Whatever it Takes . . . to Exploit the Unemployed - Employment Specialist SoftRock Employee Review

Where to begin . . . After consistently being a top rep my first year at SoftRock, I was given the "choice" to either switch to a new script and new commission structure, which had already proven to be a guaranteed pay cut (a major one at that), or stay on the same script with the same commission structure and work from home. Not much of a choice really. And after I started working from home, the quality of my calls dropped off significantly (imagine that). I was suddenly receiving a plethora of unqualifiable calls (calls that could not be monetized, such as no high school diploma, under the age of 18, not a US citizen or permanent resident, student loan default, etc.), and every week became a struggle to hit over $2000 in revenue and earn commission. If I didn't, then I was getting paid on my talk time, which meant getting paid a mediocre hourly wage on anywhere from 26-32 hours on average, even though I worked 40 hours (I still don't know how they legally got away with such an arrangement). And toward the end of my time at SoftRock, the company had just switched everyone (myself included) to yet another commission structure that meant less money for the reps and more money for the company, and they were in the process of additional changes which meant even LESS money for reps (a recurring theme). My job as an employment specialist was to take inbound calls from people who think they’re calling in about a job opportunity, and try to get them to agree to talk to an education advisor about education. And I was very good at my job. Sure it was shady, misleading, and manipulative. But I was able to justify being a part of a major scam operation because I really needed the income (and my employment options at the time were limited), and because we didn’t charge the job seekers any money, since SoftRock is paid by schools and vendors such as Education Connection to produce higher education leads. The bottom line is that SoftRock’s entire business model is based on deception, and they are exploiting a weak labor market at both ends. On one end, they get desperate job seekers to call in about an old or fake job listing under the guise of helping the caller find employment, while the true (and only) purpose of the call is to try to turn the caller into money for SoftRock by attempting to convert them into a higher education lead. And not just ANY higher education mind you, but almost exclusively third-rate for-profit online schools. On the other end, SoftRock gets people to work for them by flat out lying about salary and by being intentionally deceptive about the nature of the various positions and the actual work environment, as well as advancement opportunities (or lack thereof). Speaking of advancement, if you’re not under the age of 30 and at least somewhat (but preferably very) physically attractive, you can pretty much forget about ever getting promoted. Not enough facial symmetry = no advancement for you. I realize that lookism and ageism are unfortunate and unavoidable facts of life, but man, SoftRock takes it to the extreme. At SoftRock, looks aren’t everything, they’re the ONLY thing. This was one of my biggest pet peeves while working there. I got tired of seeing mediocre performers, and even people that couldn’t hack it at all on the front end (as a specialist or as an advisor), get promoted solely based on the way they look. Meanwhile others were deemed attractive enough to get hired directly into a leadership position. It was both annoying and mildly amusing to then watch these same young, attractive, under-qualified individuals act like they were superior because they were promoted. If you are deemed young enough and attractive enough to get promoted at SoftRock, congratulations! You’ve just hit your ceiling. There’s really nowhere else to go once you’re promoted to a manager or trainer. At best, you might be able to make a lateral move to another department. But there is even less job stability in being a manager at SoftRock than there is as a specialist, advisor or copywriter (now called “Media Strategist”). You’re just one Alec mood swing away from being demoted, or even fired. Speaking of Alec, let’s talk about SoftRock’s “CEO” for a moment. Like most other legitimate businessmen, he likes to go under several different names. Alec Difrawi seems to be his preference for the moment, but he has also been known as various combinations of Alec Defrawy, Michael Defrawy, Ayman El-Difrawi, Ayman A. El-Difrawi, Ayman Ahmed El-Difrawi, and Defendant. The man is a shameless self-promoter, a consummate scam artist, and a textbook narcissist. In fact, this description of narcissistic personality disorder fits “Alec” like a glove: “Narcissistic personality disorder is a mental disorder in which people have an inflated sense of their own importance and a deep need for admiration. Those with narcissistic personality disorder believe that they’re superior to others and have little regard for other people’s feelings. But behind this mask of ultra-confidence lies a fragile self-esteem, vulnerable to the slightest criticism.” He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud in 1995, was sentenced to 46 months in prison and ordered to pay $2.3 million in restitution. Alec claims his conviction was for “forging his father’s signature on a bank document”. Then why was he also ordered to pay back $2.3 million in restitution, if his only crime was forging his father’s signature? Things that make you go “hmmm”. This company, just like its founder/owner, is a JOKE. And they would love to have as many people as possible working from home, because other than providing work at home reps with a headset, there is no overhead! They make you use your own computer and internet for work yet they provide ZERO in the way of allowance or reimbursement for doing so. Imagine if a company hired you as a delivery driver or as a traveling sales representative, made you use your own vehicle and buy your own gas, yet they did not provide any reimbursement or allowance for gas and/or mileage. SoftRock is cheap, they’re greedy, they knowingly and willingly lie about salary in their job advertisements, and they intentionally mislead employment seekers with outdated and fake job postings in order to make quick and dishonest money. They also ask trainees who don’t know any better to post positive reviews of the company on glassdoor.com and indeed.com (before they find out what working there is REALLY like), and they also have employees and managers post fake reviews. They think they can bury the truth with lies and propaganda. Pathetic. And make no mistake, SoftRock IS Alec, and Alec only cares about one person, himself. Everyone else is expendable, and he will do “Whatever it Takes” to exploit others for his own personal gain.