Hi,

I am quite happy that I found your website. I quit my job at AFA this monday. The past four months I experienced the most unethical business behaviour I have ever seen. And I am happy to be honest to myself and my values, priciples and believes. I should have know from the beginning that this industry was a whole scam. However, I leraned a lot and will use this experience to do honest jobs.

G.

Hi,

I have been to their 'brainwash' selective training camp in Madrid and I cannot understand how naive young people looking for an exciting job opportunity can be.

Why does a company need to sell itself in such a way?

It cries out loud that the business is involved in shady activities.

I hope somebody will stop this.

C

As many of you I have been working for one of these companies.
I knew since the beginning what kind of business is it and the kind of people I was going to deal with. During the trainee everything is said between lines during a 2 to 10 days brain washing process levels of true and acceptance:
Once you accept you are not a real journalist, then they say you are for the advertising sales, then you learn that you have to reach the customer in any possible way (bad… specially for a girl), at the end you get to know that there are some corrupt ways to sale expensive publicity.

An exciting international career?

“Living for 3 months in one of the most dangerous countries and try to sell bad quality advertorials, earning a non expatriate salary” is very different of being an international reporter and traveling around the world.
In resume:
You are not protected by any country law.
You can not demonstrate your experience because the company won’t exist when you will need to do so.
You have a minimal emergency health insurance. (Not social security)
Don’t need to worry about what are going to do with the money (after not paying taxes after two years) because it won’t be too much.

Hi,

I worked for AFA for 11 years,from 1986 to 1998 so as you can imagine, I know it inside out. At the beginning, I went through two stomach ulcers just from the moral wrongness of what I felt I was doing. Believe me, now they may have prestigious publications like the NYT as their media outlet for advertorials,but when I started it was trashier,tabloid-style newspapers and we were supposed to sell these $50,000 ads to businessmen who would only use those newspapers, as one put it,"to wrap fish". I could tell you a million stories corroborating your article and the comments posted....unfortunately, I don't have the luxury of having enough time to do it but someday I WILL sit down and write maybe a tell-all book.....I worked in 23 countries and did over 30 advertorials during my time in AFA so there is much to say.
I am glad that somehow this is becoming public knowledge. It is a mystery to me how this advertorial scheme (or scam as some may call it) still works and I am glad I got out of it. Trying to look at the glass half full, I can say that my years of trekking around the globe and fighting it out in each country have contributed greatly to who I am today. Once you have managed to sell a $50,000 ad in an obscure company that makes tractors in the middle of Hungary (to name just one example), you feel like you can do anything. So at least my confidence was built up and that helped me in my present career,but I do agree the shadier side of the business is predominant and it is a business I would not want to re-enter ever again.

T, how come it took you 12 years of your life, during which you learnt so much to realize that you have selling ads in newspapers which only use to to "wrap fish"!! I think you are a very very slow learner. So I cannot see how much you learnt. Perhaps you are different person but a far worse human being I would say.

DG

Daniel, you like to always look at the negative side in everything,don't you? I knew the job wasn't my "ideal job" but it paid very well for a 20-something year old person that would usually not earn that kind of money in a "normal" job.You get used to the lifestyle,you see people around you your age who are slaving away at 9 to 9 jobs and you keep at it.Your criticism surprised me,I thought you'd be more sympathetic but I can see you're full of bad feelings and the only way you can express them is to fling criticism at me.I wish you could have been in my shoes,that is really the only way you can express any judgement.Anyway,given the "warm reception" I have received,I will refrain from commenting on these blogs any further....all I wanted was to provide an additional forum for any constructive comments or questions there may have been...not a full-fledged attack...unbelievable....go and unleash your venom elsewhere...don't blame me for working somewhere where I was paid well while my country (Spain) had a job crisis that left most people on meager unemployment checks. Another positive thing is that I met the main players in each country I visited and I was able to learn from their interviews...brilliant brains who just by meeting them enriched my life too. Anyway,why I should try to explain myself to someone as venomous as you is beyond me so that will be my final entry for today. Have a glass of wine to cheer you up or something and analyze your own life afterwards to see if your choices have been perfect or not...but don't berate others, for goodness' sake!It just makes you look dumber than you are (which is pretty dumb to start with, by your comments).

There is one last comment I wish to make before exiting this forum. My comments on AFA,the company I worked for, were exclusively dedicated to the people that run AFA. Other companies that at first glance do the same thing have branched out from AFA, but thankfully,their moral standards and the quality of their work has risen way above the AFA standards. Their products DO help countries that are struggling to create a more serious image because they are well written and published in much more serious publications than the ones I used to work for (the ones used to "wrap fish").
I can think of several examples: Vega Media and Impact Media are the ones that come to mind first because I have either worked for them (Impact) or know people working in them now (Vega Media). Another publication that publishes beautiful reports that have a high impact on the right readers is The European,for instance....there are companies out there who are really worth working for nowadays and who practice high business ethics. I wish they had been around when I was in AFA but it took the people who formed those companies years of going through "AFA-style" training to perfect and improve their product to today's standards. Think about it: If Vega Media, Impact Media or The European did not put out quality products that were useful and if they did not keep their employees happy, how could they be so succesful for so long? When AFA was around, they were not put under the looking-glass as today's companies are so they could go about their business quietly. Today's companies are held to a much higher standard and they are scrutinized more carefully. I never meant to offend anyone in the "new companies", my comments were exclusively towards AFA and I wish to clear this up. If I could have worked for a "better" company, this may well have been the field of choice for my whole professional career, but when I left AFA in January 1998, a series of personal circumstances made me look for a job in another field and I found I was succesful in that field too, so I never thought about going back. I hope this explains my earlier posts,thank you for reading this and I am sure it will add new ingredients to this forum so that people can avoid generalizing about this business and look at each company as a different entity that does business in totally different ways.

I am looking for a career in global sales. I am interested in extensive travel for long periods of time.

Despite shady selling techniques, would anyone actually recommend working for Summit Communications or the other companies mentioned above?

If not, do you know of any similar types of jobs, with "legitimate" corporations?

Thanks.

Hi everybody,
I worked for 4 months for Media Plus Consulting and it is exactly how Mr. Salomon described it. We were thrown in a middle eastern country trying to selling these ads for Fox5 to government and companies.We realize while we were there they in the past projects, that nobody mentioned us, they sold ads without even shooting the programme..a lot of people were angry at us and they understood that even if we were from a different comapny (another name but same stuff), we were part of the same scam. It was actually dangerous. I decided to quit right away as soon as I realized what was going on. Media Plus thretened me askingme to leave the country the same day because I was dangerous for the market..
If you apply for working at Media Plus just be aware that it is unfair, dishonest and you have to lie in order to sell the ads. That's their policy.

incredible reading guys(guys used in the sense my fellow human beings not in any un Pc way)
i have had the privilage of working for one of the compaies mentioned and ethics is an incredible subject. can every one honesty say that they re always ethical? in your own lives. ok i am guessing the point to be bounced back is. dude its a totally diffrent ball game. but reall guys it is not. Media plus is a verygood company to work for. and the CEO is a very intelligent business man. and thats what it is business i have never been told o lie and we are very honest and still sell.

Ciao tutti

Hello, Felix and everyone. I found this website while I was looking for info about AFA Press. I read their job offer in the website of monster.it and I immediately sniffed I couldn't trust. When a job offer sounds like they are giving you the easy way to richness and carreer, I am always suspicious (everyone should read the novel Pinocchio, in my opinion). I wasn't able to find further info about Alvaro Llaryora. It's like he was erased from google. Anyway thank you for the information you gave us, felix. And thanks also to all the people who posted their experience here.
Young people looking for a job should have a sort of sentinel. It is jungle out there.

Thanks for all the perspectives and comments on AFA. I saw the sales job post on Infojobs.net few days ago, planned to apply but this saved me going through all the trouble. Ciao.

I accepted a job with Media Plus Consulting and the day before I flew out to Belgium for training; I discovered this blog which was more than enough for me to absolutley change my mind. I am literally blown away to think that such a company exists...for the love of money ;-(..e-mail me if you need more info..I have lots!

cheers
JB
Back on the West Side

I tell you guys, I read absolutely every word of the blog and i have to say that I am surprised, i have worked for many years with Impact Media and not only they have a great ethic but always try to have all clients satisfied, keep on their words and are VERY trustworthy. YOu can check it out. www.impact-media.com
xx

hi all, i had the same experience as Romi. I used to work in a sales company on a high level which also promises everything and while the CEO is a billionaire, people are being treated like...well badly, and they sell outright lies. My manager over there once told me: if it's too good to be true, well then probably it IS too good to be true. Somebody pointed me in the direction of AFA Press, I saw the website and to me the site looks like a sect. It's very very vague and immediately alarm bells started ringing in my head. I must admit- the add sounds great, travelling around the world, excellent renumeration, meeting top people in all places. And I already wanted to apply, but something stopped me and I googled the company name and came on here. Thank you for giving inside tips. I have worked once already for a company that treats its employees as slaves and once for a company that is in fact a scam and I realized this is not what I want to do. I am a human being and I will treat others as I would like to be treated. And I certainly wouldn't like to be cheated...

I have worked for Media Plus for several years (since 1999) as a field sales executive/journalist, as a trainer and as a recruiter.

