Taylor Grey Meyer is 31 years old, lives in California, and has a master's degree in Sports Management. She'd been trying to get her foot in the door with the pro-baseball team, the San Diego Padres, applying for everything, from the executive sales office to box office ticket sales, but kept getting rejected.
Then, one morning, she says she got an e-mail from the Padres. Meyer says a manager in the sales office wrote about an opportunity to get her career started. It sounded promising at first. But, really, it was a sales pitch for a seminar.
The email, said to be from the Padres, calls the event a "sales combine." It describes the event as "the most authentic training and networking experience available" and promises "quality time with hiring managers for multiple teams from different leagues."
But, here's the catch -- the events had a cost of $495 to get into. Meyer says getting hit-up for $500 from someone she sought work from was too much to take.
She hit reply and fired back an email of her own.
"After careful review I must decline. I realize I may be burning a bridge here, but in the spirit of reciprocity, I would like to extend you a counter-offer to suck my d**k."
In another part of the e-mail, she wrote: "maybe I'm not the best fit for your company, but here's a nice fit: my foot in you're a**."
A Chicago employment consultant, John Challenger, said the "sales combine" events seem inappropriate.
"I've not heard of companies trying to reach out to applicants and offering some sort of seminar or combine or program that they would have to pay. It seems like it's preying on people who are already down and out, having a hard time finding a job."
The job search may work out yet for Ms. Meyer, as someone at the Padres apparently forwarded her email to friends at other teams. Then, it got forwarded more, and Meyer has been contacted about some real interviews since -- ones she won't have to pay for.
The Padres have refused to comment about the matter.
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