I just want to take a minute to thank everyone who filed reports with this site.
My company filed chapter 11 recently and I was made unemployed. As a result, I posted some resumes on a few of the popular job hunting web sites.in response to one of my postings, I received an email from Bernard Haldane to fill out a job profile... It did not explain why, but I figured, "why not?" I'd seen their ads in the NY Times and assumed they were a reputable company since they appeared to have been around for a while.
Then in response to filling out their survey, I received a phone call from someone. I wasn't available to answer so they left a voicemail. I was a bit concerned when I saw they left an 800 number and extension... The original call was from an area code in the mid west and I am in NJ. I called the number and the person set me up to speak with their "Vice President" in the Manhattan office. I checked out their web site and wasn't sure really even the reason for their call. No one explained what they did or what they wanted with me, but I decided to go into Manhattan anyway to meet with them and have dinner with a friend.
When I got into the office, it was deserted. I was there 1/2 and hour early and waited in the lobby. During that time there wasn't a single other job hunter to be found. (where are all these people they are supposedly helping?) It was a nice, nice office though in midtown. I met with the "Vice President" (who's business card says "senior consultant") and the whole meeting was about telling me how my resume (that I'd just paid $200 to have written) is horrible and how I can expect to wait 11 months to find a decent job unless I pay them to help me. Besides the really depressing news about the 11 month job hunt, everything they told me I could have gotten for $17.95 in "What color is your Parachute".
They explained their services and all the stuff you've read in other people's reports, and then I asked, bottom line, how much do they charge, and they refused to tell me until I came for a follow up appointment which they suggested should be the next day. They also asked me all kinds of personal financial information that I found suspicious.
Afterwards, I have spoken with several friends who knew people who had given money to Bernard Haldane and been ripped off. I refused to schedule a follow up meeting with them until I had two more weeks of job hunting under my belt, and am I glad that I did! If I had not done that, I might have fallen victim to them as well. Thanks to everyone for sharing your stories. I scheduled a second meeting and am promptly going to cancel that. I'm particularly annoyed that they took my information off a job hunting site such as Monster.com and HotJobs. When I posted my resume, I assumed it would only be accessible to respectable employers. I plan to make my resumes private going forward. Be careful.
L
Fort Lee, New Jersey
U.S.A.
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