After posting my resume online, I was approached by Sandy Knight on behalf of Michael Williams, Sr. VP of Omnology Inc. According to Ms. Knight, Mr. Williams saw my resume online and was impressed with my background thus he wished to schedule an interview. I assumed the interview was for a position with Omnology based on the way it was presented by Ms. Knight so I agreed to schedule a meeting with Mr. Williams. When I met with Michael Williams he stated Omnology was a local executive career counseling firm well positioned with local hiring managers. He boasted he recently assisted several clients in securing $100K careers that were not advertised to the public. He backed up his claim by stating they were members of the Better Business Bureau and they had a 98% success rate in placing their clients in new careers. After researching the company and being assured that they would not complete their contract until I was placed in a career, I paid the one-time fee for their services on 2/11. Afterwards, I was assigned to John W. Oliver III, my dedicated Career Coach. I met weekly with John to work on preparing me for my ideal career. After a few months it was apparent that Michael Williams oversold the capabilities of Omnology. Michael boasted of having a team of several HR professionals, having a patented and proven job search strategy when in reality Omnology was a 3 person shop with a focus on justifying their value by scheduling bi-weekly meetings often with no real plan or direction. Three months into the contract with Omnology I expressed my displeasure to both John W. Oliver III and Michael Williams with the lack of tangible progress toward positioning me to capitalize on new career prospects. I received promises from John that he would intensify search efforts on my behalf. As this weeks passed with little activity, these promises like many prior were not materialized. As my financial situation became dire, I intensified my personal search efforts and I eventually secured two jobs on my own in July without any real assistance from neither Michael Williams nor John Oliver of Omnology. After securing two jobs it became increasingly impossible to continue the required bi-weekly meetings. As months passed, in emails and in subsequent in face to face meetings with John Oliver and Michael Williams I suggested that due to my work schedule and my displeasure with the level of service provided Omnolgy, we come up with an amicable exit strategy. I proposed that we agree with a percentage of the total fee I paid be refunded since circumstances prevented me from continuing with meetings. John referred me to Michael who proceeded not to return my calls. When I finally met with Michael he refused to consider any settlement arrangements. He stated that they would provide career counseling until I secured the next job I desired. I strenuously objected and expressed my displeasure with their lack of commitment in advancing my career aspirations prior to me securing positions on my own. Michael responded to my objections by stating, “Under no circumstances are we refunding any money back to you.”Months went by and I heard nothing from neither Michael Williams nor John Oliver. I reached out one last time after I received a promotion on my job to ask if they would reconsider a settlement and they again refused. Due to both John Oliver and Michael William’s unwillingness to address my pertinent concerns I plan to pursue my concerns through legal means and by notifying other consumers of my experience via all means of media at my disposal.
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