Update 6: See latest legal actions.
It's been a while since I posted - things have been busy... The incident I describe below happened about a month ago...
So after playing a little email tag, Brian and I finally hooked up again on the phone to talk about the next steps. Again, I have to say how impressed I've been with their sales job - Brian came across as available and helpful, but not over eager or pushy (yet).
We talked more about how to market my skills (or should I say skilz?) and the timelines involved. Brian layed out a very aggressive and ambitious approach about how we could proceed. At the end of the call, he agreed to point me a copy of their work agreement that outlined the financial details of how work would proceed (HERE'S THE LINK AT THE TIME [ed: this link is broken, if someone sends me a new link i'll update it. in the meantime, this post has a scanned copy of the agreement]) Up to this point, there still had been no discussion as to price...
As I read through this agreement I was struck by three things. The first was something I expected - the entry price was 8K and stretched up to 25K. Realistically you would have to spend at least 12K. That's a lot of money to pay up-front, but if the stuff really works, it's obviously worth it. Of course they have all these statements about "guarantees" but if you read the details of the guarantees, they don't really provide that much protection for the client (see below).
The second thing that struck me was in a section innocuously titled: How Long We Will Serve You...and the Completeness of This Agreement It said: "This agreement, along with our service guide, set forth our entire agreement. It supersedes any prior written or verbal understandings with any party, including any verbal understandings with any employee or agent of the firm or with third parties." WTF, did I read that correctly? It basically says that regardless of what Brian has told me, this agreement and the service guide are all I can rely upon in terms of expectations of service and outcomes. In other words, Brian can promise me whatever, but McKenzie Scott doesn't have to do what he says they'll do. (Not being a lawyer, I have no idea if this is a legal way to get out of fraud, but it seems pretty sleazy & questionable to me... And of course that this language is buried in a section that talks about how long McKenzie will keep working on my behalf makes it seem like a bait-and-switch even more.
The third piece is in a section titled: Mutual Confidentiality Regarding
This AgreementÂ… and Your Search. It has this preamble: "A certain percentage of the firm as clients are senior executives who are sometimes concerned that we not divulge anything about this agreement or our work for them, that would lead to commentary in the print, broadcast or internet media." It then goes onto say: "For this reason, the firm and all clients mutually agree that this agreement shall be kept confidential, and comments of any kind regarding it, our services and our clients, shall not be initiated or released to the print, broadcast or internet media, either anonymously, through a third party, or on a direct basis." And then as a kicker, they describe the penalty for violating this restriction: "In the rare event
that a breach should lead to public commentary, both parties agree that because of the difficulty of assessing damages… that a penalty will be due which is equal to the base executive service charge in this agreement, as stated on page 6." That's 8.5K.
This also has the effect preventing people from posting complaints about the service provided. Nice. The part of this that seems so duplicitious (ingeniously so) is that they state this as though it's to help protect their famous client rather than to cover their asses. To belabor the point (although it's probably obvious to anyone with even an ounce of skepticism) if they wanted to protect their clients names and reputation, they could do it in a much more narrow way then this restriction.
Sooooooo.... having read through the agreement, i was ready to Brian's call the next day. I suppose I could have pointed out all the issues above to him, But i didn't really see the point. What i said was basically that
1. they seemed like a company that really understood the market and had the capability to help out a lot in a job search but,
2. a deal like this that was structured with all the payments up front creates too much inventive for a good sales job and not enough for follow through. (And this really is my fundamental objection whIch i repeated consistently through the rest of the call...)
Well, Brian was pretty prepared for this objection. He quickly responded that even though the payment was up-front, the "money back guarantee" meant that the money would be given back if they didn't deliver. To that i pointed him to the service agreement which outlines the various gaurantees. The money back gaurantee is only valid at a very early point in the process after they have created a bunch of marketing material for you (but before you've had a chance to use it to search for jobs or McKenzie Scott find openings for you.) The point I made was that I'm already admitting that i don't know what the best marketing material/resumes look like - that's why I'm interested in hiring someone. And without being able to test the market with them, I really couldn't make an informed decision.
