Greetings,
Always get the value kit from upgraded humans. You never know when you might need the extra goodies and for 10 bucks it’s just not worth missing the good stuff 
One thing comes in mind. Some readers have anti spoof protection and try to identify if the tag has t5577 chip. If that’s the case then I suggest getting a t5577 card/tag, password protect it and try again.
As Amal suggested, you need some way to see where the antenna of the reader is so you present your tag to it in the proper orientation( usually perpendicular to the antenna coil).
edit:
just to make sure we’re not missing anything
if you scan your work badge with lf search it returns em410x and hf search returns nothing ?