A friend posted on Facebook that their employer was hiring so I sent them my resume. I received a phone call from Fusion BPO recruitment about a week later inviting me to a group interview. I then received a confirmation email with detailed directions ("turn left when you exit the elevator"). As instructed, I arrived at the office for the interview 15 minutes early and presented myself to the receptionist, who told me to have a seat without asking my name.
The office appeared to be rented or borrowed space as the company name on the glass door was Phocus Solutions and overall the office appeared transitional (no branding, brochures, or any visible sign of Fusion BPO). While sitting in the waiting area I realized that "group interview" meant they were interviewing 7 candidates at the same time, not a panel interview as I expected.
Candidates arrived one by one and joined the group waiting awkwardly in silence. We were asked to find our name on a list and sign to confirm attendance. Finally we were placed in a conference room and asked to choose a seat. The interviewer introduced himself and asked us to go around the table and introduce ourselves. We were asked to reveal something about ourselves not listed on our resumes (hobbies, interests, musical instruments, etc).
The interviewer had copies of our resumes and put them in order based on our seating and made written notes on them then randomly selected candidates and asked some typical interview questions ("How would you deal with an abusive customer?", "Where do you see yourself in 5 years?")
The interviewer then described the company and showed us some photos of the call centre. Candidates asked some typical interview questions (supervisor/management support, opportunity for advancement in the company, etc). A second interviewer joined us and we were asked to introduce ourselves again, followed by another round of interview questions slightly more personalized and pertaining to our resumes.
Finally we were given a written test, containing 4 pages of common support questions, and told that a score of 80% was required to pass. The interviewers left the room as candidates completed their tests... candidates handed in their tests and were told they would be contacted in a couple of days.
The group interview was approximately 2 hours.
I received a call two days later from recruitment informing me I had been selected. They told me to come to the office again and ask for the recruitment officer with two pieces of ID and to sign some documents. When I arrived, the receptionist asked me "what campaign" so I responded I was hired for Technical Support. While waiting for the recruitment officer, two other candidates from the group arrived, including one that was falling asleep during the interview who says to me "I think they hired the entire group".
The recruitment officer coldly asked for our names, ID, and a blank cheque. None of the three candidates had been instructed to bring a cheque. They took our ID to make photocopies and returned with some documents: the Employee Handbook (dated September 2014), a confidentiality agreement, and a background check which states "You have applied for a position with Phocus Solutions..." and when I asked the recruitment representative for information about Phocus Solutions I was rudely told that I should already know and that I should "Google it".
As I did not sign a formal job contract, and none of the documents I received stated a starting date or salary, or even a written job description, so I sent an email to recruitment asking what the next step in the process was. They had "promised to call by mid week" and being Wednesday, training would begin the following Monday.
At this point, I have an outdated Employee Handbook and no written confirmation of a job offer.
Phocus was recently acquired by Fusion BPO (in 2013) which somewhat explains the lack of branding and discrepancies in their documentation. However, consistent branding (including email addresses) is absolutely essential for establishing trust.
The day after receiving the date/info about training, I sent an email to the hiring manager/recruitment telling them I was accepting a better offer. I did not receive a reply.