Discussion
My company have just used them to find some graduate sales people. We are a young and extremely successful software company, so anyone picked will have a great start to their career.
The first attempt was rubbish - hardly anyone turned up to our offices for interviews. So PL made up for it by running an assessment day. 30 graduates were provided, 4 were chosen. The day was considered a complete success.
The first attempt was rubbish - hardly anyone turned up to our offices for interviews. So PL made up for it by running an assessment day. 30 graduates were provided, 4 were chosen. The day was considered a complete success.
I went through the day and failed. I really deserved to fail through so certainly not bitter as some days you are just crap. It didn't start off well when I was the only one caught in a torrential down pour and my suit was ruined. At the stage where you have to invent a product and sell it I came up with a pill that would instantly sober you up so you can drive legally after a beer. Probably not good to suggest that I have aspirations of drinking and driving. I didn't help myself when I called the product "Pissed and Drive". In my commercial we had me staggering round pretending to be drunk and 3/4 people singing "Pissed and Drive" to the music of staying alive. It was the most successful commercial they had ever seen and managed to get everyone else in my group the job.
It's even sadder that I failed when I "knew" 2 of the owners who said the assessment was a formality because we worked together on another project for several weeks. I didn't tell them that I was going and after my spectacular failure I never mentioned their company again.
Pareto Law is owned by the keyboard player from Haircut 100 and a mate of his (there may be other owners). The owner may turn up in his smart car and have an article in their internal magazine saying he was green but at home he has/had a Porsche Turbo and an SUV of some kind. Both of them seem decent people and can be found normally very drunk in the pub opposite their Wilmslow office (2002 may have moved). Their employment policy for their office may have been confirmed to me and it wasn't about the c.v.
I am very grateful that I screwed up that day because my life went in a very different direction and one that I actually enjoy rather than chasing a salary.
It's even sadder that I failed when I "knew" 2 of the owners who said the assessment was a formality because we worked together on another project for several weeks. I didn't tell them that I was going and after my spectacular failure I never mentioned their company again.
Pareto Law is owned by the keyboard player from Haircut 100 and a mate of his (there may be other owners). The owner may turn up in his smart car and have an article in their internal magazine saying he was green but at home he has/had a Porsche Turbo and an SUV of some kind. Both of them seem decent people and can be found normally very drunk in the pub opposite their Wilmslow office (2002 may have moved). Their employment policy for their office may have been confirmed to me and it wasn't about the c.v.
I am very grateful that I screwed up that day because my life went in a very different direction and one that I actually enjoy rather than chasing a salary.
I also sort of failed. My first "proper" interview after university and I ballsed it up. At the end they had the group of fails (about 3 of them) the ones who passed (30 ish of them) and me and one other guy, who apparently "just failed" but they wanted to put forward for a job at Xerox. I decided to interview for that, he didn't. I f
ked that up a bit too. 
I did the day about 7 years ago in London. Looking back at it, they really sold the whole idea that you were going to get a job with them, get to the top and be a leader of industry by the time you were 30. I found the whole day a bit fake, the interviewers seemed wholey dislikable and it was fronted by some obese bloke who I can only remember making crap jokes about his ex-wife.
I'm sure my view of it is clouded by the fact I screwed up, you never remember the bad interviews well, however I do remember clearly that a lot of the jobs (including the Xerox one) were utter crap and dressed up a fair bit. Some of the other stuff they have looks reasonable though.
ked that up a bit too. I did the day about 7 years ago in London. Looking back at it, they really sold the whole idea that you were going to get a job with them, get to the top and be a leader of industry by the time you were 30. I found the whole day a bit fake, the interviewers seemed wholey dislikable and it was fronted by some obese bloke who I can only remember making crap jokes about his ex-wife.
I'm sure my view of it is clouded by the fact I screwed up, you never remember the bad interviews well, however I do remember clearly that a lot of the jobs (including the Xerox one) were utter crap and dressed up a fair bit. Some of the other stuff they have looks reasonable though.
I've been through the PL assessment day twice. Both times found it was VERY corporate, very soulless and that I just didn't fit.
As expected I didn't get a job via them, but that was no bad thing, as the jobs they were talking of sounded like my idea of hell.
I only went as was at that time temping in a warehouse and wanted something more relevant to my uni studies.
