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McKenzie Scott Extremely high cost little real service ripoff Pittsburgh Pennsylvania
I went to McKenzie Scott because I was unfamiliar with marketing myself after my downsizing experience. I was given a speech by Dennis Johnston about how my resume was only reaching about 10-15% of the job market. They could provide a service that would increase that to 80-85%. This is false information. My phone is not ringing and my e-mail box is filled. All they would need from me was a check and a signature. As I told Dennis I would need some time to consider their fee, he "suggested" very strongly that I provide them the check within a week, as the job market was becoming very volatile, due to the time of year. I was told that a mass mailing would be done for me and the companies massive contact data base would be at my disposal for open positions. In addition my own consultant would interview me, prepare a professional resume, cover letter, and marketing plan. Dennis assured me that after talking with his staff Mckenzie Scott could help as per his quote, "We wouldn't have taken on your case if we felt we couldn't help." A salary range was established and I was assured this would be a positive experience. Not only has the experience been less than positive; I received four (4) phone calls from the 600+ mass mailings sent out by Mckenzie Scott and no interview requests. That is less than a 1% return. I was told that all correspondence, from resumes to cover letters, would be done by Mckenzie Scott on my behalf. Their idea of writing a cover letter consists of three to four sentences as a template and I must complete the body of the letter. The resume and cover letter (I found out later from technical recruiters) would never have got my foot in the door it did not contain the information or the formatting that employers were looking for when searching for an IT professional. It was wordy and gave no factual information about my background. The wonderful data base was filled with dead links (I was asked to report them so that the dead links could be cleared up). Job searches done on titles that I was looking for listed companies all over the country, not just where I was located. The reply to this was that I had to research ALL companies because they may have a job opening with my title in my location, but I wouldn't know until I searched their company website. Taking them at their word, I spent long hours investigating companies and openings with little success. When I tired of the exhaustive searches I formulated my own method of research. It was only then that I became aware that nothing I was doing through McKenzie Scott would have worked for me and that I actually ended up paying a great deal of money to them to help them clean up their horrible data base. Their proprietary links on their private website set up just for me, can be found at upwards of a 70% capacity on Google or other reputable search engines. Their fees are outrageous. There is no justification for the fee they charge and the literature they create on my behalf. What they provide can be found by simply searching the internet. Though their contract clearly states there are no guarantees of employment, their charts and graphs are extremely misleading by showing constant upward trends in career searches that are succesful. Mckenzie Scott does not provide a respectable service, but they DO do it at a very high price. Tony Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
U.S.A.
2 Updates & Rebuttals
Thomas
Anderson,South Carolina,
U.S.A.
I remember a similar outfit in Cincinnati I visited, later c1992
#3Consumer Comment
Wed, November 15, 2006
The company division in Cincinnati where I worked had had four layoffs beginning late 1991, so I thought I had better start 'looking'. I think the name of the Cincinnati outfit was something like "Halston and Associates".
They were in an older office building downtown, and I saw only three people who all seemed to be "employees" or "associates" or whatever. Their offices (where you could conduct YOUR job search using their fantastic library of contacts) seemed too quiet and a bit threadbare to me. I do not remember the exact quoted fee except that, in light of how I perceived them, it seemed rather excessive - maybe it was $4200?
I passed on using them, and ultimately I transferred to another company division in mid 1993.
I think most advance-fee "employment assistance" firms are probably a ripoff. Once an advance-fee firm has your money, where is their incentive to perform? At least headhunters and employment firms only get paid when they deliver you to their client company.
Tony
Pittsburgh,Pennsylvania,
U.S.A.
URGENT!! UPDATE
#3Author of original report
Wed, November 15, 2006
I spoke with my consultant yesterday and was told that the only time the 100% satisfaction guarantee is valid is at the time the "materials" are presented to you in their offices. That means that you must request your refund before ever trying anything (the reason that you are there in the first place).
In addition I found the phone number in an old phone book
(412-765-1606). The same crew is still there but now they answer the phone as "ITS".