The other guarantees really only say that if you are unsatisfied with your "campaign," they'll assign a new team and redo it. And while on paper this seems like something they'd want to avoid and hence provide some disincentive, it's not nearly the same as cold hard cash. Or to paraphrase Dennis Miller about the K-mart blue-light special - "Two of shit is shit. If they really want to fuck you they'll give you three of them." Or a joke my dad used to tell about a lottery where the first prize was a week of vacation in Philadelphia. Second prize - two weeks vacation in Philadelphia. (I didn't reference these jokes to Brian - i didn't think he'd laugh...)
This seemed to knock Brian a little off his game. He continued to repeat the mantra that the need to redo a campaign was a disincentive enough. When this didn't seem to make any headway, he switched to giving me a some inside information. Apparently, he told McKenzie Scott has been working on a new agreement that would provide exactly the kind of arrangement where they were paid only when the candidate was placed. But, he lamented, it's being held up by the legal department and he didn't know when it would be available.
The call lasted about 45 minutes. I told Brian that when they got the new agreement that provided a different payment structure, to please call me back as i'd be very interested. He told me he would.
That evening I recieved an email from Brian with a bunch of testimonials about what job's they found and how much McKenzie Scott helped them. Of course, the company names were ommitted as well as the last names of the people. All completely unverifiable.
That was the last i ever heard from Brian.
Draw you own conclusions - obviously you know what i think.
Update: see new posting
Update 2: see new posting with copy of the agreement you sign
Update 3: Guess ITS et al got tired of people finding out about them. So what to do? Send in the lawyers. Here's their salvo and my response.
Update 4: If you've been a customer of ITS/McKenzie Scott, see this post.
Update 5: See breaking news...
UPDATE 6 (3/31/2013):See latest legal actions.
396 comments:
«Oldest ‹Older 201 – 396 of 396Just curious - have many people on this blog actually gone through the process? I personally know of a collegue who used this and was very happy with the results.....he said that it was nto a magic button and he had to put in some work, but received much more exposure and activity than he ever did on his own.....which led to two offers...
I am signing up for this despite these comments but I will have specific questions as to what I can expect at my presentation....
I have only one thing to say about McKenzie Scott in its many guises. STAY AWAY FROM THEM whatever they are calling themselves these days.
DO NOT BELIEVE ONE WORD THEY SAY...you will get nothing but smoke and mirrors from them...not a hot lead to a high paying position.
I found out the hard way....cost me several thousand dollars for assistance from a "counselor" who was busy looking for a job for himself....and not working on my program with them....and they he disappeared one day in the first month of the program. I got half my money back because I had used AMX to pay and had some leverage on the charges due to Federal law regarding credit card charges and holder in due course obligations.
Let me repeat!! STAY AWAY FROM McKenzie Scott, ITS, Executive Search or whatever they are currently calling themselves today.
I received an email solicitation from them today under one of their aliases and it was only that I recognized the Denver address at the linked site for Executive Search that tipped me off. the 7979 Tufts Avenue address in Denver is the tip off. Due to legal restrictions in the partial refund settlement I can't risk identifying myself. They cover themselves there TOO!
BURNED by McKenzie Scott
Found this blog just in time that I was about to fall for the ITS sales pitch. Thanks to you all. I feel foolish for not being able to smell the rat myself. Thankfully decided to google and came across this blog. Now it all makes sense.. the smooth sales pitch.. the nebulous language of 'money back guarantee' etc etc..
Thanks again.
May 11, 2008
Thank you all for this blog. I almost considered putting out $9,400 for this service. My red flag was that they wanted $1,950 for an executive bio. I thought that was an unreasonable amount of money and started to google the company. I came across this blog. I have written my "consultant" a short good-bye e-mail.
Dear Dan et al:
I want to add my comments to those of the cast of thousands who preceded me. I am a 73 year old scientist-engineer-entrepreneur who has been on the winning side of sinance at times and on the losing side at times. At this point in my life, I am looking for an executive position in an "unknown-yet-to be-determined" industry from my package of transferable skills which will be skillfully meshed into a biographical narrative swamping my liabilities with its colorful prose. I fear this idea is total and complete fantasy, yet I am happy that I found this site before I closed the deal with ITS.
