Complaint Review: Keystone International

On 1-8-09 I answered an ad titled "Human Resource--Sales & Marketing Manager--Entry Level" posted in Careerbuilder.com. In my previous management jobs I always enjoyed the human resources aspect and am trying to break-in to the HR field to do it exclusively. On 1-9 "Jocelyn" called making an interview appointment for me for Monday 1-12 at 11:15AM. That Monday morning she called to confirm. So far so good.

Reviewing their website before my interview it states they have branch offices in Detroit, Indianapolis, and Columbus and "we intend to continue expanding into 3 new markets every year." On the "Careers" page it reads they are hiring " Business Client Managers" to work with existing AT&T accounts but nothing is mentioned about positions available in HR. It does say, however, I can contact their HR department any time with questions regarding employment opportunities. Since I was going there anyway I thought I'd ask about the HR position in the interview.

When I arrived there were two others waiting to be interviewed. Jocelyn told me I'd be interviewed by the "President," Jason. As I was waiting and the two ahead of me entered two more came in to be interviewed behind me. Interviews were taking about ten minutes but mine didn't last nearly that long.

In my interview President Jason told me the position I applied for was Business Client Manager, which entailed maintaining existing accounts with AT&T and this was the first of a possible three interviews. The second interview would be me shadowing an existing Client Manager for a day to assess my skills. Before I could ask about compensation for that "shadow day" he mentioned the company was growing so I asked how big the company was. President Jason told me they had offices in Detroit, Indianapolis and Columbus. I noticed it was just Jason and Jocelyn at this location so surely their HR department is located elswhere, at a headquarters, and asked if this was a branch office. President Jason told me "no, this is the headquarters."

Me: This is the headquarters?
PJ: Yes.
Me: Is there a dedicated HR department?
PJ: No.
Me: Thank you for your time.

My "interview" took less than five minutes and there were a total of three people in the waiting room as I left.

I did a search on Careerbuilder today 1-16 and found a total of five ads for Keystone International:
1) TRAIN IN SALES, MARKETING, HR, & CUSTOMER SERVICE
2) HUMAN RESOURCE AND SALES MANAGER--ENTRY LEVEL
3) HUMAN RESOURCE--SALES & MARKETING MANAGER--ENTRY LEVEL
4) ENTRY LEVEL CORPORATE TRAINER
5) ENTRY LEVEL--FULL TRAINING--MANAGEMENT POSITIONS
One ad states they haven't laid off a single employee since their inception in 2006 which, if it's just Jocelyn and President Jason, is probably true. This one ad also states they're opening three new offices on May 1, 2009. All but one insinuates a partnership with AT&T.

Hindsight being what it is there were a couple of things that should've thrown a big red flag at my face but I was excited about the possibility of going into HR, even if it was entry-level. I should've paid attention to the simplistic website which lacks contact information for their "satellite" offices in Detroit, Indianapolis and Columbus. I also should've made an inquiry call after I noted the lack of open HR positions on their "Careers" page. Finally, a search of the Ripoff Report would've resulted in a prior report regarding Keystone International: http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/0/370/RipOff0370065.htm

Lyle
Avon, Ohio
U.S.A.