I think the main thing to keep in mind when reading this blog and trying to form your own opinion about these companies is that they tend to hire young adults because they have the flexibility to travel 330 days per year. Unfortunately, many of these young adults have not had any "real world" sales experience and end up getting jaded. I'm sure after a year or two back in the US selling for a US firm, they will realize how good they had it with MP.

That being said, here is some basic sales training advice: A sales pitch is not a lie. One could say that sales trainings "brainwash" the candidate but I believe that it is done in a GOOD way so he/she can believe in their product and sell it. The sales training that you do for MP has the same basic effect as any other sales training I've done for other jobs. You learn to talk the talk of that company, believe in the product and basically regurgitate that information in a convincing way to sell your product. The same goes with overcoming objections. My favorite example to use is when talking about creating urgency is the shoe store example. If you are at a shoe store trying on a pair of shoes and you think you want to buy them but you tell the store clerk that you want to “think about it” the typical response they will give you is “I would love to give you all the time in the world to think about this but I just wanted to let you know that this is the LAST pair in your size.” The sales clerk just created an urgency for you to buy the product NOW. Is this a lie? No, it’s part of the game of sales.

Last, MP has been working with several reputable publications for over 15 years. If we were doing anything unethical we would be losing these contracts, not gaining more. In recent years we have gained contracts with magazines and we products segments for major tv stations.

I can not speak for Impact Media, AFA or any other companies mentioned in this blog as I have never worked with them in the past. This comment only pertains to Media Plus.

I just need to point out a few things.....

1st – employees go into countries under different names, because each time they are selling content for different publications/titles. These titles – like New York Times, New York Daily News have entered into binding contracts with these companies like Media Plus, and have been working together for years. Why would such a reputable company work with Media Plus if it wasn’t reputable itself?

2nd –We have never at Media Plus been allowed to say we work for the title that the report will go into. Our business cards all have the company’s name on it that produces the report. We are not allowed to tell clients we work for New York Times/Daily News etc, not on the phone, not in meetings, never. We do present the title in our presentations though to showcase where their editorial and ad will be published. And I have never, never called myself a “journalist”. Our business cards always say “project coordinator” or “project manager” if you’re a manager.

3rd –Media Plus employs young hungry people with no sales experience bc they are just that: young enough not to want families and are able to travel non stop, and hungry enough to motivate themselves in the field when there are no managers or water cooler gossip to make sure they are doing their jobs

4th-Of course we use recommendations from ministers. Ministers want these promotional reports to be done so the positives of their country can come out and if it can help at all with FDI, IMF loans or any form of investment, its great for the government. We do their work for them. And they always, always know that the reports need to be funded by advertising in order to happen. We do include important editorials even if they havnt bought advertising, to give the full picture of the country.

5th-to the girl who said you don’t make money......you must have gone through the job with the same negative attitude you are displaying on this blog. No other job could you make this kind of money, tax free, at 23 yrs old.

6th – you defiantly learn a TON from traveling, meeting ministers and CEOs (who later become your friend if your one of the consultants who don’t lie, don’t act “shady” and don’t pressure people to do anything they don’t want to do), you learn about every industry and what it takes to well, on your own, to make things happen. Only the hungriest, ethical, smartest people survive....and if that’s not you, then you prob quit or were fired and then decided to write on this blog to bring the rest of the industry down.

Hi! I just got this link from a friend of mine as I am invited for the assessment center of AFA. I would really appreciate if anybody could write to me about his personal experience with AFA. From what I have read, I am kind of shocked! Thanks for any comment! kati

I know and speak only of AFA press as I went to their training and worked for them for almost 6 months. And though I don't think this business is necessarily unethical, the folks at AFA indeed are scumbags. It should be possible to produce promotional reports with hard salesmanship and remain courteous and ethical. But that is not the culture at AFA. With very few exceptions people are poorly educated and it feels like they'd steal you'r wallet if you let them. Somebody mentioned above that they're like a sect. In fact they are very close-knit and new hires are essentially used and flushed. Ever wonder why they keep a perpetual hiring policy in place? Indeed they'll use your cheap trainee-labor and, unless you really become one them, you'll soon be out. And they'll keep hiring the uninformed. (To become one them it is necessary to smoke and void your sense of morality). Most people didn't go to college to be around this sort of people, but you get to travel and it is an intense experience.

I also used to work for AFA Press' slave-drivers. I can completely relate to the comments about inhumane treatment and a complete lack of moral. Does anyone know how many of these "press comunication agencies" exist and what they are called? - to warn future, young and naive career-seekers.

Yes. They are opportunistic and it is the worst possible work culture. But Salmon's speculation about being in bed with the NYT is a joke. Anyone in the business can get an advertorial in there, even with the quality standars of these people. The people suck but the business is quasi-legit. It works well for those who are on the inside of the company, like picornell, and who enjoy serving the corrupt. Thats pretty much it.

I should add that trainees are basically underpaid clerical workers. that's also true

Hi. I have worked for Media Plus a few years ago. I remained about a year in the company, conducting 3 different projects. My name card said "business journalist" not "project coordinator" or so. I had several fake press cards by the way. With regards to the use of minister letters and the habits of this company, you may visit this site: http://quickstart.clari.net/qs_se/webnews/wed/bn/Qnamibia-justice-us.RDXw_DSA.html

Mr Thieu Cuypers, his sister and his plant-like girlfriend will teach you how to bullshit people. Even an ex-employee mentioned that during a presentation he was making to the glory of the company... my god. Training was real brainwash but it hasn't worked on me. Employees turnover is about half to 2/3 coming in/leaving MP every six months. And it is not because of the job difficulties... it is because of the shitty minds of the managers. Finally, the advertorials they produce is of the lowest quality. I really wandered if after all these years of bullshiting, Thieu Cuypers and Co have actually started to believe in their own lies.

Oops, i forgot one thing: Media Plus also asked me to open bank accounts under my name, in foreign countries, in order to send company cash for the project. Very often the amounts were far too high and I had to fly the cash back as in some countries I was not allowed to make international money transfer with such a "young" account. Really guys, run away from them or you might turn out to be just the same. The ones I know who remained in this company for a few years are just disgusting people.

Yeahbaby,

You are absolutely right. Oh the cash deals and the utter disrespect for employees! Undue responsibilities and unscrupulous preassures! But really, if you look at it there is certainly tax fraud and contractual breaches. A quick lawsuit, perhaps in the UK might quickly push them off the NYT partner list.(Reference to AFA Press which started what they think is 'hard ball for bums').

WHO WANTS TO FILE AND QUCKLY SERVE AFA'S REGISTERED AGENT IN NY?

MY DAUGHTER HAD WORKED FOR ONE OF THE AGENCIES CONNECTED WITH AFA. SHE CONFIRMED THE ABOVE AND IT WORRIES ME.

I WILL ADD THEIR USE OF FEMALES AS SEDUCTRESSES TO GET CORRUPT MONEY FROM THIRD WORLD LEADERS. SOME WOMEN, BY HER ACCOUNT ARE DO EXCHANGE SEXUAL FAVORS.

I WILL GAGE THE RESPONSE HERE THAN WE CAN DO THIS VERY QUICKLY AND CHEAPLY.

Hi,

interesting reading your experiences guys. You know, I always say, it is you the one that has to make the difference. AFA style, maybe you don't like it, you had bad experiences, whatever..and I respect that you have your own opinion guys. But let me tell you a couple of things:

1. I started working very young. At the same time I got 2 degrees, a master degree and for 6 years before discovering AFA I had great salaries, great job experiences and never did inmoral things, and unethical things as you call them all the time. I didn't do them because it is not my style, and I would never belong to a company that asks me to do that. I managed a company and learnt a lot. When I thought it was time to run away of traditional ways of life, friends getting married and the city becoming to small for me, I applied for AFA. I never sold before, people used to come to buy things from me, so I wasn't sure if I would be able to do the job properly. This job, is teaching me to sell..a knowledge that is priceless.

2. I have already done 3 projects, all our interviewees are aware of the promotional aspect, and I don't tell lies, if you want to have a strong presence in this report that is a suplement you take it or not. And "surprisingly" they are taking it, and they seem very happy with our job. Now is my duty to make sure that the arworks meet their expectations, that the report will be published on time, that the copies will be sent..etc etc..giving a good project guys is easy, and you don't have to tell lies or be corrupt. So what is all that shit?

3. Another thing..all these statements I am reading about this supplements being useless, and bla bla bla. I guess your frustration comes from the fact that you don't have a proper communication background, and nobody informed you about the strength of building country image through this supplements and giving the opportunity to this poor people to have positive exposure besides the bad press they are used to get everyday. Have you read about the long life of a supplement? do you know that printed media are the more respected and powerful tools of communication?. I learnt that in the uni, where I studied for 8 years. As you can see, I am not a nerd, I have education, I tell you I am smart, an independent woman, and yes, I am having also sex in these wonderful projects. But sorry to dissapoint you guys, I bring to my bed the one that turns me on, since the product that I am selling is so good, that I don't need to sell my body to convince them. By the way, the Mc donald's example is is..I can't describe it. You really believe that medias such as NYT sign an agreement and don't give a shit about what they are distributing?. Cough cough..

