Bernard Haldane Associates
Not ripoff, but ethically challenged Haldane offers job search training and a questionable job database accompanied by no guarantees

First off, let me say I dont consider the Bernard Haldane Associates a rip-off, especially in the common definition of cheating people out of something and giving nothing in return. They are, however, ethically
challenged. And very pricey.

My visit with them was note-for-note EXACTY as described in many of the posts on this site. I went to my first appointment at Haldanes Tarrytown office. The location was a nice corporate campus area, and Haldane was located on the fifth floor of one of those buildings. I had an appointment with a vice president Brian Lenihan just as others have mentioned meeting with vice presidents in their posts. The office suite was a very plush one with nice appointments.

I had to fill out questionnaires, which I later came to realize were a method for them to determine how much I was worth so they could determine a price for their services (you will see the price for their services varies with the income capability of the applicant). After filling out the forms, I still had to wait about fifteen or so minutes (standard operating procedure as you will see if you read other posts here). At first the office suite gives you the impression Haldane commands the entire floor, but I noticed no signage mentioning them on the floor. There was a receptionist there that handled my arrival. She also answered phones, and I started noticing the calls were for a number of different firms. My antennae went up at that point and I realized that Haldane probably merely rents an office or two in this fancy suite. That would explain how they are able to afford the plush business rooms mentioned in other posts (this is a common thread here).

When Mr. Lenihan collected me, he went went into the standard spiel. Others have described it so thoroughly I wont repeat too much of it here. At first they act like they have to determine if they will accept you as a client. This is Psychology 101 to make you feel a rush of acceptance when they finally agree to take you on as a client (those of us out of work have been getting a steady stream of rejection some for more than a year, and this leaves us in a weakened state craving acceptance). The price for their services is usually not discussed until the next meeting (which all accepted clients must go through), giving them the opportunity to fully explore how much they should charge you based on income, etc. But before the meeting was finished, Mr. Lenihan mentioned my price would be $5,000.

And what are the services they offer? They offer no more than training on how to pursue a job, how to market yourself, how to clean up your resume, and how to take interviews (video training). They call themselves Business Coaches. Thats it.

They vaguely hint that they maintain a database of unadvertised job openings that 85% of job applicant dont even hear about. Part of their service is that they will let you access this database. They do nothing more. They dont help you find the job as a head-hunter or job placement service might (they even proudly state in their materials they are NOT an employment agency). Naturally they wont let you see the database until you sign up. My suspicion is that the database probably doesnt have a significant number of jobs that I couldnt find on my own.

I am in the Graphic Arts business, and only about 20 or 30 decent jobs open in the space of a week, and most of the on-line sites will get all of these. The other unadvertised jobs are probably not advertised to Haldane either. Haldane does vaguely hint that with their services they can place you within 3-4 weeks (but there are no guarantees of that, or even proof they can even do that). This gave me the initial impression that it may be worthwhile to pursue the issue further. They hinted that they would show me how to ask for a big signing bonus once hired in order to pay myself back for Haldanes price, which they want up-front.

Once I was accepted, I was set up for a second meeting to gather more details on me. They wanted my wife to attend as well (exactly according to the scripted meetings described in this site). We later determined that, since she was working and I wasnt, they would gain some extra liability insurance by having her sign on the dotted line as well. Plus they could use her as a pawn to double team me into agreeing to be accepted.

Before the second meeting was when things went sour. As I read the comments from other people on this site I began to realize this training wasnt for me. I decided to cancel the meeting a couple of days before hand. I called because I dont like to handle awkward news by letter or e-mail. The phone rang for quite a long time with no answer or voice mail (the receptionist must have gone on extended break). So I finally e-mailed my cancellation to Mr. Lenihan. Our meeting was for 8:00 A.M. On Friday. At 8:40 A.M. That day Mr. Lenihan called me to find out why I wasnt in his office. I told him I had e-mailed him a couple of days ago to cancel. He told me he doesnt read e-mails, as if I was supposed to know this or, frankly, even care how he does business. A true businessman lives and dies by e-mail these days. He said he preferred to work by phone. I told him I had called but got no answer after a long ringing period. He told me five other people cancelled with him (?!?) with no problem. He went on to say he did not believe me, and then abruptly hung up on me. He must be so used to people canceling on him he doesnt even try for a reason why. Take all of that how you choose.

The bottom line is Haldane offers job search training and a questionable job database accompanied by no guarantees you even get one interview let alone a job before you have to pay up front a very steep price in the $4,000 (minimum) to $20-30,000 (skys the limit) range. The choice is up to you. You can get resume writing for a couple hundred bucks, and books on interviewing and job searching for $29.95 (they all say the same thing). You may get interview training by video for a couple hundred dollars too. You can probably find out about any jobs that are on the market out there with some diligence (as explained in the $29.95 book), except for the few that get filled as the need arises, and are usually filled because the person hiring knows somebody. That was precisely how I got every job Ive ever had since I got out of the USAF in 1973.

Mike
Stamford, Connecticut
U.S.A.

Company: Bernard Haldane Associates
Country: USA
State: New York
City: Tarrytown
Address: 520 White Plains Rd. Suite 500

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