany experience with valuable administrative and IT skill sets. The bottom line is that there are no jobs for experienced, talented workers in Michigan and especially in areas outside of the larger cities. They see us as overqualified. Michigan isn't down the drain yet, but many of us can start to hear the sucking sound.

[Sociologist]

Originally Posted by Kris_71

Fr8lnr, Where did you go ? My family is thinking about leaving too, We live in Northern Mich and the job market and economy are HORRIBLE! I have been doing so much research on the best places to go I'm sick of looking.

I know you asked Fr8lnr where they are going but where are you looking to go? My wife and I have also been looking profusely and are tired of it as well, I live near A2 I imagine there is absolutely nothing up there to even apply for. We have been looking all over the board for hope. At any rate, good luck on your searches!

[peantu]

The Michigan Talent Bank or Michigan Works! doesn't sell resumes to employers. If employers legally gained access to the Talent Bank, they are free to view job seeker's resumes. By the way, Universal Gas and Electric were investigated and their MTB accounts inactivated.

[mkfarnam]

Originally Posted by us2indaup

true, michigan works isn't very effective, but in all honesty they haven't much to work with. In my opinion as a long-time job hunter, they're as effective as monster or yahoojobs or any of the internet job sites. My complaint about all of them is that they're geared toward white collar, degreed, or professional positions. We blue collar workers are the backbone of america, where can we go to seek jobs?

agreed!

[mkfarnam]

Originally Posted by mrsrchuch

I set up an interview with this company for a management position. Upon arriving I was ushered into a room with about 25 other applicants. We were given a presentation about the company and then vaguely was told of the available positions and a round about of what they pay. Note there was no personal interview as I was informed. Nor did they even care if you had experience. You were told to call back between 4:30pm-5:15pm to see if you were selected for a second interview. Wow I never had a first! The second interview would be working for a whole day to see how you fit in. Your day would begin at 9am and end at 8pm. We were informed to wear very casual clothes and flat shoes. Wow a second interview where you work for them for 10 hours without pay! How generous is this! Come to find out they advertise in the paper weekly and set up interviews at 1pm and 3pm daily. So out the 20-25 that show up for each interview session, maybe 8-10 are selected to come back for a second interview which is actually working the whole day. If they do this for each session they can actually do quite well working people under the guise of a second interview. Lets see 6 interview sessions a week and you can have yourself up to 48 people working for free for one day, send 6-7 out a day and you have a weeks worth of work for free. What they do is load you up in the van and you do door-to-door sales. No one gets hired for the position they are applying for. They must do the door-to-door sales first then maybe if you are good you go onto training other poor unsuspecting fools. There is much more to this company and I have sent a long email to Fox 2 Detroit Shame on you to see if they might be interested in investigating this company.
I have checked them out and they are based in Canada. They are a prominent company just not the affiliates here in Michigan. Basically this group is having you do the work for them while they sit back and collect upfront commissions and get residuals based on customer retention. I am experience with this type of business and know what they are up to. You do the work and get a whopping $8.00 per sale and they laugh all the way to the bank with the rest! Lets hope someone can stop this company from taking advantage of people. Actually the two guys running the Southfield office should be stoned for what they are doing. To answer your question about can they get away with reporting this to unemployment, unequivacally no! They are blowing smoke just try to strong arm your husband. You do not have to take any job that has no guarantee of what you are going to make. You truly should write to Fox 2 Detroit about this. Companies like this need to be put out of business!

Wouldn't that be considered extortion? Keep us updated on this company.

[YAZ]

I got laid off in 2001, and after a month of full time job searching I was willing to take ANYTHING. I replied to an ad in the local paper by phone and was scheduled for an "interview" two days later. "Management Opportunities" is what was described to me, and wasn't given any info about the job over the phone. That was a BIG RED FLAG to me, but what the hell? It wasn't like I was going to miss a day of work....

The "interview" was held at one of the many vacant office spaces in an "Office Plaza" near my home. 20 other prospective employees were there with me. Motivation posters on the walls, typical office furniture, and even an aquarium stocked with 'lil fishes.

We were gonna sell cutlery door to door. Just think! All of those folks that are in dire need of new steak knives that are guaranteed for LIFE! So I'm starting to have fun with this, and after the sales pitch we were given an application and questionaire to fill out. I started talking to some folks about what a scam this is, as we were required to purchase a beautiful new set of cutlery to take with us for our show & tell, door to door adventure.

I asked one of the "managers" if they took credit cards and of course they do. They wouldn't take a personal check though.

I also asked how long they were doing this, if they did an analysis on market saturation, etc. I was called in to another "manager's" office and was asked if I was interested in a "management opportunity" and if I was available to meet with him sometime next week.

Of course, they just wanted to get rid of me as I was causing them a bit of trouble. I never heard from this outfit again, and for giggles I took a little stroll over there a week or so later.

Absolutely Nuthin' in the office. No pictures, furniture or fish tank. Go figure.