4. What AFA does with their money, is not my problem, and is not yours. I don't give a shit if they spend all the millions they make buying flowers. How can you dare to talk about it? is not your bloody business. The business is, that I am learning a lot, visiting places I would have never been in before, meeting beautiful people.. Developing my skills, getting to know myself better, learning how to deal with a team, feeding myself with culture and knowledge, and the best part..I get paid, I get commisions, I live like a princess, and my dietas allow me to travel and to give extra salaries to all the people that for a couple of months thanks to our projects have the chance to earn enough money to feed their families for 3 years. It sounds amazing ah?? it is not a slogan, is reality and that is what happens in the projects I have seen.

Before saying bye, and inviting you not to generalize and not to treat us as if we were retarded people managed by AFA, I tell you..I don't get extra money or better destinations for saying this. I just get the satisfaction of giving a fair testimony of what AFA is. Then you can be a robber, a lier, a bastard and steal everthing you can when you go to a country, but that is up to you, if you follow your common sense and you take advantage of all the facilities you have with AFA, you have a great career and end up contributing to help countries that deserve to be known by their potential. I believe in it, and I have no regrets.

I also have stomach problems, and I took the decision of working for 18 hours a day. Nobody forced me..did someone force you guys?. Talking about slavery shocked me..they are far enough not to know how many hours I am working. It's me the one that understands that the more you work..the more you sell. Sorry I am too ambitious, I think this is what you lack and makes you have a distorted image of reality.

Mr. Felix, you want to communicate people your experience? then communicate. But be aware, there is a big difference between communicating and spitting shit.

A happy AFA member somewhere in the world, contributing to make a lot of people happy

Hi everybody,
As Kati I am also invited to the Assessment Day of Afa. Well, I suppose I was min or less sceptical when I read the job offer but now I'm quite shocked!
Thank you all for your comments, you are opening the eyes of many graduates as myself.

To KATIE: did you finally participate to the Assessment? If you did, how was it?

Lay

Hi guys,
I have to thank you all for your comments as I was just about to go to the AFA Assessment day tomorrow in Regent Street but I decided to do some searching about the company before hand. It surprised me the way they interviewd and how simple it was to get my CV apporved. Also, my first suspicious came out when they asked my for a CV with photograph.... i know i'm a bit cautious but asking for a photograph in your CV is not something that pleases me.
After readin this information I decided not to go for it, although I regret all those who had to go throught the experience. Now, there's something else that intrigues me: how come a company with such reputation is allowed to be represented in Graduate Fairs, recruitment agencies, such us (toplanguages( etc????? I think the recruitment agencies should also protect themselves and the potential candidates by doing a little bit of searching and become more aware of their clients. I will no longer use Toplanguages website as a result of their lack of professionalism for putting an agency with such reputation on their webpage and I'm disappointed that most of the Graduate Fairs allow AFA to be represented knowing that this can be a problem for new graduates and young people in their careers, by deluding them. These Graduate Fairs are also respoonsible to assure that they provide secure information and reliable companies for their candidates.
thanks
s

A,

You are absolutely right. The standard for the graduate fairs is almost non-existent. And they are con-artists, they lie to sell and pride themselves on lying to sell their way into anything.

But they can still claim no real fault. I think the guy who suggested just filing suit on th right track. There is plenty of good reasons for it. I wont go into now.

Yeah, the picture thing is to see if you are not black, or another ethnic who would not appear rightly European and condescending to con ministers of poor countries who are flush with public cash and large egos.

The many agencies they hope will diffuse legal reaction.

In the meantime it is certainly easy to just write to the job-fairs and let them know.

AFA needs to keep hiring so they can keep exploiting. This forum indeed is awesome.

To the AFA Girl Yelling Above,

WHAT THEY DO WITH THEIR MONEY IS CALLED TAX EVASION. AND COURTS WOULD BE INTERESTED. SWEETIE, ITS A CRIME. AND NOW YOU KNOW.

THEY THINK THEY ARE TOO SPREAD OUT FOR LEGAL ACTION. I AM VOLUNTEERING TO CHANGE THAT AS I HAVE INDICATED BEFORE.

I WILL NAME AN ATTORNEY WHO CAN SPEAK CONFIDENTIALLY TO ALL WHO HAVE BEEN DAMAGED OR HAV INFORMATION ON AFA AND LOYOLA AND THE REST OF THE GANG.

I want a job at AFA,
I am Swiss but I'm not currently living in Europe, will they still review my CV and give me a response????

Do you know of any other agencies with similar job opportunities as AFA.

Can someone please mention their names and website if possible?

Currently I have a desk/sales job in a grade-A multinational in Asia, It pays very well but I'm sick of looking at a computer all day long. Life is too short to be stuck in a cubicle and meeting foney people an reviewing protest blogs....

Help me out will you...

Thanks

MR-E

MR-E,

Are you Mr. E or are you MARCOS MELO?

You come to this blog, where people are telling you the truth about afa the quality of tehur people and ask for a job?!!! Right!???

YOU ARE HAVING PROBLEM RECRUITING SLAVES.

BY THE WAY, AT AF YOU LOOK AT A COMPUTER 90% OF THE TIME

anybody who wanted a job would not mention it here. they'd go to the websites.

YOU ARE LOSING SLAVES BECAUSE THE TRUTH COMES OUT.

LAWSUIT PEOPLE: THEY GO BY CHERRYWOOD HOLDING, THE UMBRELLA OF THE LITTLE ONES, WHICH ARE A DIME A DOZEN.

CHERRYWOOD HOLDING IS INCORPORATED IN PANAMA.

THEY DO THIS SO THEY CAN KILL THE SMALLER COMPANIES AS THEY GET SUED BUT KEEP ALL ELSE IN A TAX HAVEN INSOLATED FROM CIVIL SUIT.

I RECOMMEND JUST TELLING THE TRUTH AS WE ALL DO HERE AND WRITING DIRECTLY TO THE PUBLICATIONS. THEIR RELATIONSHIP WITH THESE PUBLICATIONS CAN BE AFFECTED. SHOULD BE AFFECTED.

Wow, what an interesting debate! I'm a late comer but I bring in a lot of AFA knowledgde. I worked for them for 2 years, which is ussually the maximum anyone stands. Much of this is true, but the women that work for them, as you know, are pretty.

Yes, they pimp the women out. This is a cornerstone of their busness, using women.

Thanks for all these interesting comments! I have never worked for Afa so I don´t want to give any wrong comments, but I was very close to accept the sales job.

I went to their selective week and was under the last 6 candidates. I can just say that everything seemed to be very unprofessional. We were only 2 girls at the end and I think the prettier you are the better are your chances. To give an example, I speak 4 languages fluently, have lived and worked in many countries abroad and applied for the job because I AM interested in social economic isses, 3rd word countries and love reading about politics etc. But they didn´t seem to care about that at all, I didn´t even have to talk about my CV/experiences.
The other girl was accepted - 2 languages, university not finished yet, no work experience, as she told me she was not interested in socio-economic issues and politics at all, etc. BUT PRETTY.

Anyway, you have to kind of "play" the sales pitch in front of 3-4 people and they decide whether they accept you or not at AFA. I did this, with a successful sales pitch, but they told me that they couldn´t decide about my case, half of them wanted me to "accept", the others were not convinved. So I had to do the whole thing again - how unprofessional is that? Then they told me no. At nite there was a party going on, all Afa people drugged (the biggest cocaine lovers on earth, I guess they spend all their money on that), and there I was told that I should insist to get the job - they wanted to make me a new proposal within the next days, because they were coming to my city anyways and we could meet up and talk. So I flew back to my hometown and on the arranged date they never called me. The next day I got a mail from them asking for my tel. number, saying that they had left it at the office and couldn´t contact me in my city. ??? How can sb be so unprofessional ...

As you see I only had a short experience with Afa people but I have the impression that everybody there must be "cool, naice and pretty". Maybe I am wrong, again I have never worked for them. But as I got another good job offer, I decided to never get in touch with them again. So my experience with Afa ends here.

All, Recently graduated here in Holland and the jobs at Media Plus seemed quite interesting. After applying i decided to have a look on the net and happily found this interesting discussion. I have to agree with one of the earlier comments posted: "if it sounds too good to be true it probably is". Reading the rest of the comments i will in no want to be a part of this kind of immoral&sleazy organization.

So to all of you thank you for posting this messages! This is the only way for young people to be warned about these kind of scams.

Unfortunately the job search is on again but anything better than wasting time on Media Plus.

Regards,

from sunny Holland!

Miss X:

The sleazy and the cocaine thing are there, but your entire post shows how willing you were to give them a benefit of doubt and chances, to the very end. That's what job-seekers will do, and are treated poorly in part because of it.

I sympathize but really, just attending their Madrid thing with that Neurotic bufoon should be sufficient evidence that you are not working where your family and friends expect you to be, much less in decent company. Same for MediaPlus by the way, a spinn-off.

Does anybody remember their training freak?

http://209.85.207.104/search?q=cache:w2PkUKv4mI8J:madamearcati.blogspot.com/2006/10/indys-odd-business-bedfellow.html+ray+corbis&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=3

I spent 2 weeks in prison! Because of them! In africa, one of the minister asked me of much money we were taking out of the country! At night 2 men took us! When I called the office, nobody came to pick us up
8% of 500 000$ is it worst it?? I had to pay 10 000$
to get out!!!!

So don't bother with Media Plus?

-

Can't speak about the other companies mentioned, but I can say that the phony losers at Media Plus are not worth your time. They will definitely ask you to conduct unethical business and lie to people. They're shady!

