Complaint / Review
Bernard Haldane Associates / GCM Group of Columbus, Inc. dba Bernard Haldane Associates
Out for your money, don't waste your time, unless you want to have some fun with them

If you see an advertisement for Bernard Haldane Associates, believing it to be a recruiter, don't bother to respond. This company places advertisements in newspapers that paint Haldane as an employment agency. Rather, Haldane is a career development services company that charges outrageous fees to provide services and resources that the job seeker can do himself or herself, for little cost or even for free. Fitting with their entire scheme, you will not find out that they are not a recruiter until you actually meet with them. They tell you everything that you want to hear.in fact, they contact you rather quickly after you have initially sent them your information, often giving you hope, especially if you really need a job and believe that they will be able to help you. They tell you that you were carefully selected from a large group of applicants and establish a rapport with you. They ask you to bring your spouse to the second interview, passing this odd request off as something that fits with working on your career and personal development. (They hope that with your spouse present, you will be more apt to sign off on that contract at the end of the interview.) They tell you that you are a perfect candidate for their program and that you should be placed quickly. They give you an estimate that 90% of Haldane clients are placed within 3 months, and they tell you that clients are often reimbursed of all Haldane fees by their hiring companies. They also tell you that you must dedicate yourself to the program and work hard. Although you are paying them a great deal of money, they do not contact companies and get interviews for you. Great setup—they get you to do all the "dirty work" under the guise that you are learning life skills while you pay them a grand sum.in my case, I was asked to pay nearly $5000, all of it to be paid, under one of several payment schedules, within just two months. I have seen varying amount requests reported by others; please see other consumer complaintss and news articles for examples. I did not give Haldane a penny. I do wish that I had not bothered to respond to that ad in the paper, although I am glad to have this information—experienced first-hand—so that I may share it with you and perhaps help you to avoid being scammed. Job-seekerAkron, Ohio