My experience with Allen and Associates occurred more than six years ago. I happened to search A&A on Google and found this site (yes, I'm still bitter). What I found were stories very similar to my own, except that A&A seems to have raised the fees!
Back in I was laid off from my PR position with an advertising agency. I was aggressively looking for employment, including through headhunters. A&A's ad was in the Help Wanted classified section, so I sent my resume. The next day, a very perky young lady called me, and just like other people who have reported on this Web site, she told me everything I wanted to hear. Normally, I wouldn't have fallen for it, but I was under a lot of stress from not having a job, and she knew it.
$700 later, I had a hackneyed, unprofessional resume (which I rewrote to the point of it being an entirely new resume), a list of contacts that were three years outdated (so much for the claim that the lists are updated quarterly; when I called to complain, another perky young woman sent me another list) and precious little else. When I followed up on the resumes A&A sent out, I discovered additional contacts that were out of business or moved. When I called to ask what happens when my resumes are returned in the mail undelivered, I was informed that they were sent out without a return address (now, that's professional!).
The first woman I spoke to lead me to believe that A&A would assist me in finding contacts, setting up appointments, referring me to companies with whom they placed clients in the past, but once I paid, I was told that I was on my own with the shoddy resume and outdated contact list.
I didn't press to have my money returned, as the contract I signed stated that only $150 of my $700 fee would be returned if I canceled.
I hope that anyone who is considering using this company finds this Web site first; I wish I had.
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