"I used to work for these unsavory characters. I commend you are on you research. This is as you mention a network of companies all dircted by one extremelly paranoid and mafia Argentine named Alberto LLyarora. The purpose of creating so many companies is to deceive the governments he licks ass to in order to send back team after team but without having to explain the terrible quality of the reports he produces. This man is worth an investigation and should be in jail!For more info, send me an email". ~ Thierry De Pins

But some of them have been jailed.

This is super important for anyone considering work for AFA. They do not get health care for trainees. They'll only pay for your healthcare after 3 months and if you get hurt someone is going to have to foot the bill. This is of major importance for all newcomers.

Afa hires only those with European looks. That's why they ask for a picture along with resumee. If you are black don't bother.

THer is one darker girl. She is really pretty. But that's the exception. Usually they have to try to be white in 3rd world and want pretty girsl that close deals.

I have just quit Media Plus. I contracted Malaria and they didnt provde care.

Hello,

I don’t work for AFA or Media press or similar and I have no reason nor need to be in favor or against those companies. At first sight, I just found fascinating the kind of work they do and I would like to know more.

It is actually true thought that some of those look a bit “strange”…no telephone numbers, vague web sites,…

On the other hand, I read all the past posts and I have also found a lot of anger and naïveté. It really seems to me that many people who expressed their bad experiences in this blog were also quite young or just out of uni, with no work experience, especially in the tough world of international sales.

I am interested to know more about these companies and the industry but from rational, neutral and structured points of view. I would appreciate if some people who previously worked there or still work there could give some inputs, rather than expressing pure frustration.

In particular, I have found more or less always the same comments related to the following groups of issues. I have focused on the ones that just don’t convince me and add some comments. Thanks a lot for your insights.

- Many comments are related to how pretty / good looking people should be to work for them: well, do you really think it is a surprise that in a sales oriented company (with face to face sales) people have to be good looking and with a “presence”? Do you see many ugly girls selling make up in super markets?

- Many other comments are related to how bad colleagues are. Well, it may depend from each one’s sensibility but in sales jobs, people certainly tend to be more cynical and tough. That may be the sad side of the sales world. If you were working in the trading department of a top-bank, would you expect to find the tender-lovely-pals of your life to exchange kind words and smiles, while petting your teddy bear? Come on guys, mummy is getting old, uni is finished, life is started… If you don’t like it, well, there is nothing bad, just don’t do it.

- Many other comments are on the several brands used by those companies. Many comments refer to this practice as the attempt to sell and resell because of the awful quality of these reports. These comments just don’t convince me: these companies may be evil or not but, realistically, how bad can be a report to still be accepted by “the economists” or NYT? Sure, these newspaper or magazines make a lot of bucks out of ads, but adv can’t be that bad to ruin the reputation of the magazine/newspaper itself: they would not keep on offering the space for ads anymore.

- Moreover, I see several strategic reasons to use several brands. Beside possible fiscal advantages there are sales strategies involved. I give you a couple: 1. One of the many is often employed in “cold sales” (which works well in absence of exact marketing analysis on the Return On the Investment to increase the image of a country). The principle is this: the first brand team contacts the targets and helps them to familiarize with the industry; it may sell or may not. The second brand team coming finds the potential client already aware of the industry and knows the reason of failure or success of the first brand sales team and on them builds a new sales strategy and so on… strange? 2. Moreover, several brands related to the same holding also give a strategic positioning in the market: the market demand for these services tend to be saturated increasing barrier to entry for new comers

- Many comments are related to the need to say lies to sell: can you give precise examples, please? Again, I feel these comments come from people with no experience in sales. In fact, I don’t understand why people should lie to sell an adv space to improve the image of a country. A sales pitch is not a lie: if you sell cookies won’t you tell how good and crispy they are, instead of saying that if you eat too many you are going to have stomach ache?

- Last comment is for Antoine: your adventure is terrible…where did it happen? What did you reply to the ministry when he asked you how much money you were bringing out of the country to end up in jail…?

Thank you,

AK

Hello,

I don’t work for AFA or Media press or similar and I have no reason nor need to be in favor or against those companies. At first sight, I just found fascinating the kind of work they do and I would like to know more.

It is actually true thought that some of those look a bit “strange”…no telephone numbers, vague web sites,…

On the other hand, I read all the past posts and I have also found a lot of anger and naïveté. It really seems to me that many people who expressed their bad experiences in this blog were also quite young or just out of uni, with no work experience, especially in the tough world of international sales.

I am interested to know more about these companies and the industry but from rational, neutral and structured points of view. I would appreciate if some people who previously worked there or still work there could give some inputs, rather than expressing pure frustration.

In particular, I have found more or less always the same comments related to the following groups of issues. I have focused on the ones that just don’t convince me and add some comments. Thanks a lot for your insights.

- Many comments are related to how pretty / good looking people should be to work for them: well, do you really think it is a surprise that in a sales oriented company (with face to face sales) people have to be good looking and with a “presence”? Do you see many ugly girls selling make up in super markets?

- Many other comments are related to how bad colleagues are. Well, it may depend from each one’s sensibility but in sales jobs, people certainly tend to be more cynical and tough. That may be the sad side of the sales world. If you were working in the trading department of a top-bank, would you expect to find the tender-lovely-pals of your life to exchange kind words and smiles, while petting your teddy bear? Come on guys, mummy is getting old, uni is finished, life is started… If you don’t like it, well, there is nothing bad, just don’t do it.

- Many other comments are on the several brands used by those companies. Many comments refer to this practice as the attempt to sell and resell because of the awful quality of these reports. These comments just don’t convince me: these companies may be evil or not but, realistically, how bad can be a report to still be accepted by “the economists” or NYT? Sure, these newspaper or magazines make a lot of bucks out of ads, but adv can’t be that bad to ruin the reputation of the magazine/newspaper itself: they would not keep on offering the space for ads anymore.

- Moreover, I see several strategic reasons to use several brands. Beside possible fiscal advantages there are sales strategies involved. I give you a couple:
1. One of the many is often employed in “cold sales” (which works well in absence of exact marketing analysis on the Return On the Investment to increase the image of a country). The principle is this: the first brand team contacts the targets and helps them to familiarize with the industry; it may sell or may not. The second brand team coming finds the potential client already aware of the industry and knows the reason of failure or success of the first brand sales team and on them builds a new sales strategy and so on… strange?
2. Moreover, several brands related to the same holding also give a strategic positioning in the market: the market demand for these services tend to be saturated increasing barrier to entry for new comers

- Many comments are related to the need to say lies to sell: can you give precise examples, please? Again, I feel these comments come from people with no experience in sales. In fact, I don’t understand why people should lie to sell an adv space to improve the image of a country. A sales pitch is not a lie: if you sell cookies won’t you tell how good and crispy they are, instead of saying that if you eat too many you are going to have stomach ache?

- Last comment is for Antoine: your adventure is terrible…where did it happen? What did you reply to the ministry when he asked you how much money you were bringing out of the country to end up in jail…?

Thank you,

KA

Hi Amy,

I will try to answer your questions objectively.

1- to employ good-looking people: to me, there is no problem with that. In order to sell, it is definitely better to have good looks. If I had to hire sales people I would do exactly the same. The problem comes in the picture when you tell your employees that they should sell by any means, if you see what I mean.

2- bad colleagues: there are good and bad people everywhere. Personaly I kept contact with some ex colleagues who I really appreciate. Most people that were hired at the same level as me were nice and coming from all horizons. On the other hand, management people who have worked for a long time in this type of company were almost all liars and greedy.

3- quality of reports: they have almost no value for the countries themselves and the companies featured in them. The contents are very basic and the looks are average. These reports are not disastrous and as long as AFA or Media Plus or the like PAY to include these reports in the newspapers, the said-newspapers welcome them in their pages. AFA/MP get the money for advertising spaces and do the layout of the reports in house. THen they send it to the newspapers as a whole and pay big money to have them included.

4- strategies: what you say is true. but the first reason why they send different brand names is to avoid getting complains from ministers and business people still in place right away. They would rather wait a few years before sending a team under the same brand name: governments would have changed, so would ambassadors, mayors and most CEO's. If not they would probably not remember anyway. With regards to fiscal reasons, it doesn't change anything since all brands are registered in fiscal paradise such as Liechteinstein ou Caiman etc...

5- Lies: examples of common lies --> we are living tomorrow you must sign today; MR X or Y as already signed and because he is so important you should do the same; Mr Minister X or Y asks you to sponsor our report; lies about the amounts the ads are worth in order to get free hotel nights or free car, carry fake press cards and use you "journalist" job as a cover etc...

6- Health care: at media plus we were supposed to pay for our own health care. With regards to people in jail, I remember two employees that ended up in jail in Namibia for counterfeiting minister letters. Don't know whether they did it on their own or if they were asked to do so.
With regards to carrying money, I personaly had to fly out Africa with about 8000€ in cash. To cross the border was not easy, I just managed to get out of this by pretending that I was a big journalist and that they would get problem with their hierarchy etc...

Whether you want to take this job is up to you. If you are young why not? Just be prepared at being bullshited a lot by your management. Don't trust anybody except people on the same level as yours. To be honest, when a project is a success, the sales people in charge don't even know why they succeeded. There is a great deal of luck in this job. Nice part is that you will visit exotic places. You will also meet high ranked people but don't expect anything from them since once the report is out you can't really turn to them and ask for anything...