I do howver like the idea of having two or three resumes and an equal number of cover letters.
Does anyone know of a legitimate site filling this type of need?
JMS1034
Thanks Guys , i just got a call from a rep of ITS , and doing my reserch I found you , I have before dropped one of those applications of Chandler hill , and two months after i got a call from ITS , I'm tired of these people that the best they can do is share others income , so I replied to him with exactly what i think of his business. and that's when his real face showed , he sent a messge back with ethnic conotation.
These Guys are a big SCAM and when you face them that you know this they show the real charcters behind the shiney " only me can make you an executive" look. be carfull
Thank you thank you.
I was feeling very good after my phone call this week - thinking I was about to land a GREAT job in 90 days.
I am so glad I did a random google search and found your blog. You have helped so many people - you should be very proud of yourself.
I have left a couple of posts but they do not seem to be getting through.....I have asked how many people have actually gone through the service of ITS. I am considering signing up as I have a friend who was very happy with them but would like to get some more feedback as it is a large investment....thanks....
Thank you for this blog! I received a call from a Pam Jeffords, setting up a meeting with a Glenn Scott from ITS, and telling me that this was in response to my application to them via Sixfigurejobs. Only: I did not apply to any postings via Sixfigurejobs in the last 4 months... I googled Glenn Scott and found him on LinkedIN as Managing Director (or another highflying position) ITS Family of Companies, and googling that, I found this blog. Anyway, now I am armed for our call on Monday and will see where he will take it... I agree with the previous posters: reputable recruiters get their payment from the employers, not the job seekers. Best of luck to all of you!
I can not tell you how horrible this is. As if the world is in an economic downward spiral not enough, you have these blood thirsty, vultures that feed on the desperate and needy. I have only one wish. Someday, somehow, someway, this scumbag will be found and brought to justice. And as a believer in Christ, I claim the Victory!!!
I was contacted by ITS (excutivejobnetwork.com) on May 10 2008. They are on Manhattan
110E. 42nd Street, New York, NY 10017.
(866) 328-2685
(212) 751-5360
Asking $7500 for a resume and a resume blaster! I even came to the office to take a look.
The Vice President, William Barry is a very good salesperson, skillfully using all the sales tricks from the book: we are helping only to marketable customers, you have to use this window of opportunity, this is like a club, etc. I would have been taken by all this hadn't I been in sales myself for a while.
Somebody should add a metatag to this blog so it would pop up whenever some poor sole is searching for ITS or excutivejobnetwork.com!
Better pay $50 for Linkedin and Ladders!
Another lesson: a resume posted on Monster is only a target for scammers, I never any good leads from it.
I bought their service for $8,000 and believe me, it is not worth it. I found their materials to be very unprofessional, among other things, and had to make many corrections. Pay to have someone do your resume and post it on job boards, send to recruiters, etc. Join Linked-in, a networking site for professionals. And network with everyone you know. That's my advice.
I received an email and call from Michael Bowen, Senior Consultant
ITS
Phone: (816) 216.1127 with the same pitch everyone else on this blog has mentioned. I reviewed the information Bowen sent and since he was asking all types of personal information, I knew it was not a good thing. I have found that it seems these folks target "senior" job hunters. There may be a basis for a class action status if everyone scammed is over a certain age. I would love to hear about anyone who has ever gotten a real lasting job because of their efforts.
I too tried to research the company and found nothing. That was my first indication. Second indication was all the questions he asked before telling me anything about who and what he was. He also refused to talk money except saying there was a cost for their services.
As always, jobs are not easy to find for "experienced" people but don't give up the ship. Try free things like www.linkedin.com or www.plaxo.com. They are both excellent networking sites. Hook up with people you have crossed paths with & use that as a vehicle for your next position.
A well written resume always helps and I would agree with several other posters that spending money on a good one can be worth it. I never have but then again I can write a pretty good resume myself.
