Ask a Manager post: former corporate MLM employee having trouble finding a job

[Popinki]

Question #3 on this post: https://www.askamanager.org/2023/10/comp...-more.html

TLDR version:  a person wrote in for advice because they spent 15 years in a senior technical role for an MLM, is now looking for a new job, and in spite of their professional accomplishments isn't getting any traction at all.  They had a sick relative and needed a stable job (a luxury NOT afforded to that MLM's worker ants.)

I thought it was interesting because the focus here is (rightly) on the "sales" force and the amoral showoffs at the top of the pyramid who exploit them.

Somehow I never really considered the fact that even MLM companies have to have IT, marketing, design, etc.  Yet I can easily see a hiring manager's side of things: MLM is rife with nepotism, egomania, and incompetence, not to mention the meaningless, grandiose titles.  Plus, it's reasonable to assume that 15 years with a company means at least a tacit approval of their business model even if one says otherwise.

Anyway, I just thought it was an interesting new wrinkle on the "life after MLM" discussion so I thought I'd throw it out there.

[Destiny Angel]

Every so often on the r/antiMLM sub-reddit, some-one asks advice about whether they should take a job in MLM corporate. Since they are generally youngish adults straight out of college, the consensus is yes but still keep looking and use the skills you acquire there to boost your resume for the future.
Staying 15 years? They should have a valuable portfolio of skills built up and hopefully a position that showcases their abilities.
The askee says that they are getting first interviews so it seems to me that their failure to get any further is either a lack of communication with the interviewer or a bad reference from their former company.