Signed in at front desk, waited in waiting room. Was brought in to a meeting room with two women who conducted the interview. Fairly easy interview process, straightforward questions. Questions about my background, previous jobs, why I'm interested in the position and how I would excel.
I did get an offer by phone shortly after this, which I (reluctantly) accepted - due to the low wage.
I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND working for this company. I believe the starting pay for this position was around $12-13/hr.
Read below if you want the details on how terrible they are, and I didn't even end up working there.
They required I complete a lengthy (hours-long) "onboarding process" at home, on my own time, on this Paycom app I had to download.
Note to anyone reading this: Onboarding should always be done on the first day of employment. (This could be added to the Red Flag list)
Red flag #1: The company is charging employees for its' own decision to do background checks on candidates - if they choose to quit within 90 days. This is very concerning, and indicates turnover must be so high that upper management is requiring this policy to attempt to recuperate the costs. I have had small businesses do background checks and have never been required to pay for any reason.
Red flag #2: They state: "All new employees must pass a 90-day probationary period in order to continue their employment with NTC." This is standard and usually known by most people, as employment is at-will, but should be re-worded to something along the lines of having a "Performance Review" done at the end of the 90 day Probationary Period. This sets it in a more positive tone so the employee is prepared to succeed, and not worried about whether they will lose their job.
Red flag #3: They state "To keep employees gainfully employed, NTC must..." and then a list of things such as move employees around to different departments if business slows down etc. This indicates that the company struggles in providing stable employment.
Red flag #4: No official offer letter with details of pay and benefits; I have always had this information in writing prior to starting any position. An offer letter helps ensure all details are clear and there is no confusion between parties.
Red flag #5: It's an on-site position, at their "campus," however you must park in their locked, gated remote parking lot which is about a mile or so away. They state you can either use their shuttle, which is about a 5 min drive back & forth or you can walk. They provide a schedule for the shuttle. This seems very unsafe (and inconvenient)
Also about parking: The Parking PDF file mentions that if you must work overtime, you have to clock out and take the shuttle to go move your car to the main parking lot, then clock back in. I don't know how often people work overtime, and what percentage need to do so, but to force them to clock out and clock back in just to move their car seems a bit excessive. Especially for positions paying in low hourly rates. The company is essentially docking their pay, for making them work more. Perhaps consider letting the ones that need to work OT park in the main lot all day with a parking sticker on the car -- or again, work remote. And if they worked remotely, they might not need to work OT, as they wouldn't have a commute.
Red flag #6: They are owned by Scientologists. If you google the company name + Scientology you will see articles about this and that they have been accused of robo-signing as well as the poor work environment, esp for low-level employees.
NTC tries to put on a positive front with employees outside playing games, hanging out and eating lunch, like they are some sort of low-level Google campus. But it's just a facade to make you feel like it's a chill, fun place to work.
Red flag #7: You are forced to go outside during your 3 breaks (two short breaks and one lunch). No one is allowed to be inside during break due to their confidential documents, but you also can't really get to your car due to the remote lot. They said they can provide menus to order food, but you can't leave.
Bottom line, DO NOT WORK FOR THIS COMPANY.
They need to make some major changes including upping their wages, moving/upgrading their facility, and improving their culture (i.e. controversial subjects like religion, politics, & sex should not be involved in the workplace) to be a decent place to work. But unless a new super rich owner takes over & wants to fix all the problems, they are probably going to continue to treat humans like assembly line robots. I just hope this review helps some people avoid making a mistake they would later regret.
I was unemployed for a long time and I took their offer out of desperation. I then declined as soon as I saw the long list of Employee Status Onboarding documents. I ended up getting a remote WFH job a few weeks later and am so much happier. Listen to your gut, and keep an eye out for those red flags!
