Update - August 18th: The infamous Rhonda not only responded, but embarrassed herself by getting caught in a lie. Read the comments after the post.
This morning, I got the following e-mail for the second time in a couple of weeks. It's not technically a scam, as this is a real business with a real job opening. But I'm going to debunk it anyway because it skirts the line between legitimacy and scam.
Dear Greg BulmashI have reviewed your resume and feel you have some of the experience or qualities we are looking for. I would like to offer you an opportunity to interview with our Division Sales office on Monday August 11th at 1:00 PM.
We currently have two new openings for Sales Rep and one new opening for Sales Manager. Due to scheduling challenges interviews will be on a first come first serve basis.
Please call (206) 922-2167 or (866) 573-8405 to schedule an interview. You can also email me at wa.cornerstone@gmail.com.
I look forward to speaking with you. **
Rhonda Smith, Scheduling Coordinator
Robert D. Sell & Associates
550 Kirkland Way, Suite 209
Kirkland, WA 98033
(206) 922-2167
(866) 573-8405FOR THOSE SELECTED WE OFFER:
*Immediate Weekly Income Potential
*Six Figure Income
*Bonus Programs and Trips
*Company Sponsored Stock Ownership Program
*World Class, Ongoing Training and Sales Support
*Personal Sales and Leadership Development
*Advancement Opportunities (Management)
*Prestigious Products and Services
*Call on prospects who have requested to see you
*Flexible Work Schedule
*Access to Marketing Materials, Technology and Sales Resources
*Fun and Competitive Work Environment
*Unmatched Personal Satisfaction That Comes With Helping Others
*Strong Leadership and Mentoring for your Personal Success**If this is a duplicate letter, I apologize and ask that you delete and disregard it.
Now a few red flags show up right in the letter. If this is a legitimate business, why haven't they spent $9 to register a domain name? If they particularly like Google Mail (seeing as they're using a Gmail address) they can use Gmail with their domain. The use of throwaway free mail service addresses like Gmail, hotmail, live.com, yahoo.com, etc. is something the Russian check-fraud job scammers do.
Second, the claims... "Immediate Weekly Income Potential" and "Six Figure Income" trigger the "if it sounds too good to be true, it usually is" red flag.
Third, without talking to you or getting any sense of who you are (or even if you're interested), they're offering you a face-to-face interview in the first paragraph of their letter. If you've been hunting for higher level jobs, you know that you have to jump through a few hoops before you get to the interview phase.
The last red flag is that they've been sending this to people who post their resumes on job boards pretty consistently for about four months now, as evidenced by this forum discussion. But the forum discussion also provides some of the evidence that this is at least quasi-legit as "Rhonda" has posted to that forum, answering some of the criticisms, and posting a URL for a insurance company that they claim to be affiliated with.
Now, while they seem to be legitimate, people have pointed out the spam-like qualities in their e-mail to them in private e-mail and in the forum discussion, but they haven't corrected those. And they seem to be sending out their interview offers in bulk for months now.
I got mine supposedly through CareerBuilder. And I'll tell you, each time I update my resume on CareerBuilder or Monster, I have to fend off a bunch of e-mails from insurance agencies that apparently try to recruit anything with a pulse. The difference between "Rhonda" and the other insurance recruiters is that the other insurance recruiters don't sound so damn spammy. They don't make quite as many "too good to be true" promises or in such a blatant manner. And more importantly, they just mail you once.
The fact that "Rhonda" has been doing this for 4 months, mailing people very regularly says one of two things to me:
- They're getting a crappy response rate, so they have to send out lots of mails to get just one person in. And despite constructive criticism, they refuse to re-write their mail to sound less spammy.
- They have an amazingly high churn rate, either due to burning people out very quickly or the job failing to deliver on the sky-high promises they make in their mail, so they have to keep sending out these e-mails.
The thing is that the parent company name they're giving to CareerBuilder is Cornerstone America, and if you look up their local office for Seattle, it gives you a web page for "Bob Sell", a welcome message, some company information, and even a recruiting video.
They could easily work to sound more professional, use some of the online assets Cornerstone is providing them, and maybe avoid all the accusations of spamming and dishonesty. You never get a second chance to make a first impression, and despite all the people telling them they're making a crappy first impression, they insist on continuing with this terrible e-mail.
