Have you ever fell for a job scam? Example: you can start your own business all you need is a $500 deposit to get your start up materials.
-Work at home stuffing envelopes

-Cutco...give knife demonstrations to random people
-Primerica.... "We saw your resume on Monster.com and we would like to scedule an interview with you."

Yup! But it was $10 and mr. fyi and fyi decided it was worth the risk to find out what it involved.

Guess what? It involved scamming other people to give you $10 to find out what it's about. I quite there.

My coworker got emailed about seeing her resume on some site...she googled it and noticed it was a scam...couple weeks later a different name emailed her, same thing...few weeks later, same type of email, different name but not on google, but she knew better

so what happens when you respond and try to arrange an interview?

first hit off google says:
http://www.100insurers.com/wwwboard/messages/8092.html

why is cutco a scam?
i know someone who sells cutco, actually a few ppl, and they are pretty well off cuz of it. i dont think its a scam, sometimes you need to put a little in to get something out of it.

stuffing envelopes and pyramid schemes are all scams-

but cutco and primerica are both perfectly legitimate businesses-

cutco basically relies on cherubic green college kids to guilt their neighbors into taking pity on them by buying their knives (which are actually quite good btw)

primerica's deal is no more nefarious than any financial house who wants to bring you in as a financial advisor, telling you that you have to build your own practice and live on nothing but commissions-

i wouldn't recommend either of these to anyone who wasn't a total sheister, but the fact is they're not illegal

I'm sure there are a small percentage of people who are making some money off of cutco and primerica, but when the vast majority are losing money by applying/ performing a job thats a SCAM.
Legal, yes. Still a scam in my book. You should never have to pay money to work for someone.

i agree.

as far as primerica goes, you're applying to be a financial advisor-

difficult for two reasons-

1) anyone who needs a financial advisor probably doesn't make enough money to give the fa enough commissions

2) anyone who is wealthy enough to give you good commissions doesn't need a financial advisor

Have YOU?

Um not true. Most rich people CAN be their own financial advisors but there are plenty who don't have the time or patience and it's worth it to them to pay someone to keep their money growing (another advantage is you have someone to yell at when things go badly). However they go to people who know what they're talking about - not Primerica college drop-outs.

enough times to know better now

people don't want to really hire you, they just want to get a look at you and see "how much you're worth"

growl, big big growl

snarl even

I went to a cutco demonstration but didnt accept their "job offer" after I realized I would be selling knives door to door...I was young but I should have realized that if they weren't telling me outright what the job entailed I should have been suspicious. So I guess I fell for it in that I wasted an afternoon.

Primerica- I have replied to their "we have a job for you" letters - back when I really needed a job. Didnt follow up on it after I realized it was a group interview....that's a big red flag for me.

I thought the point of primerica was to get you to sell their insurance to your friends and relatives. Either way they recruit anyone and everyone - to get a legitimate job you need to have real qualifications or a skill. Any one that offers you a job not knowing your qualifications is BSing you and you will most likely be sorry if you fall for their little speech.
To get a real job, you usually have to bug them, and struggle just to get your foot in the door. Especially if you are right out of college.

Why is a group interview a red flag?

Sometimes companies call what you are attending a group interview, but are in fact group sales pitches that resemble more of a pep-rally.
This has been my experience. Take it for what it's worth.

care to share any so others don't make the same mistake?

That's funny - I went to a cutco 'group itnerview' b/c I wanted to buy the knives, but I wanted the employee discount. I got the job, bought the demonstration set, and I still use it to this day (10 years later). I think I even sold a knife or two by accident...

hope the employee discount was worth your time..if so, well done.