On the other-hand I had a mate go through via a London session, he loved it. BUT he is mr corporate personified. Lives for telesales, idolises THE APPRENTICE....... As my background is nearly all heavy industry, I found it a waste of time.
Only criticism I have is the difference between the phone selection teams, and the assessment day teams.
The former seem to push EVERYONE through as they're on comission, which then makes the brickwall of the assessment centre seem a little strange/ironic.
Horses for courses I guess...... Shalln't be applying for them.
As expected I didn't get a job via them, but that was no bad thing, as the jobs they were talking of sounded like my idea of hell.
I only went as was at that time temping in a warehouse and wanted something more relevant to my uni studies.
On the other-hand I had a mate go through via a London session, he loved it. BUT he is mr corporate personified. Lives for telesales, idolises THE APPRENTICE....... As my background is nearly all heavy industry, I found it a waste of time.
Only criticism I have is the difference between the phone selection teams, and the assessment day teams.
The former seem to push EVERYONE through as they're on comission, which then makes the brickwall of the assessment centre seem a little strange/ironic.
Horses for courses I guess...... Shalln't be applying for them.
The phone interview will be fine as the person doing the interview will have probably just come fresh out of one of the assessment days and wants you to turn up so he makes his commission!
I had an assessment day with the from Wilmslow. It was my first assessment day and was put off by the fact they spent most of the day trying to sell us the dream. It didn't seem a dream to me though as it seemed like they would throw you into an office and hustle you to make sales. Not my idea of an enjoyable job or working atmosphere.
I also agree about them not being keen on people being fed.
I had an assessment day with the from Wilmslow. It was my first assessment day and was put off by the fact they spent most of the day trying to sell us the dream. It didn't seem a dream to me though as it seemed like they would throw you into an office and hustle you to make sales. Not my idea of an enjoyable job or working atmosphere.
I also agree about them not being keen on people being fed.
Just stumbled on this thread.
There are a lot of reviews on this organisation, some very negative and some equally positive. My experience is that if you're the type of person they are looking for, then you'll have a positive experience, if you're not you'll feel you've had your time wasted.
First things first, in my experience you get in touch with them not by applying for a specific job, rather you apply for another job and through second- or third-hand contact via recruitment firms (many of which are formally or informally connected for obvious reasons) end up being offered a place at a Pareto day. Fair enough, that's how these things work. What's not fair enough is that you are told you'll be taking part in a selection day for a position that pays £X and involves doing this, this and that, and definitely no cold-calling sales. Actually when you turn up and ask questions about the specific role in question, they are very vague and finally it turns out you'll actually be paid only £Y and the job involves doing different things and actually you might be doing cold-calling. Disappointing, as if they'd been honest in the first place, I'd not have wasted their or my time.
Also as part of the 'preperation' for the selection day, you are bombarded with phone calls and emails asking how you are preparing and offering 'advice'. Included in one such was a voicemail left for me which refered to me as "a difficult person to get in touch with". They seem not to realise that just because you're looking for one job, it doesn't mean you aren't at the same time doing another which necessitates not being able to answer the phone whenever they fancy calling. Also they called at 9pm the night before the selection day to check over trivial details which were too late to change anyway. Some people may call this good support or regard it as useful; I personally regarded it as irritating when I had already prepared sufficiently. Oh also, the invite letter banged on about how awesome and demanding the selection process was and how I'd done brilliantly well to be invited. This bemused me as I'd never applied for it, and basically been called by a company I'd never contacted and asked if I'd like to attend a selection day with no telephone interview and no screening that I was aware of.
Turn up at the day. The staff are all fairly professional and moderately pleasant but are clearly trying hard to live up to a 'hard-nosed professional' image. Very serious faces all round, as if this is an interview for MI5 not a sales job. They have odd people basically following you around with clipboards, claiming to be assessing you on everything you do according to some poorly-explained method. Actually I think they are there simply to make the set-up look like its tough and they are actually drawing pictures of naked women and the like. Throughout the exercises and interviews (which were in the main alright, nothing special) it is clear that if you conform to the pushy, aggressive salesperson stereotype then you're well in. Phrases like "motivated by money" and "committed 1000% to beating targets" would be well received. I don't conform to that stereotype, but I appreciate that some do, and some companies want to recruit them, so good luck to them if so.