So, unlike the Russians who will rip you off, my biggest fear is that these people will waste your time. They're obviously too thick to take a hint and too stubborn to change a tactic that provides so much negative feedback. They may be legitimate, but would you really want to work for a company that makes sky-high promises and doesn't mind looking like crooks?
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yes, I got one of these today. If you have any more info on this company let me know, but thanks for the post.
Jennifer
Seattle, WA
I have gotten several of these in the past myself, most recently this morning...so I figured I would google it this go-around and see what the true scoop is.
I too have been bothered and perplexed that if they are offering a job with an income potential in the six figures, why they cannot afford to get their own domain name to look more professional.
Second is the "first come, first served" deal. I am in Tacoma, I am not going to drive all the way to Kirkland for an interview that may not happen. If they truly want an interview, it will be guaranteed.
Also it would be nice to have a general job description in addition to what they offer. To better know what they need, you are the best judge of whether or not you are a qualified fit for whatever job they are seeking to fill.
They do have a domain name. Try cornerstoneamerica.net. You know just because things dont come up when you search them doesnt mean they are not there.
Dear "Me",
I link to THREE URLs that are relevant to them (healthmarkets.com, cornerstoneamerica.com, and the "Bob Sell" page at mw-career.com). None of those are URLs they provide in the e-mail they send people. The first they provide if you push them, the second and third ones I found through investigating them.
Rather than use any of those or use any of the marketing materials provided by those companies (such as a recruiting video at mw-career.com, found easily from a link on their page for "Bob Sell"), they use this spammy-sounding recruiting letter.
My criticism is not that the company is not legitimate, but that they act like they're spammers/scammers through poor targeting of their recruiting letter, a badly written recruiting letter that's long on sky-high promises and short on facts, and making it seem too easy to get the job.
Apparently you didn't read my post or you would have found the links. But thanks for giving me a chance to show that their defenders are as clueless and careless as they are.
Thanks a lot for the heads up. My e-mail was identical to the one that you speak of.
Thanks again!
I mailed my reply to "me" to ensure she got it, and she responded.
When Hotmail added her name to the e-mail reply, Hotmail added "Rhonda Smith," the same name as the person sending out the badly-written recruiting mails.
She does "the same type of job as they do"? It's her name at the bottom of the letter I'm critiquing. She's trying to pretend she's a third party defending them and Hotmail rats her out. Classic.
As for "all they have to do is call" and "you want everyone to do the work for you," I believe I should be the one saying "EXCUSE ME?" I didn't contact them. They contacted me... multiple times. She's basically saying we're all lazy for not spending our time to dig for information they should be providing up front. She wants us to commit our time and a few bucks in gas money to go interview, but thinks we should have to work for enough information to be comfortable with this.
And, of course, there's her tone when you complain that she's not providing enough information: belligerent, accusative, defensive. This woman defines "unprofessional behavior".
Last I checked, this page was the top valid result at Google for Robert D. Sell, Robert D. Sell & Associates, Robert D. Sell & Associates, and Robert D. Sell and Associates. So I hope she writes back, yelling at me some more, possibly trying to hide her identity again (and just as clumsily). She just makes herself and her employer look bad.
I received one of these e-mails as well. I think it's some form of scam. I have my resume on Monster and for some reason I seem to ALWAYS be getting spam/fake e-mails from recruiters. Even when I tried to Google the company NOTHING came up. I tried googling the "cornerstone" company name used in the e-mail address and got LOADS of random company's. Next I tried "cornerstone Kirkland WA" and a link came up for this blog. I also tried tried "Robert D. Sell & Associates" only to receive yet another link to this blog (which I am thankful for). It is always pretty sketchy when a company's web site is extremely hard to find and further if you think you have found the web site but are not 100% sure if it's the company that has e-mailed you.