There is no real trick to finding a job. Cover letters do more than resumes. I have been told several times that I was picked out of 350 - 400 resumes mostly because of my cover letter. I research the company I want to hit, write a cover letter picking 2 or 3 things from their job description and do a short "this is want you need - this is what I do". Targeting companies that need what you do isn’t hard. Do Research. Take away the barriers to getting interviews.
HR folk’s job is to screen out not screen in. They have never made a hiring decision except for HR positions. The can only recommend, the final decision is always someone else.
Today there are 100's of resumes for each position. Since job boards generate 1000’s of hits on each posting, you have to be different. Make your cover letter stand out. It doesn't hurt to make sure your resume has a few grabbers. There are plenty of free sites that have script to use. Save your money any do a little work, target and only use recruiters as a very last resort. Resume service are no better. Don’t pay for a job, ever.
the creator of this blog never purchased the service. how would he know what the company can do for people?
I sent "BOB WEST" from ITS a link to this blog 5 minutes before our scheduled call today and explained he would need explain this to me. It is now 5 minutes past our scheduled call. I guess I am off the ITS Radar. :-(
Like the rest this was part of my due diligence. BBB has nothing. Beware, for anything that's too good to be true - it usually is. ITS is not upfront and will not quote fees into you are well into the process. The job search IS a full time job - don't cut corners, to find a job is just plain hard work! While the concept is a good one (central repositiory for serches) - the delivery on their part falls way short. And as others have commented - not a cheap service. Beware.
New name for the list.
Mike Thornton, Senior Consultant
ITS
phone: 303-846-2892
Legit job search firms get paid by the companies requesting their services. Get all you can for free (got my FedEx package and looking for more freebies) and then get out.
Prior Service Military members please check out Orion International and Lucas Group. These guys are legit, free, and are the direct link hired by the companies to set up job fairs and interviews.
Best Wishes!
I'm going to be unpopular on this blog and post a counter-point to what everyone else is saying. The real bottom line is: How many people or what percent of their clients have successfully found a job with ITS? We just don't know. This blog is filled with comments from people who haven't found a job with ITS. This also seems like a service that would naturally create disatisfied customers - a very risky business in my opinion.
This blog will naturally attract the disatisfied, and those who have found a job are not likely to post here.
There is a huge list of people who are supposedly thrilled with their service - you can read their comments at http://www.its-careers.com/images-c/pdf/its/ITS_Testimonials.pdf. Are these made up? Who knows, because we have no actual names.
So - what I'm going to do is ask for a list of references (names and numbers), and actually talk with some of these thrilled executives who have used the service. If they refuse, "there's yer sign" as Bill Engvall likes to say. If I do talk with happy customers, wouldn't that be quite interesting for everyone here to know, and wouldn't that provide counter anecdotal evidence that maybe these guys actually may be worth it?
I will post here again shortly with my results, assuming this blog moderator lets this comment in.
Unbelieveable....thank you. You get to a point where you are hoping there is a legitimate group out there, as we are probably all over achievers. I saw your blog following research - and found same roadblocks on true info on this company. I was going to "play" with them a bit on the phone and decided - I don't have time. Told them I have a job...that ended the conversation quickly. Sent a notice to career, but think they may have received from Monster. Hey?....why don't all of us network and help each other out??? I work in Risk Management.
Add "Dennis Johnston" to the list. Came very close to forking over almost $12.5k. Just remember: "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is."
You can add changingcareers.com to the new names of this ever changing scam.
I got the phone call from an ITS guy and then the email about taking the tour.
That's when I started to Google and came across this site.
Thanks for the info and the posts !!!
I will not give him the time of day to follow up.
--wHo, Happy in Dallas--
sch
I am so glad I found this site. I was approached by ITS and the "recruiter" made it sound like I was being considered for a job until I spoke with him. I even went to their sparse offices in NYC and saw the BBB plaque on the wall. Like most people I was dubious about dumping 5K (a special they were having) on something that had no verifiable evidence that it worked. In addition to being tenacious and flooding me with e-mails, I was put through a random "test" of interview questions to show how I would flunk answering ques. on an interview.
