I would just like to reiterate the stories others on this blog have told about Hiprofile.
I was recently contacted by Kim D from Hiprofile's Boston office. She said she got my resume from a recruiter and that my resume fit their profile for three job openings they currently had available. When asked who the recruiter was, she wouldn't tell me. She asked me a few questions which I evidently passed because she said a SVP would be in contact with me to do a detailed personality check. I knew something didn't seem right so I googled Hiprofile and found this site which confirmed my suspicions. So I figured I go with it in order to call them on it.
The next day Bill W, SVP, called me.instead of doing an in depth personality check, he asked me some softball questions and then started his sales/marketing spiel. He mentioned how he could improve my resume, improve my interviewing skills, how I should be earning more money, etc... I asked him about the three jobs he had available.
He was very vague about what or where they were. He mentioned that after this phone call, he was going to meet with his staff and discuss my credentials to see if they would accept me as a candidate. He said he would call me the next day to let me know if I had been accepted and to setup a third phone interview to discuss in more detail the process going forward.
He briefly mentioned a "candidate fee" to help separate the serious from non-serious job seekers. When asked how much (which I knew thanks to this site), he said I'll get more details on the next phone call. So basically, it has gone from I have a job for you to how I can market you so you can get a job. The bait and switch is on.
The third phone call happened a few days later. Bill W called right on time and the hard sell began. He emailed me a powerpoint presentation (if anybody wants it, let me know). He told me all the wonderful things he could do me. When asked if I had any questions, I said I wanted to know how much the candidate fee was.
Here's the deal: $3500 up front and $16,000 when I accept a job based on the amount on $145K they thought I could earn. The reason for the candidate fee has gone from "let's see how serious you are" to a marketing fee. There some other details in the contract (I have this electronically as well) that could reduce the price but that's the gist of it. I asked to references I could talk to. All Bill W would send me is emails from happy clients. Who wouldn't be happy if you hadn't worked for several months?
It goes without saying that I called Bill W the next day and told him I was not interested. I'm lucky I'm working so I don't need their help. With a lot of details in hand, I decided to write the blog.
Here are the issues I have with Hiprofile:
1) If they want to charge job seekers thousands to market themselves and job seekers are willing to pay it, that's fine. But they need to be upfront about it. They use deceptive and dishonest bait and switch tactics to get you to "buy in" to their scheme.
2) They claim the candidate fee is really paid for by the client company because they help you negotiate a higher salary. Therefore, they are doing a disservice to their client company.
3) They pray off desperate job seekers who are willing to pay anything to find a new job for whatever reason.
4) They claim most people get jobs through networking but I can't figure out how they actually network. They cold call for candidates and they probably cold call to get client companies.
5) If you find a job through another source, you don't get your upfront fee returned (mine was $3500) under the pretense that they helped you with your resume, interview skills, etc... That's debatable.
My advice is you shouldn't do business with people like this. Stay away. Use a reputable recruiter and/or careerbuilder/monster works as well.
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