Pros
1. No Experience, No Problem! – So, you are a recent college graduate looking to break into Recruiting or Human Resources and respectable companies will not hire you because you lack experience. NO WORRIES! You will certainly be able to get a job at Epitec making $30,000 a year plus insulting commissions and bonuses that don’t remotely come close to what they insisted in the interview process. But, Epitec is not a halfway decent place to start your recruiting career if you do not have any other options. Just note, this is a stepping stone company. Seriously, DO NOT plan to stay here for more than a year. With one year of recruiting experience and some confidence you can easily score a job with any other Staffing company in the industry making at least $45K base, plus better commissions and bonuses. Don’t sell yourself short by staying with a company that doesn’t value its employees enough to pay them a decent salary! 2. They WOW You with Shiny New Things! – Chances are you will walk into the office and be mesmerized by the look and feel of it all. On the tour they will make sure to walk you past the beautiful kitchen and show you the fancy-schmancy coffee machine. You will be sold into thinking that Epitec is a legit company that you could see yourself working for. It’s true - the office is nice and clean, the cubicles are spacious and equipped with dual monitors, and members of the sales team also have tablets. Recruiters are equipped with the tools needed to do their job and a good support team on-site if anything breaks. But never forget that with good technology comes lack of privacy. Lync messages, internet usage, and phone calls are all monitored. This is not an issue if you are doing your job but just do not forget that someone is always watching over your shoulder and monitoring how you are spending your time and how many candidates you are calling each day. 3. The Freshman 15 – If you like to eat (and drink) you came to the right place! Every Glassdoor review talks about the occasional FREE FOOD at Epitec. However, it doesn’t take long to realize that it is all an illusion. They con you into thinking you are working at a great company that values its employees by spoiling you with free food during training. Eat up while you have the opportunity because there is a 25% chance they will kick you to the curve before you even learn how to Boolean Search. Management will send out an email at 11:00 AM or 4:00 PM a few times a month to let Recruiters know that they are ordering pizza and “recommend” you work through lunch or stay late to put in additional work. While it may sound like you have the option to either stay and eat pizza and work unpaid hours or go out to lunch with your friends, you don’t – it is expected. It is a good perk and don’t get me wrong, it is appreciated! However, buying us breakfast the morning after you fire 25% of the Southfield Recruiters doesn’t make us forgive and forget or increase the company morale. It is like putting a Band-Aid on a bullet wound. 4. A Few Great Leaders – There are a few true gems at Epitec that aim to provide Recruiters with exceptional training and guidance.
Cons
Epitec takes pride in its acronym M.U.S.C.L.E to define what they look for in Great “Genius Finders”. Let me elaborate on the reality of this misleading acronym. M – Motivated to find solutions. Reality: Motivated to stay late and put in extra hours, without getting paid for them because you’re a salary employee making a whopping $30,000 a year. Motivate to make unrealistic placement goals or be severely micromanaged. Motivated to think outside the box only to be told you wasted your time because you weren’t following the process and focusing on # PLACEMENTS. U – Urgency in everything. Reality: Get on the phone immediately. Stay on the phone all day. Grow 8 arms and multitask all day long. S – Sharp Appearance Reality: Ladies, come to work every day in a cute, fashionable business suit and a pair of heels. Make sure your hair is nicely done and your makeup on. Yes, you’ll be sitting in your cubicle all day talking on the phone with an unattractive headset on, rarely interacting with a candidate face-to-face. But image is very important at Epitec! They don’t care that they only pay you $30,000 a year, they expect you to look like a million bucks every day. C – Curious Reality: Sorry, I can’t think of anything clever L – Likable Reality: Likability is really overrated! You can work there over 8 months and management still won’t even know your name or anything about you. There are only around 35 recruiters in the Southfield office at any one point in time so there is no excuse for executive management to not know their staff. Oh wait, 80-100 people have quit or been fired in the past 12 months and the organization is a revolving door. At this point I’m sure management is thinking….why even bother! E – Eager to do the task at hand Reality: Eager to drop your morals and ethics at the door. While Equal Employment Opportunity is THE LAW expect to break it multiple times a day at Epitec. Don’t bother trying to represent a candidate that is over the age of 50, African American, is pregnant, has a disability, or isn’t attractive in their LinkedIn picture even if they are the most qualified candidate for the job. Management outright disobeys these laws and isn’t afraid to admit it.