Complaint Review: Bernard Haldane

I would like to thank everyone that has posted to this site for opening my eyes to the world of Bernard Haldane!!! Here is my story:

I recently moved to CA and am in the process of job hunting. Like many of you have surely done, I have searched the internet and posted my resume in many different places. One day I received a call from Bernard Haldane stating that they had received my resume from one of their consultants.

I had never heard of the company before, but was excited about the prospect of an interview. The secretary set up the interview for the next morning. Unfortunately, I did NOT research the company beforehand - actually, the secretary said the name so fast I didn't even hear it correctly.

The next day arrived and I made the trip to the office. I was impressed with the office - music playing, large and comfortable leather chairs - all in all it was very professional looking. My contact showed and I was escorted to his office.

Once in the office, the first thing I was told was that I needed to be as honest as possible. So, I proceeded to answer his questions regarding my job history and salary requirements. I was told that it was very strange that I would be willing to accept an amount of money that was below what I made at my last job. He didn't seem to understand that with the economy the way it is, a lower-paying job is preferrable to NO job! He also made me feel very small as if I wasn't aiming high enough for my career choices.

Finally, at this point, it was made clear that this wasn't a real job interview - it was an interview for a career management firm. This made me a little wary. My contact proceeded to state that they had helped numerous clients find jobs with very well-known companies, such as Pepsi Co. I was asked other questions, such as did my significant other support my job search. I didn't understand why they were concerned about my significant other. I would imagine any significant other would be supportive!

Somewhere in all of this, I was told that there would be a fee involved, but that would be discussed on the 2nd interview *if* there was one. He proceeded to mention that they were very selective of who they chose. When mentioning this to my significant other, she immediately compared him to a used car salesman. Looking back, she was exactly right!

When it was time to leave, I was told that my motivation seemed to be lacking and they weren't sure if I would be a good candidate for them to help. I wanted to mention that if I was lacking motivation, I wouldn't have come to the interview but stayed silent. I then had a personality test to fill out, along with another questionaire. As he walked me to their conference room so I could fill them out, he stated that I would need to call at a specific time the next morning because he had meetings all day and wouldn't be available. I decided that this was some type of test and figured I'd just play his little game.

I finished the forms and left. The next morning arrived and I called at the specified time. He mentioned that he had spoken with his staff about me and despite the fact it seemed I lacked motivation, they had agreed to take me on as a client. He wanted me to show up for a 2nd interview the next day and bring my significant other with me. I told him that wouldn't work as she can't just drop everything and leave. So, I said I'd get with her and call him back once I worked out a time. During this short call, I also asked whether a contract with them would *guarantee* a job. All he said was that they had a 98.6% success rate at placing people and they were working on the other 1.4%. So, he didn't actually say "Yes."

Later that day, I decided to research Bernard Haldane and found this site. This is also why I posted. If nobody else had posted, I could have been screwed! However, a lot of you had, and as a result, I never returned the call. This was a week ago and they haven't called back. That just shows how interested they really are.

So, thank you all - you may have saved me a lot of money that I don't have to pay an "up-front" fee.

Michael
West Covina, California
U.S.A.

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CLICK HERE, You must read this!! ..Financial Post Article LINK - Haldane not up to the job ..exposing this company for what it really is - a huge scam