Thanks to this website, I avoided making a costly mistake.
While being a statistic on the ever-growing list of ex-IT professionals, I happened upon Haldane's website. I filled out some basic info, submitted a resume and didn't think too much about it.
Two days later, I was informed from their receptionist that I had been "selected" to meet with a Haldane counselor who could help me in my job search.
Effective sales-pitch (including the "next time we see you, we'd like you to bring your girlfriend so we can get a different perspective on your personal streingths and weaknesses") except for a couple of things.
First I asked why they had "selected" me? Answer: we get resumes "by the pound" and mine stuck out because of my wealth of experience for such a young age. ("How old ARE you... Really? You look so much younger." Blah, blah, blah.) OK, nice response, my ego is stroked and I'll continue suspending my disbelief.
Second, in response to the sales pitch promise— they could garentee, in writing, that they could place me in my desired position at my desired salary— I asked HOW can they do that? Was there an established client base that they referred to? Was this just classes that taught me to smile, be friendly, and bathe before I went into an interview? I was told that they would explain HOW in the next meeting, and that it would take about an hour and a half. I don't know about you guys, but if it takes someone an hour and a half to explain their business plan, then I don't want to have anything to do with that business.
Finally I asked how much was this going to cost me in terms of time and money. Did they take a cut of my initial salary? No was the answer. They charged me up-front, but I shouldn't worry about the fee (they were sure I could easily afford it).
I really wanted to believe these guys— who wouldn't in this job market? But I checked up on them with friends I knew who sapecialized in HR (one in finance related positions, one in broadcasting and one from my old company). No one had ever heard of these guys.
Just to be fair, I contacted my VP (Salesman) via voicemail and asked for three references that I could speak to personally. He responded via voicemail (and calling me by a first name not my own) and stated that he can't provide any contact info as they have signed confidentiality agreements with everyone and have to respect those. He DOES have written testimonials (again "by the pound, and by the way, BHA IS the oldest and largest outsourcing firm in the U.S." Yaddah Yadda Yaddah.) Now, if I had been helped by these guys in landing a plum position, I wouldn't hesitate to spread the word about BHA. If their clients are wary of giving references, then something stinks.
He called me back within thirty minutes (more hard selling to be had!). Unfortunately for him, I was reading these posts (Thanks, again!) and when I answered that second call, he asked for the same wrong name that he had left in his voicemail! I told him he had the wrong number. He called back within one minute (this time he took the time to read my resume), calling me by the correct name and asked if his message had answered my concerns. Needless to say I told him I decided not to take advantage of their services at this time.
Hope this tome helps some of you out there.
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