I like so many others have apparently fallen victim to a smooth talking, psychologically subversive sales pitch from the St. Louis offices of Bernard Haldane Associates (BHA). I should have suspected something was wrong when the VP that "interviewed" me suggested that only about 10% of the candidates "interviewed" are selected for their "program". Of course, I was one of those elite 10%.
So after hearing that BHA could help me re-market myself and help me to land a job in roughly 90 - 120 days, at a salary equal to or better than what I had made in my last position, and land a position that I would truly enjoy going to work for every day, I went home and did my homework assignment and returned in a few days with my wife to hear the deal-clincher speech.
We bought it! Boy what a mistake! I, like so many others was vulnerable, having been laid-off from a career in aerospace of more than 22 years. Having been out of the job search for so long I sincerely believed that BHA could help me remarket myself and help get on the inside track in the "hidden job market".
Sure, my advisor helped me write a new resume, sure she helped me mass e-mail my resume to head-hunters, sure I attended (1) all-day seminar, which was a rehash of the Eli-Jeddah cassette that I was given in my first advisement meeting. Sure I was spirited through the next 10 - 12 sessions, signing a verification of completion form at the end of Phase One. Was all this worth the price I paid up-front $4,500.in my opinion - NO!
It is clear that BHA uses sales tactics that are designed to be evasive of the services that they actually perform. They infer that they have inside connections into the "hidden job market" through their network of clients. But in truth the only thing that they provide to clients for their exorbitant fees are marketing strategies that will theoretically enable them (us) to compete for the 90% of the jobs that are unadvertised. Their stats - not mine. (There was never any proof provided that they had scientifically studied the job market and determined the 90% statistic to be accurate.)
I have learned the reality is that in a tight economy, when few companies if any are hiring, no amount of help from BHA in approaching the unadvertised job market will land you a job in 90-120 or even 360 days. Sure some skills are transferrable to other industries, but the competition is so keen in a tight economy, hiring companies can choose from the cream of the crop. Under these circumstances, no amount of help from BHA will land you that ideal job.
For my part, had I known about this scam before I forked over my credit card, I would have walked out and headed for the nearest bookstore, purchased a few good books on how to write resumes, cover letters, interviewing and negotiating skills, and successful job search techniques. I would have purchased a ream of good quality resume paper and envelopes and spent some time in the local library doing some research on preferred companies.
The latter approach would have saved me a ton of money and the embarrassment of knowing that I am one of apparently thousands that have been victimized by the BHA ripoff scam artisits.
William
St. Louis, Missouri
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