If you are new to this story, click here to read part one of this story.
To my complete surprise, I got an email back almost immediately. It said something along the lines of “Thanks. I will change the ad after I get back in the office”. It was sent from an actual person’s Blackberry.
A little while later, I got the following email:
Date: Thu, 15 Oct 2009 15:15:55 -0700
Subject: Re: why I think your ad should be flagged
From: biblicalphrase@ email dot whatever
To: MySpamAddress@ email dot whatever
Jen,
I just got back to my office and was able to read your email. Thanks for the recommendations. I can tell you this is the real deal, not spam. We are not roping people in to show them how to find a job or anything like that. As far as why the ad is vague, we put the least amount of information out there, because we want to attract a certain type of personality, We don’t just want a warm body who answered an ad working with us, we want someone who is adventurous and willing to take chances. We hold our business briefings at a respectable local restaurant for two reasons, first, the owner of (This Restaurant) is part of our business and second, we want people feel more comfortable, being (This Restaurant) is a public venue. This is not a cattle call …lol this is sales in the relationship marketing genre. I hope this makes you want to come to our event (I promise it will change your life) and not want to flag the ad.
Signed… Let’s call this person … “John Doe”. There was an actual person’s name at the end of the email. The first name was made up of two initials, so, I honestly don’t know if the person on the other end of the email is male or female. So, for the purposes of this story, the person will be called “John Doe”.
John Doe took the time to send me a personal email, which means there is an actual person behind this Craigslist ad, and not just a Spam Bot. Nothing in this email helped me to understand what the job was actually for, however. I took a few moments to check out Craigslist again, but, I could not find any ad that seemed to be from John Doe. No ads named the Particular Restaurant that John mentioned in the first ad, and in his email.
I was not satisfied with this answer, so I sent a second email:
John Doe,
Thank you for your response. It is clear that you are an actual person, and not simply a Bot designed perpetually spit out Spam after all! That is good to know.
When I sent you the previous email, I bookmarked your ad. I notice that as I type this email, your ad has been flagged for Spam, and removed. I did not flag it, but clearly, lots and lots of people (other than myself) thought your ad was, in fact, Spam.
I read your first ad, and was unable to find your newly worded ad. You and I have exchanged a few emails now, (which is something not everyone who browsed the jobs on Craigslist lately is doing), and still, I have not heard you state exactly what you are looking for, or exactly what you are offering.
* What does “sales in the relationship marketing” mean? That is not a job category, or job title, I have ever heard of before. What specific duties is a person whom you hire for this job expected to do?
I understand the word “sales”. I do not understand how that relates to “relationship marketing”. Are you hiring prostitutes/ escorts? What, exactly, are you wanting people to sell? It was nice of you to tell me what restaurant you meet at for interviews, (even though I did not ask you that specifically). Is “sales in the relationship marketing” a fancy way of saying “we are hiring waitresses/servers”?
* In the past, I have worked for some companies that had something to do with sales. Is your job one of those that pays people a very low rate, with the promise of commission if you reach a certain quota? I’ve worked telemarketing before, and somehow…. those quotas seem to magically get higher every time somebody in the office gets close to reaching them. Is the job you offer one of those kinds of jobs?
* Are you hiring someone for a full time position, or a part time position? How many hours per week? Is this job permanent, or only “temporary” or “seasonal”? Is your company one of those that starts everyone it hires on a “Probationary Period” of the type that allows you to fire them with no warning on a whim, (days before they are eligible for benefits, or a raise)? It happens.
* Will the person (or people?) you hire for this job be paid hourly or salary? If salary, what is the ball park starting figure? What would the hourly pay start at? Is your company one that considers the applicants previous experience, and pays a higher rate based on that experience? Do you offer benefits to your employes? If so, what might those benefits be? (401K? Health Insurance? Employee Discounts? Company Jet?)
* All the jobs I have looked at mention what qualifications the applicant should ideally have. What qualifications are you looking for? Valid California Driver’s License? A Bachelors Degree? If so, in what? Or, perhaps you prefer someone have a Masters Degree in… something … instead? Are you seeking people with a few years previous experience in…. whatever it is that your job is about? If you truly “want to attract a certain type of personality” then why not say state what that type of personality is? Something like: “We are looking for upbeat people who have a nice telephone voice and a welcoming smile.”
I asked you many of these questions in our previous email. I’m not sure why you chose not to answer my questions with clear answers.
Oh, one more question:
* What do people who attend your “event” need to pay you in order to attend it?
I look forward to hearing your answers,
Jen
I realize that there are a few typos in that email. It was around three in the morning when I sent it. Being unemployed is causing me to become nocturnal, once again. I was as specific as I could be with my questions for John Doe. Do you think John Doe gave me any answers? Come back to the Between Gigs blog for the next installment in the ongoing saga: “Is This Spam?”
Tags: Craigslist