I left the offices with the agreement in hand refusing to inital or sign anything. They even proposed that I apply for financing when I am about to lose my job.
I would have been more receptive if a portion was paid up fron and a portion before signing a final agreement with an employer. After all, ITS promises they will assist you every step of the way. As for the BBB listing, kudos for the concept of "reinventing yourself of the marketplace".
I got contacted by two of these entities. Anytime I get a call when it sounds too slick or professional, I get concerned. I asked both parties to send me an email with information and was able to track them both to these same companies.
There used to be a company called Haldane (I can't remember the name they used before that) where I went in and listened to their sales pitch and I never forgot it.
Both of the new calls I got sounded exactly like the original Haldane pitch. Back when I was much younger, Haldan seemed like the perfect solution, but once they mentioned a fee, I was out of there.
I believe the statistics are something like 80% of all jobs today are through referrals by people you know and by networking.
Keep your money - spend time meeting lots of new people and going to networking groups and contacting recruiters and joining real sites like www.linkedin.com where you can ask people you know to introduce you to hiring managers.
Has anyone filed a complaint with the BBB of Denver? I noticed several "resolved" complaints and wondered how they were resolved. I just submitted a complaint and will try to get my money back. Would never have signed up were it not for their BBB accreditation. They made specific promises that they are unable to deliver on.
Thanks to all who are smart enough to at least Google ITS before geeting scammed. I am so very tired of everyone wanting a "piece" of me in a vunerable time of job searching in a difficult economy. I will say, they do have some good ideas that I will take into consideration and have excellent materials to lure you in, but paying 8-12K upfront is bull. Just use any "free" information you can gleem from them. In other words, use them beforer they use you! Sales Ladders is a good site.
My friend was almost taken by this scam. He had the sales pitch and after much thought, decided that $6,500 wasn't really all that much money considering ITS's promises. He sat thru the coaching session, where some dipshit guided him through the website for 4 hours, telling him to click here and click there.
Then came the presentation materials. ITS seemed to pressure him into approving the documents ASAP to get him "on the market". The emailed the documents the night before the final "interview". I fully expected there to be exaggerations of his skills, but what we saw was truly astounding. Quickly reviewing the first resume, I found 9 grammatical and spelling errors...Do they have monkeys writing these things? And ITS wanted this to be posted first thing in the morning.
It was at this time I googled and found this website. We were almost taken for a ride. Immediately, he called to cancel their services. After more hard selling, ITS finally agreed to refund his money. Boy...that was close!!! Thanks for this blog.
I was minutes away from faxing in the agreement with ITS. Although I did some initial research and even looked them up the BBB site (to which they had a satisfactory rating), something still gnawed at me.
I am so glad I came across this blog and had dug deeper (I had Googled the VP/snake oil salesman's name as it appeared both on his business card and a different name on my caller id, which led me down a different trail(which ultimately led me to this blog).
I also realized that this was McKenzie Scott revamped (they tried to sell me years ago and some of the free materials were nearly the same as what I had received from ITS-- supposedly ITS "bought out" McKenzie Scott).
Thank goodness I came across this blog just as I was about to sign the dotted line. Sure, the sales pitch is a hard sell and while the "spidey sense" goes up with that kind of sell, we want to believe that someone call help us with the search and coach us through it, but preying on people's vulnerabilities and insecurities is the sleaziest form of business there is. Yet, there is some value you can gleam through their "complimentary" services and meetings -- use what you learn to your advantage and learn the skills you need to market yourself effectively and interview effectively.
careertransition.com, changingcareers.com -- multiple URLs for the same company that is not even under the corporate moniker -- that is red flag enough.
THANKS A TON for this blog and all the comments!!! I was contacted by AJ Adenardo, senior consultant from ITS with an email id at changingcareers.com. I have already wasted hours listening to their sales pitch and watching their sales related videos. Later on I received a service charge sheet with $6500 tag ... that's some investment. Luckily I found this blog while googling them. Another job seeker saved from this scam.