Hi,

Yeahbaby, thank you for your comments. I found them objective and it is definitely interesting (and sad/scarring) stuff...

Well, it seems the evidences brought to this blog are gonna create some issues to these guys.

Even thought, at the end there won't be any major consequence for their biz. A potential client may end up reading this blog but do you expect that the leaders of a third world country maybe with years of war and genocides would really care about the "dark side" of AFA while getting the chance to adv in NYT? On the other hand, would NYT or The Economist stop selling ads to them? etc...

Let's be realistic, aside discouraging some young kids to work for them, and hopefully to improve their practices, at the end nothing will happen.

how is "concerned" doing with the attorney, by the way?

KA

Hi Amy,

You are absolutely right--> nothing will happen to them at all. On the top of it, there is more and more companies of this type that open year after year.

I know one publication though which is worth considering. They have a real value in terms of business analysis and information. They publish full reports about emerging countries and their main economic assets, political situation etc. Indeed there is advertising inserted but when it is done well and when it is worth the price, there is nothing wrong with it. The company I am talking about is Oxford Business Group. They have a website under the same name. I have never worked for them nor talked to anybody that had, but judging from the reports it is very qualitative. Nothing to do with AFA, Media Plus and the like, which again are pure scam.

In a few words, these companies are disgusting because they sell useless ads? I don't know where do you come from, but working in Italy for the vast majority of the companies doesn't seem much better. Work conditions sucks, salaries are too low and people have no chance to improve their careers.
I will have an interview with one of these companies very soon, and this post make me think a lot about meeting them or not. No way to have a positive experience? I love to travel and this job looked like a great chance, but now I really don't know what to do...

In a few words, these companies are disgusting because they sell useless ads? I don't know where do you come from, but working in Italy for the vast majority of the companies doesn't seem much better. Work conditions suck, salaries are too low and people have no chance to improve their careers.
I will have an interview with one of these companies very soon, and this post make me think a lot about meeting them or not. No way to have a positive experience? I love to travel and this job looked like a great chance, but now I really don't know what to do...

In a few words, these companies are disgusting because they sell useless ads? I don't know where do you come from, but working in Italy for the vast majority of the companies doesn't seem much better. Work conditions suck, salaries are too low and people have no chance to improve their careers.
I will have an interview with one of these companies very soon, and this post make me think a lot. No way to have a positive experience? I love to travel and this job looked like a great chance, but now I really don't know what to do...

In a few words, these companies are disgusting because they sell useless ads? I don't know where do you come from, but working in Italy for the vast majority of the companies doesn't seem much better. Work conditions suck, salaries are too low and people have no chance to improve their careers.
I will have an interview with one of these companies very soon, and this post make me think a lot. No way to have a positive experience? I love to travel and this job looked like a great chance, but now I really don't know what to do...

Marco, I have friends living in Italy and I am aware of the current economic difficulties of the country.

I am looking into these kind of companies myself, as I reckon that the nature of their job is still very interesting. Certainly, they are not the best companies to work for but I still reckon you can gain fantastic personal and professional experience. Moreover, considering the economic conjuncture in Italy, they could help you to project your career internationally improving your otherwise (sorry to say) poor working condition in Italy. They will exploit you, you will exploit them and in a little while, you will start looking for a job somewhere else strong of the international experience and of a salary of reference which you would not have got in your own country.

If you go for AFA: they normally sell ads in team of 2, 1 guy and 1 girl. Currently, they are running out of guys, so you have more chances...

For what I have heard the assessment is just ridiculous: it seems a speed dating. 1 or 2 HR with watery eyes ask to groups of 4/6 people at a time to present themselves in 2 minutes in front of everyone. In the second test (same assessment), you have to present something else.

they assess 4/6 people all together in half an hour (the meeting is about one hour in total, half of which is used to present the company). In such a quick choice, I reckon they want to (very) quickly identify face to face young, good looking people, self confident but recognized as easily "manageable". If you speed-date well, you will go to the training center.

hope it helps. good luck,

KA

Thank you very much Kat Amy! That's exactly what I supposed to do.

What is the base salary and commissions (on average) for these jobs? Is it tax free money? Where do you stay when you do projects in different countries?

I think the basic salary is from 800€/month at Media Plus up to 1500€/month at AFA (not sure of that one). Expenses in the countries are paid by the company and one team member is in charge of the accounting. If you are in charge, smart enough and not so honest, you can take advantage of this.

Can't remember the commission percentage (5 to 10% I guess).

At Media Plus, they gave us a very low budget to stay at cheap hotels for the beginning of the project. Later on, the idea was to secure barter deals which means exchange advertising spaces for hotel nights. One page is worth, for example, 60 000€ and then you calculate the number of nights you can stay for free according to the hotel rate for one night. You can do this with services apartments as well.

You can also do it for other industries: airlines, car rental, telecom etc.

Hello Yeahbaby, your insights in this blog are just excellent, thank you for sharing!

I have a few more questions for you, more on the "after Media plus"...

Once you left the company, where did you get a new job (industry/sector) and at what level (entry level again or more senior)?

Was it hard to make the move from this very niche industry to your new job?

Moreover, it seems that at Media Plus the salary mainly comes out of commissions and cover of living costs. Normally, in the job market (I think about headhunters in London) one of the very first questions they ask you is: "what is your current fixed salaries and what are bonus/benefits?". With a low fixed salary, even you make good commissions (as 800$ is) it seems unlikely to me that you can get a good-stable paid job in London (e.g.: +70K pounds), for instance, unless you sell something for a company which employs the same model than MP (low fix salary, and with final pay mostly made out of commissions).

What do you reckon? Thank you to let me know,

KA

Hi Amy,

It took me about a year to find a new job. It is true that I refused a few opportunities as I didn't really liked what they offered. The job I found was through an old friend of mine in a very innovative telecom company. The package was 50K€. Half fixed and half OTE, but the targets were reachable. I have been lucky to still have this friend among my network because otherwise I would probably still be looking for something... Companies or recruiters tend not to understand why we would give up a job that seems so interesting. they only see what MP/AFA want to sell you: travel, high ranked interlocutors etc. They don't see the low pay (fixed) and the dark side of the industry.

It is true also that having worked for a company with low basic income will lead you to another low basic job. It is difficult to climb up the ladder in that matter. Nowadays I am considering a new position and the revenues will reach 70K€. 45K fixed and 25K OTE.

Any advice I would give for the after MP/AFA is to stress on the sales environment and the resistance to pressure, ability to remain positive and goal-oriented. I don't really see any other possibility than sales position. Project management maybe? Recruitment industry would be alright as well, as it is a sales job in the end, with a need for interpersonal characters with varied experience and good language skills.

Hi Amy,

It took me about a year to find a new job. It is true that I refused a few opportunities as I didn't really liked what they offered. The job I found was through an old friend of mine in a very innovative telecom company. The package was 50K€. Half fixed and half OTE, but the targets were reachable. I have been lucky to still have this friend among my network because otherwise I would probably still be looking for something... Companies or recruiters tend not to understand why we would give up a job that seems so interesting. they only see what MP/AFA want to sell you: travel, high ranked interlocutors etc. They don't see the low pay (fixed) and the dark side of the industry.

It is true also that having worked for a company with low basic income will lead you to another low basic job. It is difficult to climb up the ladder in that matter. Nowadays I am considering a new position and the revenues will reach 70K€. 45K fixed and 25K OTE.

Any advice I would give for the after MP/AFA is to stress on the sales environment and the resistance to pressure, ability to remain positive and goal-oriented. I don't really see any other possibility than sales position. Project management maybe? Recruitment industry would be alright as well, as it is a sales job in the end, with a need for interpersonal characters with varied experience and good language skills.

My friend sent me this site and I have to say I am so glad I got to read this... thank you to all of you for putting this information online!

I have just passed the first round of interviews and have been invited to the "selective training" session in Madrid next week. After reading all of this I feel I can make a much more well informed decision rather than stepping blindly into a world I know next to nothing about- what with all my youngness, naivety and none-experience?!

I couldn’t help thinking all along that the process was far too easy and that it seemed a little too good to be true. that said (even though I know I am young and "naive) I'm not THAT naive- I know a career in the sales IS a "dirty" job. Meaning I know that of course they make things appear better than they are and it acquires a high level of bullshit artisting. I kinda knew it wasn’t all clean. Even the fact of the 'pretty people' doesn’t surprise me.. I'm sure it doesn’t u.. Of course they want young pretty people to be the face of their product and sell their name...this comment isn’t really newsworthy or worth making a fuss over...

However reading all of that was really great. It has made me truly more aware. I will still go to Madrid, even if out of nothing more than the reason that I paid a hell of lot for my plane ticket ;) I will listen to all they tell me, and I will even play their game. But like the one girl says, I will be aware of them and I wont trust them. I know my morals and standards and I know I’m more of a life lover, people lover, free spirit kinda person that is why I was worried from the beginning about a job in sales... I am willing (up till this point at least) to learn and adapt to the "saleswoman" idea, but I know I will never truly change. I am too strongly built and have been raised well enough to know my standards.

