My experience with Haldane is eerily similar to those complaints repeated here, particularly with regard to the Indianapolis office, and their VP of Client Services, David Caswell. A snake oil salesman if there ever was one! I visited Haldane in early October after having my managerial position eliminated due to 9/11.in a somewhat specialized industry, but with diverse mgmt skills, I sought Haldane's help to market me outside of my previous industry. I met with Dave Caswell, who built my self-esteem up, claimed I was substantially underpaid, and that he could find numerous mid level mgmt jobs for me. He claimed that we "know people everywhere" and implied fairly directly that they were connected, and by paying for their services, I would magically have access to this inner sanctum of "unpublished, unadvertised jobs". Furthermore, he said he would check with a few companies to "test my marketability". At my second meeting, he said all 3 of the companies he bounced my resume and qualifications off of all were eager and interested in me, but he said he could not disclose them due to proprietary reasons. One company in particular he claimed he was close friends with the CEO and their position would be an excellent fit for me... Like a sucker, desperate, with 2 small kids, a stay at home wife, and little financial reserves, I borrowed money from my father to pay their standard $4860 fee. Caswell even met me offsite as a personal gesture, and even implied that my money was as good as refunded once I get a job, which implied to me a contingency fee. Literally a second before I signed the agreement, he said that "refund" would be gained from their ability to negotiate a substantial signing bonus with a company, and that is how I would get the funds back. Over the next few months, I went through their dog and pony show, from that joke of a seminar to various meetings with my career counselor. All of the meetings with my advisor were rushed, and seemed hurried.in my first meeting in fact, we started cutting up my resume, without her getting to know me, or even reading the massive homework I had to do. With no knowledge of my prior industry (aviation related), my advisor gave me vanilla answers to questions, with no regard for the intricacies of my industry. All of the job prospects I ended up receiving were from my own personal contacts and extensive time spent outside of their "program". Their resources are nothing more than the stuff I can find at the library or online. Lastly, I may have had only a dozen or so appointments with my advisor over about 5 months, due to cancellations stemming from my father's terminal cancer. Additionally, Caswell continues to dangle the carrot with this company over my head, claiming that they have restructured and the position will be filled soon... And that he believed I was, in his words, "eminently qualified" for it. This was manipulation and BS of the highest degree, as he implied that his connections with the CEO would guarantee me an interview. I have requested my withdrawal from the program several times. After talking with him on the phone and launching my request, he said he would return my call and did not. I left 6 messages over the next week and finally reached him in person on the 7th try. He said he talked with my advisor and she said that I was "not fully committed to achieving" my goals thru the Haldane program, and that I had several missed appointments (two, actually, both related to my family situation, but I had to proactively cancel others due to interviewing, which I did on my own). So, here we go. Pack your bags folks, I'm going on a guilt trip. Latest news is that this past Friday, Caswell said he insisted we have a personal meeting. I resisted, but finally acquiesed, knowing I would not be bullied into relenting to their cult. Caswell said he would have my advisor call me that day, PROMISED IT IN FACT, to set up a meeting on Monday. She never did! I am hoping that any and all Indianapolis folks who have used Haldane email me at [email protected] to talk. I am seeking a refund, will be filing a complaint with the IN Attorney General's office, and raising holy hell. Reading all these HUNDREDS of complaints just makes me sick to my stomach; I feel naive and exploited, and am angry at myself for being so damn stupid. Thanks for listening! JoeJoeIndianapolis (Danville), Indiana
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