SEVERAL ATENEANS have received invitations to join leadership trainings, management seminars, or job interviews; however, what they ended up getting were offers to participate in pyramiding schemes.

Associate Dean for Student Affairs (ADSA) Rene San Andres said that the networking or pyramiding scheme issue came to their attention when a concerned teacher told them of a call that his student had received.

“What was alarming was that it involves a lot of money and people,” San Andres said. “Many students were being enticed to join such businesses to earn money. That is why we acted on it.”

ADSA released a bulletin cautioning the community against participating in such schemes. San Andres said that after they released the bulletin, a sophomore student came forward with more information.

The student told them that some seminars were charging a P10,000 membership fee. Participants would be paid P1,000 for every referral and P4,000 if a pair is referred. San Andres said at least six referrals would be needed to get the P10,000 back.

Deceptive approach

Office of Student Activities Director Chris Castillo said that his biggest concern was with the deception being done to promise a successful career to students. “[It is actually possible to have a] student earning around P20,000 a week [through these schemes]… but they don’t initially tell that you have to shell out money and time… to the point that some students incur debts,” he said.

Castillo added that the fine print isn’t always given to the recruits until they have decided to commit to the company or to the business.

He also questioned how the companies got in touch with the students, considering that the university does not release student information.

San Andres said that the only official information that the school releases about Ateneans is the alumni directory and the graduating students’ résumé directory, which is only given to companies who buy them.

Student experiences

Recent graduate Halima Lyssa Al-Taie (AB Comm ‘11) said that someone called and invited her for a one-on-one job interview. The phone call, she said, sounded legitimate because the caller told her that they got her number from the school. She was also asked about her résumé and leadership experiences.

However, when she got to the appointed venue, she was surprised to see a lot of people present, including several Ateneans who were also confused with the situation.

“I realized that we were scammed [because] even if the company is legit… my supposed job interview was actually a seminar on the networking company, where you have to pay about P12,000 to get started,” Al-Taie said.

She added that her interview was followed by presentations and talks from people who supposedly profited from selling the products.

“The moment they released the detail that you have to pay P12,000 for the starting kit, I [decided not to] finish the seminar and walked out from it… I just had to leave. It was a big lie and a waste of my time,” she said.

Senior Carmela Miranda also received a call last November, similarly marketing a job offer. She initially agreed to a job interview, thinking it was legitimate.

However, when she asked the caller how they got her number, she received no response. Her friends had also advised her not to proceed. “I initially said yes because it was really flattering to think that I was chosen among many people from different universities,” she said.

A note of caution

San Andres said that what the callers actually do is some form of “ego massaging.” He said that these people would first make the client feel good about investing in the business, thus enticing more people to join.

Castillo added that not all of these companies train recruits for proper and successful marketing. Participants are then left with products that they cannot use and have no ability to sell.

Former Sanggunian President Rob Roque said that he is grateful of ADSA for quickly notifying the community about the matter. “A lot of students now are in this sort of culture and notion that they want to try things that would have a bearing on their future… and sometimes we tend to jump into things without being critical about our decision making,” he said.

Al-Taie advises fellow students to be critical of such offers. “Ask questions about the company,” she said. “That [was] my biggest mistake. I was shy and [felt] intimidated to follow up on them.”