I will go and I will listen to all they have to say. And if I’m still interested at the end of the week I will think about taking on the job. It is still a fantastic opportunity - at least I think so. The idea to travel the world and make money still intrigues me, but, of course, having read all of this I now know for sure that that may come with a slight price to pay.

My only very big concern is that whole "by any means necessary" line.... however, even then you can never be FORCED to do anything you don’t want to. Nowhere does anyone in this blog say they were FORCED to do anything. (Please correct me if I am wrong)

My other concern is the matter of if they will take care of us- meaning health insurance, travel, accommodation, any problems we may get into when abroad... that is my only really big problem I see here.

If I do get accepted and choose to work there- in worst-case scenario lets say I hate it- I will just quit. By the sounds of it, it seems they are well prepared for that anyway...

Thank you again for all this helpful information, rest assured you have all definitely made an impact on my decision.

Hi margot,

I think we're going to meet in Madrid next week. I have the same concerns as you about the job. Let's see what happen...
In the worst (worst?) case we will drink some beers and eat tortillas and jamon.

Hi Margot,

I can predict that you are going to take this job, convincing yourself that after all it is not so bad, that you are going to travel, that you are going to make money etc. Nothing wrong with that. Just remember one thing: if you are not made to sell in the first place, you will never sell well or feel good at it.

I wish you to enjoy this experience and have a lot of fun.

Hey I am curious about Media Plus because I have an interview next week. I really appreciate all the comments. I just have one specific question: salary is approximately 800 euro but how much are commissions, on average? Thanks!

Your comments opened my eyes. I was suspicious from the beginning. If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is, right? Nevertheless, I'd like to attend the interview to see how they really operate. If anybody with genuine experience has something to say about recent company activity, please post. Thanks!

hey marco,

I totally agree with you. I'm planning to go and give it a shot, check it all out. if anything enjoy a little warmer weather and some tapas?!

see you there. At the end of the week I will have to make up my own mind about this JOB and everything that comes with it. I'm glad I've been so lucky as to hear both sides of the story first before making any life changing decisions.

YEAHBABY: i agree with you- if Im not built for sales then I wont like it... I will just have to go and find all that out for myself

Margot,
keep us posted. You should be back before I even interview, so some fresh outlook would be greatly appreciated.

Hi there

I think I am writing on here because I would like to receive some more...I guess inside info about AFA group. As far as my understanding is concerned AFA hires pretty girls to be able to sell their product in third world countries. Some of you have commented that this a a bad thing, some of you that in Sales looks are part of the job. Regarding to the latter..whilst I was at university I had to do the odd brainless job ..I.E. working as a cocktail waitress in a westend club..and yes you had to have a certain kinda look..is that necessarily bad? I guess no as it is a given! My friend worked at the reception of an investment bank..and yes she is very pretty. Has she been used as a "pin up" girl for a mainly male dominated industry who will have the pleasure to look at "something nice" when they enter or leave the building?
I guess the point that I am making is that, as sad as it is society works like that and people who are attractive are maybe more approachable or maybe put into sales jobs because of that reason.

This is only one aspect of the job! A very shallow one I presume. In terms of work ethic..isn´t any kind of sales agressive? Even in the most subtle way?

Further reading that they make money in a dodgy way...well I just mention the scandal at Credit Suisse recently.Banking..a very reputable industry, Oxbridge background in most cases...yet many people with no morals. Although maybe more likely to be discovered.....
And how much money can you really make at AFA group? As thay pay you in dollars..who wants to earn dollars in this day and age? How much can you really make in comissions? Is is a short term work industry? In case you do make as much money as some of you point out ..where can you progress from where you left AFA group?

I would appreciate to read more comments of people who work at AFA and people who left AFA! As I would like to form a personal picture on how dodgy they really are, as for me I could find pros and cons in both type of comments, pro AFA and contra AFA.

Thank you in advance

Miriam

Miriam, as you, I was interested in having fair (pros and cons) points of view about AFA and co. (see my comments "Kat Amy march 10th 2008)

Yeahbaby gave (March 11th 2008) already some fair insights about Media Plus (not AFA, true, but fair insights).

Take also a look at those.

Remember this - the only reason you will join this company is by weakness, the weakness of yourself to say no. If you want to do something good with yor life and your talents then turn away now. Do not be mis-guided with the illusions that this company/job will show you. You will not make a difference to the countries you work in, you are not important to anyone outside the company (and arguably inside).

When you are young you can be mis-lead into doing things.I made the decision to leave as I knew I would never be able to forget what I did. Why did I do it? For excitement, adventure, money...if you want these things then find a better way for yourself...because if you are talented enough to fool the people who choose you; then you are talented enough to do whatever you want.

Personally I left because to pursue a 'real' career in the media. There is no reason you can too.

Hi "Who dares wins...",

your post was interesting...was your comment referring to any agency in this industry or just to the agency you worked for (Which one?)

Thanks,

KA

Still, no concrete numbers on these jobs? Did anyone make at least 50,000 pounds a year? Without health care and without career advancement if you decide to leave the job, the only incentive left for the job is money (it better pay a lot of money through sales etc. else it's not worth it). I mean, if you can earn 50-100K pounds a year through commissions, then this job shouldn't be that bad.

Also, why don't you form connections with the people you interview for the ad space(maybe they can help you with future employment). For example, if interviewing with President of Namibia and you have an interest in African trade, it will be an opportunity for you to get his contact information for future projects/ideas.

Bottomline, every corporation will use you, they don't care about you or your family, they only care about how much money you are bringing in. Sometimes, I think a Sales job is not that bad because you get what you bring in, whereas other jobs, your work can contribute to a significant amount of money to the company but you are only getting say 1%. I think everything should be 50-50. The 5-10% at Media Plus is low.

If anyone has an interest in International Trade let's form a group, different people, different locations, it might not be media we will end up selling, but I'm sure we can sell something. Great minds always come up with something.

I have an idea of capturing a significant part of the world market 20 years from now(what industry?-I have mine, what is yours? We can come together and do something).

I like money because it signifies freedom (free to roam the world if i want to, free to feed a family). I don't care about material things, or the so-called finer things in life, I just like to be free, don't want to be in a cubicle, if I don't want to, I want to determine my own destiny. I mean why worry about not having enough money by the time you retire? Why let someone determine how much you are worth, if I want to work for peanuts I will work for a non-profit at least I know my work has an impact on the right person (people always come first, never screw over your fellow man for money, that's my believe). I can never sell a family a mortgage knowing very well in decades it would lead to their financial demise (some mortgage lenders did this in the U.S. because they put money before people).

Why do we end up doing things we don't wanna do? It's easy to follow a job that has been created rather than creating your own. If you believe in putting people first, and believe that you can still succeed in business without screwing over people then let's form an international company together. I'm not gonna guarantee it's going to be easy, there is no short cuts in life, especially if you wanna do it the right way. I have talent, so do you.

So, who wants to form a group? This is the first step into a potential global company. We can decide whether we are going to provide services or offer services to people on a global scale. This is all brainstorming. I have ideas already, just hear me out, and I will hear you out. But ethics first, we will have to verify each others background etc to make sure we don't have any scumbags(maybe a facebook.com group will do).

JJ

JJ, for my understanding and some research in average a sales kid in the industry sales ~800K/year in a lucky year. This means about 40-80K $ (~20-40K pounds) with no benefits, nor pension scheme, no taxes paid (and somewhere you have to pay them). If I am wrong with my understanding of the figure, please someone corrects me.

The second part of your post made me smile and I think most of the people in business (with some experience) would have just not replied. However, the general concept of the network (is this the key idea?) may be interesting even if there are already companies with multi million $ turnover doing that. Plus, while developing the idea you may want to start looking at the left side of Porter 5 forces: barriers to entry...

In any case I have got my philosophies too and I believe that brave people with ideas and balls have always made themselves wealthier than most of their peers... I like your attitude, please drop me a personal mail to girlkatami@yahoo.com giving a brief idea of your profile -no need for details- but most importantly why you posted your idea in this blog (which has nothing to do with it).

I will come back to you very quickly. Thanks,

KA

saw that 'yeahbaby' recommended the Oxford Business Group in a recent post. I used to work for them and can say that they are a bit different than what I understand to be the industry standard. At the very least, many of my ex-colleagues came from these other companies (Media Plus, Summit, etc.) but I didn't know a single OBG employee to leave to join another 'industry' firm.

OBG's base salaries are higher, basic health care is included and the company's product -- a 200 page economic report -- is what it is, and on display for the customer to see.

The only fudging I ever saw came from quoted circulation figures, which I strongly suspect were exaggerated to justify some staggering advertising prices. On the editorial side, there's a definite accentuation of the positive, no matter who dire the situation in the country in question (though at least OBG deals only with countries that can reasonably be called 'emerging') and who advertises does make a difference in what interviews are published, companies mentioned, etc.

And like these other companies, it is still a high-pressure sales role, and you'll be working under questionable visa and tax regimes for extended periods of time. That's fine for some folks, and was for me for a while, but I'm happy to be legal again.

Hi JAS, thanks for posting about OBG. I have always been curious about this company and never came across anybody who had worked there so far. Your insights are interesting. It seems that after all it is not so different, just a bit better.

To everybody who's interested in this kind of business, I would suggest something --> just do it yourself. Gather enough money to remain in an emerging country for let's say 6 months. Plan your trip very well, including placing a deal with a major press title (this would give you the right to produce a report for them). Once you start approaching governments and top companies be honest about it by explaining that your report has to be funded by advertising. Emphasize the fact that you are the only person in the company, the one and only contact, the one that is responsible for the editorial and business aspects, the one that is accountable for the good and the bad. What I noticed when I was working in that job is that people were not enclined to trust people that just come and go. Make sure that people know where you stay while in the country, that they can find you if they need to. Spend time with the people that spend money on your report to make them feel safe about the quality of your work and therefore about their investment.

There is definitely a good way to conduct this business and to produce something qualitative. Once your first report is ready to be published you'll have enough money to start a second one etc...

Re: Suggesting doing it yourself

It's not a bad idea, as at least then you'd be selling for yourself. Thing is, I know from my experience that more than a few people have already moved from the types of companies discussed here and begun 'media companies' of their own.

You see them jetting around low-budget from developing country to developing country, with an eye on which teams from which companies are in what country at any given time.

I find that most of these types have been HIGHLY motivated "lifers" in the industry -- the kind of people who would try to sell ice to eskimos. So I'd suspect the competition will be brutal -- in an increasingly crowded sphere -- for anyone having a go alone.

Hi everyone and thank you for these VERY USEFUL posts.
I won't go to my interview with InterCom in Paris (followed by a four-day-training in Madrid); I guess this is a sub-cie of AFA Press as this is the only Media Sales Cie I have contacted.
I'm a bit disappointed as I thought I found the ideal opportunity to travel and earn money at the mean time, but I was a bit suspicious...
I advise everyone to always check the ethic of a Cie thanks to forums like this one.
I won't develop more than you did since everything is so obvious now.
Thank you!
SoSo

Hi everyone and thank you for these VERY USEFUL posts.
I won't go to my interview with InterCom in Paris (followed by a four-day-training in Madrid); I guess this is a sub-cie of AFA Press as this is the only Media Sales Cie I have contacted.
I'm a bit disappointed as I thought I found the ideal opportunity to travel and earn money at the mean time, but I was a bit suspicious...
I advise everyone to always check the ethic of a Cie thanks to forums like this one.
I won't develop more than you did since everything is so obvious now.
Thank you!
SoSo

hello everyone,

Here´s some real information about Media Plus, I joint the company for three months last summer and then quit.

About the salary, the first two to three weeks you are on training in belgium and receive no money. Only lunch is provided during this period, you will have to pay for breakfast, dinner and weekends yourself. After this training you will be send to a country for a month to work as a trainee. During this period you will get paid 800 euro´s. If you make a sale during your trainee period you will get an extra 800 euro´s payd every month from the next month. However, these 800 euro are a prepayment on your commision. Word has it that if you don´t make your targets they will still let you keep your money but officialy you will have to pay it back if you don´t make the targets. It is possible but don´t count on making much more then these 1600 euro´s.

About the company, well I quit so it isn´t gonna be a pretty story. I´m dutch and was recruited in Holland, great stories about travelling and buckloads of money lured me in to this job. I have to say that I had a pretty good time because you are around nice young people. I have a lot of sales experience and have to say that the training is good. The CEO Thieu Cuipers is a smart men and a great speaker. His wife Angie gave us the training and I found it very usefull. However the people in the back office are the problem. They terrorise you when you are on a project and are very rude to personel. They where the reason for me to quit, to many lying bastards who only care about money and not about people. If you are really independant, you have patience and strong you might make it here. But beware, it is not the dream job they tell you during the recruitment days. Think of it this way. They have about 60 consultants working for them and recruit 10 to 15 new ones every month, however the number of consultants is not growing because so many quit each month. Maybe I have a low standard because I´m used to work in Europe but for me the working hours (from 9 am to 11 pm) where very hard.

I hope I gave some honest and usefull information, if anyone wants to know anything just contact me on dosse@live.nl

Hey folks:

I'm a journalist (yes, a real one) interested in doing some more reporting for a feature on the advertorial business.

If any of you with personal stories of this business would be available for interview, please shoot me an e-mail at the.source1@hotmail.com.

I know most of the information here is negative, but I'm interested in all sides of this business, so please anyone feel free to contact me.

Thanks much,

Hi all,

I applied to both Vega Media and SML Strategic Media before reading this very interesting blog. I have heard a lot about Media Plus and InterCom. Can someone tell me if SML is affiliated with AFA? And, has anyone ever worked for Vega Media? I'm a little disappointed to hear all of the negative stories surrounding working for these groups, and hopefully I'll find a job with travel for an ethical company someday. Thanks!

Hello,

This was blog is so useful I really don't know what to say but praises. I also applied before I read this blog and now I'm not sure if I should go on the interview. The company is Global Business Reports. www.gbreports.com
Does anyone know anything about this company? Please if you do, give some info since a lot of things are on stake.
Thank you,
cheers
Susan

very very useful website and I only wish that it had been about when I joined MP.

things that concerned me.. and why i left in the end, were the tourism visa and having money put through my personal account. in legal terms the company support that you have is very loose. you're in a foreign country but really on paper you're on your own. i was both silly and young and it took me a little while to realise that this was totally shady. luckily on my projects i met good business people that gave me sound advice. and well i grew up very quickly!

in their defence MP don't force you to do anything. you don't lie about who you represent (you may not out and out explain the complex network of companies that you work for, or that your aim is the sale and you couldn't give a fig about the interview but you don't say you work for the TV channel/ print publication) and they don't exploit the looks of their sales people any more than any other reputable sales company.

the benefits, the travel, the people you meet, and well the business people you presented to. you can only learn from such experiences. but staying a long time with the company is a bad idea because explaining it on your CV is hard!

but in hindsight i would not have worked for the company. there are other opportunities out there for well educated ambitious people who want to travel!

i would ask people who have had bad experiecnes though to contact their universities and just explain what happened to them. uni's should not be promoting such companies to their students

very very useful website and I only wish that it had been about when I joined MP.

i would not recommend joining them. you're selling a rag.

but things that concerned me.. and why i left in the end, were the tourism visa and having money put through my personal account. in legal terms the company support that you have is very loose. you're in a foreign country but really on paper you're on your own. i was both silly and young and it took me a little while to realise that this was totally shady. luckily on my projects i met good business people that gave me sound advice. and well i grew up very quickly!

in their defence MP don't force you to do anything. you don't lie about who you represent (you may not out and out explain the complex network of companies that you work for, or that your aim is the sale and you couldn't give a fig about the interview but you don't say you work for the TV channel/ print publication) and they don't exploit the looks of their sales people any more than any other reputable sales company.

the benefits, the travel, the people you meet, and well the business people you presented to. you can only learn from such experiences. but staying a long time with the company is a bad idea because explaining it on your CV is hard!

but in hindsight i would not have worked for the company. there are other opportunities out there!

i would ask people who have had bad experiecnes though to contact their universities and just explain what happened to them. uni's should not be promoting such companies to their students

very very useful website and I only wish that it had been about when I joined MP.

i would not recommend joining them. you're selling a rag.

but things that concerned me.. and why i left in the end, were the tourism visa and having money put through my personal account. in legal terms the company support that you have is very loose. you're in a foreign country but really on paper you're on your own. i was both silly and young and it took me a little while to realise that this was totally shady. luckily on my projects i met good business people that gave me sound advice. and well i grew up very quickly!

in their defence MP don't force you to do anything. you don't lie about who you represent (you may not out and out explain the complex network of companies that you work for, or that your aim is the sale and you couldn't give a fig about the interview but you don't say you work for the TV channel/ print publication) and they don't exploit the looks of their sales people any more than any other reputable sales company.

the benefits, the travel, the people you meet, and well the business people you presented to. you can only learn from such experiences. but staying a long time with the company is a bad idea because explaining it on your CV is hard!

but in hindsight i would not have worked for the company. there are other opportunities out there!

i would ask people who have had bad experiecnes though to contact their universities and just explain what happened to them. uni's should not be promoting such companies to their students

Susan,
I have heard of Global Business Reports. They are based in Istanbul, and run by a couple of English blokes named Mungo and Rupert. Having known a few ex and current GBR employees it seems to me that it's much like most of the other operations. Sales and advertorial -- the lot. I've never heard GBR getting slagged off on par with the likes of Media Plus and AFA, though a lot of colleagues at my old company -- Oxford Business Group -- came from GBR.

For what it's worth, I'd say go to the interview and see what you think. Ask a lot of questions, consider the comments here, and use your own judgement in the end.

Hi JAZ,
Thx a lot for the info! I did go on the interview and it went well. The guy said it was a sales position right at start. I've made it to the second around - a second interview which still has to take place. To me it seems that this company might be different from the others because they sell ads in trade magazines and they operate in different niche industries where the ads and reports could really serve their purpose. However, I'm not sure, you can never tell until you start working. However, i'm interested in how they treat their employees and clients- did you perhaps heard from ex or current GBR employees about their treatment? Is there any illegal accounts, scams and other stuff going on? or the management is honest?

I've also heard about Oxford Business Group and I've also sent them my CV so we'll see what happens. To me it seems that Oxford Business Group might be the best in this industry, what do you think? you worked for them...why did you leave if I may ask? Any good tips you could give me about what they are looking for? what's it like on the interview? And if the management is honest regarding their employees and clients?
Thanx, I'm sorry I asked a lot of questions but I would really appreciate if you could answer them when you get a chance cause I'm trying to make the right decision here.
Cheers
Susan

Hi Susan,
Congratulations on the interview going well. I think you're right that the focus on niche trade publications increases the relevance of GBR's reports, but at the end of the day the reports will be clouded by who has advertised and who has not. While that's not uncommon in mainstream publications, it should not be the principal deciding factor in editorial decisions, which it invariably is in the 'industry.'
I couldn't say about how they treated their employees. Seemed to me a pretty bog-standard 'industry' story. One female seller and one male journalist, pretty high turnover,lot of pressure and had a short time to produce results -- the lot.
I agree that OBG are among the best of the lot. They are trying to be more legit, professional and, slowly, more authoritative in their publications. A google search turns up a LOT more references to their publications than it did when I worked for them -- that's a good sign (or perhaps a sad commentary on the media today, but I digress).
You also work about six months on each project so there's less moving around, more time to cultivate sales, etc.
Still, there are 'industry' tendencies: sales mattering before any editorial consideration, fussiness about holiday, and lots of pressure on teams -- which can lead to misrepresentations and some selling out of editorial to the highest bidder.
Frankly, I didn't mind the selling out so much; I hated more the Soviet way that us on the lowest ranks had to deny that that's what we were doing -- subversion radars were always on, it seemed. In fact there were lots of double standards in the field resulting from the absolute authority of the sales girls in-country, which could often make things quite difficult for everyone else in the field.
I left partially because of that hierarchy (good salespeople do not always make good managers), but even more because I wanted to work legally (not on a tourist visa), in a more career-track position, closer to home.
I hope that's a balanced view for you. I don't regret having worked in this industry, but I don't miss it, either.

Hi!!
First of all Im very impress with all your comments!
I was sad because AFA group didnt hire me but now...
To be honest I had a good impresion of the company, people was kind and all what they told us sounds normal to me, except because they're not clear and serious (They tell to the participants that they will be contact either they fail or continue in the selection procces, and you can still waiting!) Thats is not serious at all if you consider that the mayority of the participants just come to Madrid for the selection process and they are paying a lot of expenses for nothing!
I would like to add that I dont think they are trying to hire just beautifull girls, maybe they prefer beautifull girls rather than not to beautifull as long as they fulfil other skills (maintly good communication skills) If not (Im not conceited, just honest) they had hired me!
Maybe AFA is not the best place to work but maybe is the sector and not the company... I dont really know!
I hope more people add relevant information!
Cheers
YoYo

OBG is legit and more transparent. they provided me a contract, while MP didn't. OBG in the country i am in is rather reputable. the people here don't burn their bridges, unlike MP where, based on my experience, have been labeled as a scam by a certain PR agency here. the MP people i worked with were nice (save for that douchebag of a regional director that we had) especially this girl who was managing us -- awesome manager, really cheerful despite the difficulty they were having in this country's very suspicious culture.

Hi Jas,

Thanks so much for sharing your experience and useful information. I absolutely agree that the editorial should come first before any sale and it is sad if they give preference of one over another.
yeah, i'm wondering if I would be the right one for the sales position. I'm more interested in the editorial part of work and the fact that I am a girl who is there only to sell, is not professional and misleading. So I don't know, I will see how my 2nd interview goes and then if I get it, I will toss a coin:)) just kidding, but yes.. I have to think really hard if this would be for me or not. There are a lot of pluses but also a lot of minuses. Maybe if this job would lead me to something bigger, more editorial travel oriented, I would take it. Thanks again for posting the info. I might bug you later if I have more questions:)
Cheers
Susan

Hello everybody I recently assisted to the assesment for AFA press excecutive sales consultant. I passed the first individual interiew, went on to a group interview and did not pass.... I did not read about this site before going to the interview, but the person conducting it, Saturnino, a spanish guy told everybody in the room about this site. Of course I got asked to leave after the first presentation excersise... I was quite shocked because together with the other 4 girls that were asked to leave, we were the ones with degrees, we have excellente points of view... so my question is, do they really want to hire idiots? people with out common sense or personal opinions? I really want this job, therefore I will apply again once there is another opening... but please be honest, is it really what this blog says? What is the sallary?

Hi Girl,

I don't really see how you couldn't get this job... to be honest, the questions they ask and the situations they put you in are so obviously oriented that answers should come naturally... just be positive and a good communicator. I don't know about your looks but this is definitely more important than degrees or arguments. If after reading all the comments posted on this blog you still want this job seems a bit strange to me. But again, there are plenty of other companies where you can apply: United Press, Vega Media etc... Getting a job in this industry is way easier than in regular companies.

Hello everybody,

I have worked for media plus appr 4 years. It was my first job and i learned a lott. If I see all your (negative) comments and worries i just dont understand why you are even thinking of taking a job like that. Go and work in the town you were born in at the local supermarket. If you are young and you want to explore the world and get lots of sales experience GO FOR IT. Yes I also had bad expierences in the field and no I did not die so Yesit made me stronger. Media plus gave me a great job and a lott of experience I still can use today. If anyone needs possitive feedback just drop aline.

kind regards

Robert

Hello everybody,

I have worked for media plus appr 4 years. It was my first job and i learned a lott. If I see all your (negative) comments and worries i just dont understand why you are even thinking of taking a job like that. Go and work in the town you were born in at the local supermarket. If you are young and you want to explore the world and get lots of sales experience GO FOR IT. Yes I also had bad expierences in the field and no I did not die so Yesit made me stronger. Media plus gave me a great job and a lott of experience I still can use today. If anyone needs possitive feedback just drop aline.

kind regards

Robert

Hi there,

I worked for AFA Press during one month. Before I started I had been invited in a fancy hotel in Brussels and after that, AFA Press invited me for a one week training in Madrid. I really enjoyed the recruitment part. I met nice people with whom I am still in contact. After I had been selected I left for Ghana. I had a wonderful time there eventhough I left AFA PRESS one month later. The reason why I left had nothing to do with the company. As a lot of people say in the blog nobody is forced to do what in some people's eyes is maybe wrong. People to whom you sell advertisement know how the business works because this business is not new for them and I assure you that nobody is forcing influent people to sign for the product. As a sales person you are just trying in selling advertisement like any other sales person does. For me AFA Press gave me a great opportunity. I discovered a really nice country and I met nice people. It's only due to some personal problems that I left AFA because I felt myself more useful back home. The good thing is that AFA give young people great opportunities which another company would only give after 15 years of experience. From the start you stay in nice places and you travel around to the most exotic countries. For people enjoying this kind of life style it is only positive. You can leave the company within a short notice. So you will never be forced to stay somewhere if you are not enjoying what you are doing. For AFA it is also really important to have happy employees that enjoy what they are doing. For me it has only been positive.

Hope this info can help you.

Kind regards,

Benoît

All in all I believe this is very much a personal experience. Don't expect too much from the companies/people you would work for nor from the job/money itself. It might work very well for you as it might not. Don't forget there is a great deal of luck in this industry, probably as much as hard work. Most people that have conducted successful projects don't really know why it has worked so well: probably good networking, proper timing or right newspaper title. If you feel like giving it a go, if you are young and if you are ready to remain positive whatsoever, I would suggest you to follow your intuition. You may get very nice memories, meet cool people (co-workers), and get some interesting experience.

Hey guys,

You have really put together a good pool of info. I couldn't find anything about one of the companies in the industry.

Can you drop me a line with info about the company behind the below links, should you of course have any:
businessfocus.org.uk
www.globalbusiness.uk.com
www.ibns.uk.com
www.asapworldwide.net

if you have some comments to add I will appreciate it.

cheers,
jonathan

I worked for AFA for a year, and yes it's often unethical, and also quite degrading - a bit like cold calling or door to door sales. Obviously there's no editorial independence, but that's the case with any advertorial so it shouldn't come as a surprise. What is a surprise is the fact that high ranking politicians and successful businessmen can be talked into believing that spending US$100,000 for a 1 page ad in an advertorial is the best way to promote their country/company.
One of the worst aspcets of AFA itself though, that I haven't seen mentioned here, is how and when they pay their employees the commissions that they are due. On your contract (if they've bothered to give you one) it will state that commissions are paid twice yearly, in August and January. When I left in December, most people still hadn't been paid the commissions they were due in August. And as an employee there's not a lot you can do about it. You stand no chance taking them to court because of the obsucre way the companies are set up. As mentioned elsewhere in this blog, if you do a search for any of the uk registered companies at companies house, they are all listed as having only one employee. And when you decide to leave the company, you can be owed tens of thousands of dollars in commissions that you stand no chance of ever seeing. In my experience, no one who has left the company will be paid their outstanding commissions.
People may seem very friendly and even quite genuine at the training, but remember the people conducting the training have themselves spent years on the field, perfecting those very skills. And with the dollar as low as it is now, it's no longer so easy to find people who are willing to work for US$2000 a month, so they need to use all their charm and persuasive abilities to encourage people to accept the job. That includes suggesting to people that they will soon be earning substantial commissions.
For a lucky few, this is perhaps the case. But I would say that the majority of new employees will leave the company before earning any real commission at all. Especially now that they are delaying payments for so long. So if you're thinking of taking a job with AFA Press, then just don't expect too much from it. If like me you read this blog before the training, and having weighed things up still decide to give it a go, then at least you will have a very good idea of what to expect.
PG