I just wanted to say thanks for your posts and for saving me the embarassment and expense. I have already sent the kiss my grits email to ITS.
ITS.....who are they? Do your research before you commit to such as scam. Thanks for the great insight from all of you.
I got an email from Bryce Decker a few days ago. I completed the profile and lo and behold, a Mike Bowen called me. The sales pitch was superb. After my two meetings he sent me the contract for 7500, but wait, there is more...because my credentials are so marketable, they will drop the price to 6500 and include the first 500 mailings free. Spoke to my wife - she is the smart one in the family. She said sounds too much like and infomercial and anything remotely smelling of infomercials are bad news. So I google ITS Personal Marketing Service and camr to this blog. THANKS EVERYONE - YOU JUST SAVED ME 6500!! Got to go take my wife out to dinner - smart lady -she is.
SJI in MI
Marion Byers is another "agent" of ITS. There was no Ackerbee Recruiting web site when I googled it (see email msg below).
Email Msg:
A recruiter in your area reviewed your resume and passed it on to our department. While we don't have any job matches at this time, new positions are posted on a regular basis.
If you are looking for executive or professional jobs in the Customer Service field or any other industry, with compensation between $70,000 and $250,000+, we refer our candidates to this site:
Start your search here
Please make sure to enter an updated resume, especially if there have been any recent changes.
Regards,
Marion Byers
Recruiting Manager
Ackerbee Recruiting
Thomas Kelsay (303) 683-8171 Littleton, CO 80120
Wow! What great info. I too got a call today. I'm being sent a "FedEx package". I think I'll put it right in the trash. I'll tell my "consultant" to piss off.
You all have saved me thousands. THANK YOU!
Rodney Lamb is the guy that called me.
I signed up in January and (long story short) NOTHING happened!
I recently asked for a refund (allowing them to keep $500 for the time spent writing the resume) and they refused and told me "We know if you take us to arbitration, we will win" and prpceeded to offer me 10%. Which means they would keep $6K for little more than writing a resume and giving me access to a database.
If anyone can offer any legal advice on how I can get some money back or at least make a "big deal" of it so no one else gets scammed, please let me know!
Thanks for the blog post! Wish I had seen this in January.
I was about to sign after my second meeting the ITS rep, (Pete)today, thanks to your comments I'm saving my money.
Thanks...Thanks...Thanks.
You all have saved me so much cash. I too was approached by ITS and a friend told me to check them out to make sure they were legitimate. He said it might be just a husband and wife sitting in their kitchen at home. I happened onto this website and what a blessing. My consultant's name is Leon and we have gone through the first two interviews.
During our second interview, I asked how much this would cost and he just ignored the question and went on with his presentation. I figured it would be steep but not as steep as what I have read. My next interview is scheduled for Thursday, June 19. I will send Leon an e-mail and tell him that I am not interested.
Again, thanks to you all and we just have to realize that there is no short cut to finding that job we are looking for. Keep your faith and may God bless you. This is just something we have to go through.
I am a firm believer in the fact that Dorothy never got home without Toto pulling the curtain away from the wizard! 30 seconds into the presentation I googled ITS personal marketing and bingo! This smelled like Bernard Haldane instantly. At least 10 years ago I went through the same drill, and all of a sudden find myself hearing the same line of garbage from a different company. In fact, the resume used in the presentation is formatted like a Haldane resume. Wow. Same look, same verbage, same tactics, same BS. Keep your money, hire a professional writer, and hit the bricks... or call me direct when you go to tossing your money out the window. Haldane never delivered, and from the looks of this blog, neither does ITS.
In spite of the company's efforts to suppress all information, you CAN find things about them on the web. Basically it is all negative, except for material posted by the company itself.
The man behind the company is Bob Gerberg, Sr. (called "Senior" within the company). The man in charge of day to day operations is his son, Bob Gerberg, Jr. (called "Junior.")
Senior's full name is apparently Robert Jameson Gerberg. He used that name when writing a book.