David makes a good point. If they really thought "you had the qualities they where looking for" then why would they have a first come first serve basis with interviews? I am NOT going to drive an hour out of my way for an interview that I may NOT get. What happens when you get there and there are 50 people waiting to be interviewed? Would you draw straws to get interview spots? Since this "company" obviously hasn't done ANY research on candidates all your qualifications and credentials would be irrelevant. For example if 10 people show up to get interviewed and only 2 of the random 10 are selected for interviews they could be high school drop outs however; they would get the job over more qualified individuals such as myself with a Bachelors degree because they have done NO prior research on the candidates they have "selected/spammed" for interviews.
In addition there's not a single fact about the job. I got one saying "Sales Representative." There is no information about the job except that I'll receive a "six figure income almost immediately." Is it commission based sales? What will you even be selling? Bombs? RC cars? It's just way to ambiguous.
Also my degree is in Computer Science. I know it's common for people to choose careers in fields in which they didn't study but I think a Computer Science degree has NOTHING to do with sales. This is obviously a spam bot/rover program that sends out e-mails to newly joined members of web sites or some loser in his mom's basement trying to get a 10 cent commission. Either way it sounds phony.
Don't WASTE your time or your qualifications with this company. Everything from the generic/phony e-mail, to unrealistic promises, to their dodgy interviewing process seems sketchy.
Kevin and David,
Not to defend them, but I think you may be misconstruing the "first come, first served" element of their letter. They follow that with instructions to call to reserve a time. This is more an "act now, supplies are going fast" pitch for the interviews. They only have so many slots and if you don't call to schedule one right away, they might not have any left when you call.
It's the old sales tactic of creating urgency so people will stop thinking about it and buy. "One left at this price. Limited time offer. Get yours before they're gone. We may never offer a deal this good again." Basically you're supposed to get the sense that if you don't make up your mind now, you're going to get left out of something good.
Of course, the fact that you both misconstrued it as "show up and maybe we'll interview you" shows how poorly written the letter is. But as you can see above, Rhonda is a teency bit defensive and doesn't understand one of the cardinal rules of communications or comedy: never blame the audience.
If one person doesn't "get it," you can write it off as their problem. If multiple people don't "get it," then the problem lies with how you're saying it. The problem is that particular point is the one Rhonda doesn't seem to get.
Greg you make a good point. I would say Kevin and David misread the article as about 3/4 of the people on the "800notes" forum discussing the subject did as well. Such a poorly written article. It's funny how "Rhonda" is quick to charge everyone who criticizes her e-mail as "unprofessional" when it is so poorly written and unclear that my 10 year old cousin could write a more concise letter.
It feels even more like a scam because of the grammatical errors that she constantly makes.
"I dont appreciate your insults and as I do the same type of job as they do all a person has to do is call and they can get ANY information they like.."
That is MASSIVE run on sentence and really doesn't make a whole lot of sense. Her English proficiency is definitely lacking. I don't have particularly good grammar in my documents or e-mails but then again I am not attempting to recruit candidates and represent a so called "company." Also if she was so "professional" she would have replied with a calm, clear, and concise answer addressing your questions. Even if you were rude in your questioning of her motives and rightfully so, a response like that from a "professional" business is completely unwarranted and only helps to grow a negative reputation.
On the "800notes" forum she supplies a link to the website that apparently "Robert D. Sell & Associates" is affiliated with called Healthmarkets.com. If they work with this company then why not inform a candidate in the letter that they would be working for this organization? According to members of the "800notes" forum HealthMarkets.com primarily sells a service called "Mega Health Insurance." When you google "Mega Health Insurance" below the homepage link for the company are links with titles ranging anywhere from "Mega Insurance Scam" to "How Mega Insurance put me $200,000 into debt." Legitimate or not I DO NOT want to work for a company that has this bad of a reputation.
Greg and Kevin bring bring up another very valid point. If this is such a legit company then why is it so hard to find on the web? Googling "Robert D. Sell & Associates" brings up THIS discussion blog and links to the 800forums.com discussing the SAME subject. It also brings up a Realtor interestingly with the same name. Poor Rhonda. Maybe Rhonda should finish her AA degree before she writes another recruitment letter?
Jack,
A very interesting commentary, but one correction. The realtor in the Google results is Robert D. Smith, not Robert D. Sell.
Something about the ampersands and how they're encoded seems to be causing this.