So in conclusion, if you are looking for a trainee sales role with a company which is probably not an especially great employer then I'd say give it a go. Basically they want sales robots who think because they went through a challenging selection process (they didn't) and got though a difficult, scientific interview day (It isn't and they didn't) then they have a brilliant job and career (in my opinion they'll have neither). If you're someone who aspires to more than £35k OTE and driving, one day, a company Insignia SRi and managing a team of 5 equally dull and hair-gelled automatons then Pareto is probably perfect for you. If you're someone who aspires to having a genuinely challenging, interesting and rewarding career where you can use your initiative and imagination then probably you're not for them and they're not for you.
Fair play to them, they are apparently very good at what they do. But if I'd done a bit more research into them before I got involved, I'd not have wasted my or their time.
There are a lot of reviews on this organisation, some very negative and some equally positive. My experience is that if you're the type of person they are looking for, then you'll have a positive experience, if you're not you'll feel you've had your time wasted.
First things first, in my experience you get in touch with them not by applying for a specific job, rather you apply for another job and through second- or third-hand contact via recruitment firms (many of which are formally or informally connected for obvious reasons) end up being offered a place at a Pareto day. Fair enough, that's how these things work. What's not fair enough is that you are told you'll be taking part in a selection day for a position that pays £X and involves doing this, this and that, and definitely no cold-calling sales. Actually when you turn up and ask questions about the specific role in question, they are very vague and finally it turns out you'll actually be paid only £Y and the job involves doing different things and actually you might be doing cold-calling. Disappointing, as if they'd been honest in the first place, I'd not have wasted their or my time.
Also as part of the 'preperation' for the selection day, you are bombarded with phone calls and emails asking how you are preparing and offering 'advice'. Included in one such was a voicemail left for me which refered to me as "a difficult person to get in touch with". They seem not to realise that just because you're looking for one job, it doesn't mean you aren't at the same time doing another which necessitates not being able to answer the phone whenever they fancy calling. Also they called at 9pm the night before the selection day to check over trivial details which were too late to change anyway. Some people may call this good support or regard it as useful; I personally regarded it as irritating when I had already prepared sufficiently. Oh also, the invite letter banged on about how awesome and demanding the selection process was and how I'd done brilliantly well to be invited. This bemused me as I'd never applied for it, and basically been called by a company I'd never contacted and asked if I'd like to attend a selection day with no telephone interview and no screening that I was aware of.
Turn up at the day. The staff are all fairly professional and moderately pleasant but are clearly trying hard to live up to a 'hard-nosed professional' image. Very serious faces all round, as if this is an interview for MI5 not a sales job. They have odd people basically following you around with clipboards, claiming to be assessing you on everything you do according to some poorly-explained method. Actually I think they are there simply to make the set-up look like its tough and they are actually drawing pictures of naked women and the like. Throughout the exercises and interviews (which were in the main alright, nothing special) it is clear that if you conform to the pushy, aggressive salesperson stereotype then you're well in. Phrases like "motivated by money" and "committed 1000% to beating targets" would be well received. I don't conform to that stereotype, but I appreciate that some do, and some companies want to recruit them, so good luck to them if so.
So in conclusion, if you are looking for a trainee sales role with a company which is probably not an especially great employer then I'd say give it a go. Basically they want sales robots who think because they went through a challenging selection process (they didn't) and got though a difficult, scientific interview day (It isn't and they didn't) then they have a brilliant job and career (in my opinion they'll have neither). If you're someone who aspires to more than £35k OTE and driving, one day, a company Insignia SRi and managing a team of 5 equally dull and hair-gelled automatons then Pareto is probably perfect for you. If you're someone who aspires to having a genuinely challenging, interesting and rewarding career where you can use your initiative and imagination then probably you're not for them and they're not for you.
Fair play to them, they are apparently very good at what they do. But if I'd done a bit more research into them before I got involved, I'd not have wasted my or their time.
BarnatosGhost said:
Mojooo said:
Can anyoen explain why they are called Pareto LAW when their main job seems to be recruiting sales people ? They do not seem to have anything to do with law work........ ?????
Pareto's Law. 80/20.Mojooo said:
BarnatosGhost said:
Mojooo said:
Can anyoen explain why they are called Pareto LAW when their main job seems to be recruiting sales people ? They do not seem to have anything to do with law work........ ?????
Pareto's Law. 80/20.ky, but I'd wager more people know of Pareto's Law, than know of Pareto himself. Gassing Station | Jobs & Employment Matters | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff