A few days ago, I received an email from Octagon about their Event Trainee Role. I was elated because I have submitted so many applications for various roles with Octagon over the past 3 years, but I never got a response. However, my initial excitement rapidly diminished as I read the positions details:
-This position is limited term: November - December, working towards full time
Candidates must be post grad
-This role is located at Harlem Irving Plaza or Woodfield Mall - would you be able to travel here at your own expense?
-About 40 hrs./week
-Compensation is $11.00/hr. with overtime at time and a half - no benefits
-This is a great get your foot in the door opportunity. We will have longer trainee positions open in January. So, you'd be internal, getting priority consideration for other roles of interest to you
-You'll be a part of our trainee meetings and will have access to my team to work on your career development
Here are my questions:
Why is Octagon is trying to recruit a post-grad like me with over 3 years of experience working events for a full-time position with no benefits and a pay rate that is way below industry standard?
Why is being an "Event Trainees" a standalone job when every other agency provides independent contractors paid training on top of payment for working events?
Why are Event Trainees expected to work about 40 hours per week when every other agency gives independent contractors the freedom to work however many hours they want?
After taxes get taken out, an "Event Trainee" who makes only $11/hour will be left with nothing after working long hours as if they were a regular full-time employee.
but not officially. HOW IS THIS LEGAL?
It is extremely insulting of Octagon to try luring people into accepting a knockoff full-time employee position by saying, "This is a great get your foot in the door opportunity. We will have longer trainee positions open in January. So, you'd be internal, getting priority consideration for other roles of interest to you." Just because Octagon says they will give trainees priority over other candidates when hiring for other roles, there is no guarantee of growth in this company!
After reading several reviews from former Event Trainees on Glassdoor, it is apparent that Octagon has been getting away taking advantage of workers financially for quite some time now. This disturbing exploitation of labor needs to STOP! Paying fake full-time employees $11/hour is unacceptable. Octagon need to be exposed and shut down for using slave labor because what they are doing is criminal.
For Octagon to call themselves the "world's largest sports and entertainment agency," they can definitely afford to pay their workers more. According to Forbes, Octagon has made $114.4 million in commissions since September 2017. Where is all of that money going??? It is now obvious to me that Octagon pockets almost all of that money instead of paying people fair wages for their work.
Octagon.com Reviews
A few days ago, I received an email from Octagon about their Event Trainee Role. I was elated because I have submitted so many applications for various roles with Octagon over the past 3 years, but I never got a response. However, my initial excitement rapidly diminished as I read the positions details:
-This position is limited term: November - December, working towards full time
Candidates must be post grad
-This role is located at Harlem Irving Plaza or Woodfield Mall - would you be able to travel here at your own expense?
-About 40 hrs./week
-Compensation is $11.00/hr. with overtime at time and a half - no benefits
-This is a great get your foot in the door opportunity. We will have longer trainee positions open in January. So, you'd be internal, getting priority consideration for other roles of interest to you
-You'll be a part of our trainee meetings and will have access to my team to work on your career development
Here are my questions:
Why is Octagon is trying to recruit a post-grad like me with over 3 years of experience working events for a full-time position with no benefits and a pay rate that is way below industry standard?
Why is being an "Event Trainees" a standalone job when every other agency provides independent contractors paid training on top of payment for working events?
Why are Event Trainees expected to work about 40 hours per week when every other agency gives independent contractors the freedom to work however many hours they want?
After taxes get taken out, an "Event Trainee" who makes only $11/hour will be left with nothing after working long hours as if they were a regular full-time employee.
but not officially. HOW IS THIS LEGAL?
It is extremely insulting of Octagon to try luring people into accepting a knockoff full-time employee position by saying, "This is a great get your foot in the door opportunity. We will have longer trainee positions open in January. So, you'd be internal, getting priority consideration for other roles of interest to you." Just because Octagon says they will give trainees priority over other candidates when hiring for other roles, there is no guarantee of growth in this company!
After reading several reviews from former Event Trainees on Glassdoor, it is apparent that Octagon has been getting away taking advantage of workers financially for quite some time now. This disturbing exploitation of labor needs to STOP! Paying fake full-time employees $11/hour is unacceptable. Octagon need to be exposed and shut down for using slave labor because what they are doing is criminal.
For Octagon to call themselves the "world's largest sports and entertainment agency," they can definitely afford to pay their workers more. According to Forbes, Octagon has made $114.4 million in commissions since September 2017. Where is all of that money going??? It is now obvious to me that Octagon pockets almost all of that money instead of paying people fair wages for their work.