I am not trying to hide anything. This is a legitimate company looking for employees who want to work hard. I work hard at my job and maybe you should be looking for a job rather than trashing mine. Just because our email doesnt spell everything out does not mean that the information is not available and that the job is a scam. Sales is not for everyone but lots of people take these jobs and do well at it. Maybe because they work hard at their job and not at trying to undermine others. Good Luck! I have no hard feelings because I know that I have not done anything wrong and if people listen to you rather than call me and find out for themselves thats fine. There are plenty of people who are looking for jobs in this field and we will hire the good ones!
Rhonda,
Let's go back to the 800notes.com forum. Your e-mail contains "maxeesgirl" as a component and there happens to be this note on that forum:
You claim you're not trying to hide anything, but you've done this before. You've gone in and pretended to be someone other than yourself to post a defense.
On the subject of your not identifying yourself when you posted, you e-mailed me: "I was not trying to be deceptive just didnt want my personal email out there."
You could have posted as Rhonda Smith and used wa.cornerstone@gmail.com. You didn't have to post as "me" and use a previously unknown Hotmail address, so that excuse doesn't fly. And at the 800notes.com forum, where your deception was even more egregious, they don't require you to provide an e-mail to post a comment. So where's your excuse there?
Your recruiting letter doesn't even tell people what the product is. It just says it's a sales job, but completely glosses over what they'll be selling. Who leaves that out? You're claiming you have "prestigious products and services" but you don't name even one. Is it any wonder that people think you're being evasive or deceptive and don't trust you?
Then, because people don't trust you, they go looking for more information via Google instead of calling you. And when they do, they find pages like mine and the 800notes.com forum where you call people lazy for not doing the legwork to find information that every other legitimate company provides up front. And now they find out that you're going in and pretending to be someone else to defend the company.
You never get a second chance to make a first impression, but you seem to think that anyone who is put on their guard by your shady-sounding recruiting letter should just "do the leg work." We do. We just don't ask you, because you already made a bad first impression. We go on the web and we find complaints about you, unprofessional behavior by you, and complaints about Healthmarkets.
You think that because you work hard, we're all just being mean. You can work just as hard at doing something wrong as at doing it right.
Bravo Greg! Exactly what happened with me. Got the letter from "Rhonda", noted the return email address and was struck by the ambuiguity of the job description and lack of company information. Of course, I've got job resumes out there and have been working hard to find employment- so I didn't want to jump to any conclusions and shoot myself in the foot. I Googled Robert D. Sells and viola! This is what comes up. Bull crap. And even if it's not- I certainly don't want to be standing down wind of anything that smells like it!
[...] treats & and & differently. I recently wrote a blog post about a job recruiting letter being sent out by a company that calls itself "Robert D. Sell & Associa.... If you Google "Robert D. Sell" at the moment, my page is the #1 result. If you Google "Robert D. [...]
I am not embarrassed about defending my job. Just embarrassed that you folks have nothing better to do than this. Good Luck finding better things to do with your time. I on the other hand have work to do.
Rhonda
If I were you I would definately be embarrassed about your recruitment, marketing methods, and public relations campaign. Once again you CONTINUALLY accuse smart and well educated people that "we have nothing better to do than this." Every legitimate company has an easily accessible web site. I speak for myself and probably 99% of other job seekers that they check a company's web site before calling to set up an interview. When a so called "company" doesn't even have a web site it raises red flags. I know third grade classrooms that have set up their own web site! Your company can't even make a generalized HTML page and pay $5 a month for it to hosted?
You also claim you have "nothing" to hide? As Greg pointed out you have consistently poised as different users on unregistered forums defending this company. That right there is very sketchy. So that claim has once again been refuted. You definately have not redeemed yourself in any matter and only make your situation worse.
My third point has to deal with your embarrassing public relations campaign. All these people you are accusing of being "lazy" and "having nothing better to do" are people YOU sent e-mails to as potential candidates! You decided to e-mail us and give us a chance to work for you and yet when we ask questions regarding your company you begin name calling and accusing us of squandering behind your back when all we wanted to know was more information and clarification! I am sure people have been rude and rather blunt in their e-mails but YOU represent a company. You NEVER insult a customer or individuals contacting you. That's VERY unprofessional and to be blunt very bad business practice. If you had answered our questions politely and concisely you wouldn't be in this situation.
You obviously continue to spam and contact anyone and everyone on Monster.com and CareerBuilder.com. Especially when you contact people that have education and work experience in fields totally opposite from sales. This just shows you are desperate for candidates. The only qualification for this job position seems to be a pulse and the ability to walk on two legs. The turnaround rate at your company must be on an astronomical scale and I'm sure it's a poorly run business.
I hope you sleep well at night knowing you rip off thousands of middle class workers and families with horrible insurance policies.
We have a website, we actually have two! I am not insulting anyone. I am offering a simple interview in order for job applicants to find out more about our company and the positions available. I answer any and all questions directed toward me. All it takes is a simple email or phone call. How hard is that? I search certain key words on Monster and CareerBuilders and send letters accordingly. The recipient only has to call or email and their questions will be answered. I still do not see what all the fuss is about. If making a phone call or sending an email is such a problem then simply do not respond. As I said before. I have nothing to be embarrased about and I work hard at my job.
I also want to address your comment of me calling EVERYONE lazy. I am just responding to a couple of people who feel the need to attack my job but I never called anyone lazy. You need to not misquote me. I am not attacking anyone just defending myself.
You know, I just got a letter from Cornerstone America, and it sounded very interesting. However, the only contact information that was part of the letter was the "send us a $10 check" envelope (no e-mail, no phone number, no website). So, I went on the internet and found this (and several other) sites.
The interesting thing, Ms. Smith, is that I didn't see one time in the post that the writer was accusing your company of scamming. Not being good at marketing does not equal a scam, which this writer takes pains to point out. In fact, not one time on this ENTIRE PAGE did the author of the post directly write "Cornerstone is a scam" (or something with equivalent meaning).
In other words, I'm glad I stumbled on this. Ms. Smith's response to a very small bit of legitimate criticism speaks much louder than anything the writer of this post has written. Unfortunately, I'm too lazy to deal with unprofessional people.
And that was before I found out what Cornerstone sells on a different website. I'm a licensed property and casualty insurance agent in CO (which very few lazy people have, especially when they get it while going to college and working 30 hours a week). Lest I further stir Ms. Smith's wrath, I will withhold my opinion beyond the fact that I will not be coming in for an interview.
This is for an insurance company that has had a multitude of problems nationwide. They have been investigated and have lost the ability to do business in certain states.
I could go on and on about this. I'm in the industry and have been for quite some time. This is NOT where you'd want to get your start in the industry if the industry interests you.
Got one of these in my mailbox this morning. I went to the 800notes.com forum and found a little information about the policies. Apparently they sell predominately NASE and Mega Insurance polices.
I Googled Mega Insurance and EVERY link that came up seemed to be negative. On one such link I read an article by "Business Week" about how a woman was left $500,000 in debt because Mega Insurance only covered $1000 a day for cancer treatment stays when the average is around $18,000. Also was a link to Attorneypages.com which had countless articles where Mega Insurance was fined x million dollars for various legal reasons or being investigated by some state or federal law office for dodgy practices. There are countless stories of families and individuals being charged massive premiums but yet receiving very little treatment.
Either way you'd have to be a very immoral and to be frank, a sick person to sell these types of insurance policies. My grandfather use to say "A good salesmen always believes in what he sells" and I sure as hell would feel terrible knowing I sold one of these policies. I am sure this is a legit job position but the policies are definately a rip off.
THE REAL CON TO LOOKOUT FOR-
I too have recieved this bulk email from Ms.Smith, but did not look much further into it, as I have accepted a job offer before I could even consider doing so. I wouldn’t go as far as to say it’s a scam. It’s just bulk recruiting mail. Similar to “cold calling” or door-to-door sales. I may walk up to my car in a parking lot and find a business flyer under the windshield wiper along with the neighboring cars, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the advertisement is a scam. Receiving recruiting emails in bulk I just consider part of what you have to go through when you post your resume openly online. Often they are vague; however, I did not find this one to be as uneasy as some. It does contain useful information, and when I have contacted Ms. Smith, I received prompt return to my queries.
I just want to say that some of the posts I read here were enlightening, particularly the “Is It a Scam? By Greg Bulmash” while others just seem like too much effort has been wasted on the situation and yet others very presumptuous. The only job postings that really bother me, are ones that have NO job information at all. I.E. no requirements, duties, or even a business name! I am staggered that the phantom business and its associated actually expect a response to such a posting.
Worse yet, there has only been one type of job posting that has really been astonishing to me, and that upsets me as much as the “Rhonda Smith” email to some of you. What I think is genuinely a CON that I recommend job seekers do their best to watch out for, have been listings on CareerB. and Craig’sL. for, are these postings that have a high dollar amount and a business listing, which one can’t directly contact though. If you do call the number listed, one will find it’s for one of those temp-for-hire or even permanent –job-placement companies that want you to pay them $200 or so dollars to place you in employment. And to top it off, they aren’t very friendly. Yet they want you to call them, and better yet, even try to get you to come to their office with out even telling you that they are not the actual business you just read the ad for. So my advice, be careful out there! Ask lots of questions, whether it be phone or email.
Good luck in your hunt my fellow citizens. I know it's tough out there lately, but don't sell yourself short.
I just received this email as well. I agree with the main argument of this blog. A company that represents itself so unprofessionally doesn't deserve anyone's attention. I feel truly sorry for Ms. Smith and the bad fortune she has had in having to serve as recruiter for this company.
Thanks for the heads up...I got one as welll. I for one will not bother.
Personally I don't feel any sympathy for Rhonda. She obviously just goes on job boards spamming anyone and everyone and is to lazy to draft a properly written recruitment letter. They must be VERY desperate for candidates. My friend who has just graduated from University with PhD Mathematics got one of her recruitment letters to. Now that is yet another indication that she is not even checking out an applicants profile. I actually have received THREE of the EXACT same e-mails in my account from my resume on CareerBuilder. Once again showing the laziness of Ms. Smith. She could not even look at her sent sent e-mail folder in her googlemail account to see she has sent me THREE of the same blanket/copy and pasted e-mails. If she is responsible for recruiting she could give some indication that she actually READ your profile and saw your resume.
Something on the lines of "Hey Kevin I saw your resume. Even though you studied (fill in the blank) at (Blank) University I feel you'd be a strong fit..etc..." and give some more information about the company and what they do.
Ms. Smith maybe take some of the hints and advice from this profile to re-adjust your recruitment strategy??
What amazes me is Rhonda keeps on talking about how we can call or e-mail her to ask the questions her e-mail raises. What she doesn't seem to "get" is that most of the problem lies in her e-mail raising the questions in the first place.
While there have been posts about the less than savory reputation of the products these people are selling, the main interaction with Rhonda has been myself and others saying: "your letter is making people uncomfortable and suspicious." Rather than make use of the feedback, she instead defends the letter.
There's an old saying that the definition of insanity is to do the same thing over and over again, expecting a different result. So long as she keeps using the scattershot candidate selection criteria she has in combination with that terrible recruiting letter, she's going to get negative reactions. Protesting the negative reactions instead of changing her approach meets that definition of insanity.
So, from me and all your other critics, Rhonda please let me say... Get help.
I am doing just fine thank you!
I am not defending the company because I know verry little about it. However a lot of insurance companies are verry vague with their recruitment tactics, until you come to interview in person. If you are not interested in interviewing with them when you recieve the e-mail delete' it, lets not make a big deal out of nothing. To me it seems that a lot of the negative responses may be coming from Conerstone's competitors who are disguiseing as bloggers. Their is a lot of other real scams out there go and expose them.
Jaytee,
I get deluged with recruitment letters from insurance agencies every time I update my resume on Monster or CareerBuilder. I've seen plenty, and the Robert D. Sell one was way spammier and way less professional than any of the other letters I've received.
I just got back from the yearly company retreat with Cornerstone, (my first) and I must say, that a lot of good people went to the interviews and now have good jobs making good money. Insurance is not for everyone but if you are open to it you can make a lot of money. I for one am very glad that I have this position in the company and hope that not too many people listen to your comments and decide to check it out for themselves. Good Luck everybody, I will not be wasting my time in this blog anymore.
Oh Darn!. I just put my resume on Monster and I get the email that is causing all this ruckus. I got excited until I found the above blog. I guess I will hang in for something else in my mailbox that does not have all the above doubt casting info. Thanks Folks and I wish you the best at finding a legit job.
Jaytee writes:
"However a lot of insurance companies are verry vague with their recruitment tactics, until you come to interview in person. If you are not interested in interviewing with them when you recieve the e-mail delete' it, lets not make a big deal out of nothing. To me it seems that a lot of the negative responses may be coming from Conerstone's competitors who are disguiseing as bloggers. Their is a lot of other real scams out there go and expose them."
Maybe a lot of insurance companies are vague with recruitment tactics until interviewing in person. To me, that in and of itself is suspicious. Give more information up front to let me decide if I would want to interview. To make me come in for an 'interview', only to find out I wouldn't like the position or that I'm not qualified, is a waste of MY precious time. And it negatively affects my opinion of the company trying to recruit me. A statement that I "could make a six figure income immediately" sounds great, but making me come it to find out that to do that you have to sell (illegal) drugs is an obscene waste of my time.
And your remark: "To me it seems that a lot of the negative responses may be coming from Conerstone's competitors who are disguiseing as bloggers. Their is a lot of other real scams out there go and expose them." I doubt that a lot of Cornerstone's competitors are on here blogging with comments against them. A professional legitimate business doesn't need to do that. I'm sure that over 98% of the comments are coming from job seekers like myself that extremely tired of getting junk email regarding job opportunities that so far out of their field of experience. Besides, a professional, legitimate business wouldn't have/ wouldn't TAKE the time to blog against Cornerstone.
Greg Bulmash: I'm almost suprised that you didn't mention anything about Rhonda's 'real' name. True, I really knew a guy named "Jim Smith", a "Sue Smith", and probably another 'Smith' or two. But given all the other problems with her recruitment email, and that she has used other forged names to defend her and her actions, makes me kind of wonder if 'Rhonda Smith' is her real name. It would make it harder to track her down if desired. Using one of the most common last names adds to the 'yeah, right' factor of the email.
And I doubt we have heard the last from 'Rhonda Smith'. I'm sure she will waste more of her, and her company's time and money to defend her actions.
YEAH its a good thing i researched this, i received this very same email last night from careerbuilder, thanks for posting this!!!
Larry B: In everything I've seen, Rhonda Smith does seem to be her real name. And if it's not, we've got plenty of proof that she's deceptive and defensive. Tracking down her real name wouldn't serve any purpose but to make this more personal.
Another one saying "oh darn". I also have been on Monster, I actually refer to it as Mobster, and now I understand why. This morning I received two very similar recruiting letters and was initially very excited at my first responses after all this searching. I decided to google the company, Robert D. Sells, and this is what came up!
I sure appreciate the heads up as I probably would have fallen for the interview, being a trusting and hopeful career hunter. I am beginning to think companies that recruit have very unscrupulous techniques. I also have gone with CareerBuilders and AppleOne, and never heard a word back, nor a reply to an email. How do they continue to get away with it, and are there any good ones out there? I am beginning to think not.
Godd luck and thank you all for the enlightenment.
I got one of these emails this morning, actuall correction I rec'd two of them. It is a scam I checked with the Secretary of State and Robert D. Sellers & Associates is not a registered business in wa, they are not in goodstanding.
Thanks for posting.
Daylene,
If you're looking for Robert D. Sellers, of course they won't have a record. The name is Robert D. Sells. Dunno if his business is registered or not, but you need to be accurate when you make claims like you did.
I filed a complaint with the WA State Insurance Commission myself, people like this need to be stopped from doing business.
I just received this same form e-mail today, also as a result from my resent resume reposting on CareerBuilder. My e-mail was addressed from a Jeff Wallace.
I am in the same boat with the poster above me, Nancy. Complete with the Jeff Wallace flag! I have other appointments in that area tomorrow and will stop in to see what they are all about.
I received one of these today from Rhonda Smith, Scheduling Coordinator, hiring Sales Representatives.
I have NOTHING in my resume that indicates that I am a sales person - haha!
Guess what? DELETE!