Other companies that Senior has been associated with are Princeton Masters International and Robert Jameson Associates. Both have cloudy histories involving sharp sales tactics and delivering far less than promised or implied.
A report called "Hall of Shame Inductee -- McKenzie Scott Partners, Englewood, Co" can be found at
http://cache.zoominfo.com/CachedPage/?archive_id=0&page_id=428749345&page_url=%2f%2fwww.netslaves.com%2farticles%2fpg-article.asp%3fid%3d200304100856295796&page_last_updated=4%2f24%2f2003+12%3a32%3a07+AM&firstName=Robert&lastName=Gerberg
Some other negative reports are at http://mckenzie-scott.pissedconsumer.com/
If this company was actually helping people, there would be at least a FEW people speaking of positive experiences on their behalf, instead of EMPLOYEES.
THANK YOU FOR THIS BLOG! This company is slick. It reminds me of that phantom company in the movie Boiler Room. It's just amazing that this doesn't get on the news.
There is another company out there that mirrors ITS's service promise, MGA Careers. They are big on promises and very poor on customer service/follow through. If you are approached by the company, think twice as it will save you money and time.
I was approached by ITS this week and am extremely happy I read these posted comments. Thank you all.
I am a Monster job seeker and have been getting repeated emails from the aforementioned scammers "Delaney, Byczinski and Potamkin." I have reported these guys to Monster and suggest others do the same.
The email headers may contain such addresses/domains as:
careeradvnet.net
giskard.careeradvnet.net
dbpexecusearch.com
cwilliams@dbpexecusearch.com
and the contact person is listed as either "Charles Williams" and "Charls Williams."
ITS is still going strong. I'm supposed to have my finalization call tomorrow - but I was very put off by the cost they finally quoted ($7500) and felt I should do some research on the company before taking the plunge.
And now they have this slick financing package too.
Thanks to all for posting your experiences - you've saved me a bomb!!
Hello All,
I have one concern when it comes to these guys. I say these guys because I have been contacted via email by several of thier companies. Some familiar names are Charles Willians and Bryce Lynch. My concern is I only get these emails after applying for a job through Monster. I have had a resume posted for quite some time and never was contacted but the minute I apply for a job listed with them, through their online application, I get two or three of these solicitations a week. I am not outright accusing Monster of wrong doing but it seems a little suspicious to me. I wounder if our good friends at Monster aren't selling the application information?
Be careful everyone and just remember, if something seems too good to be true.......it must be ITS
Thought I would just "bump" this up to make sure it stays out there and can be found before another person is scammed.
Thank you for this blog. I am skeptical at being contacted, so I always google any recruiter. The first one that contacted me was from Rotator.net but they are legit - great company! - but I checked them out first. There are legit ones out there, but they are as rare as hens' teeth.
Here was my oh-so-familiar pitch... received 7/2/08 - I'm only 2 weeks into looking...
brycedecker@managementrecruiting.com
to me
Are you still in the market for either a professional or executive job? Your resume indicates that we may have openings at Executive Search Online that are appropriate to consider. However, if you are interested, we need some added information.
Executive Search Online enjoys a growing reputation in executive circles as the fastest growing e-cruiting service. Our clients include a mixture of small and large firms, growth companies, and Fortune 1,000 corporations. We deal only in professional and executive openings.
To register with us, as well as to review current situations at your income level and in your geographic area, please do the following:
Click on http://www.professionalopenings.com
The "Register Now" button will take you to the profile information that we need.
Regards,
Bryce Decker
Sr. Vice President
So now watch out for
Management Recruiting
Executive Search Online
Professional Openings
professionalopenings.com
managementrecruiting.com
Best to you all in your search. Network with friends and family and let them know you are looking. And try not to settle.
There's a string of new stores in our area - anchored by one of the 2 largest chains - but they pay minimum wage (or 50 cents above it). I'm sure they will find workers because all the higher positions have gone overseas. Yet, they still expect us to "consume" as we always have...?! With what income??
Buy US, stay our of large chain stores as much as possible, and be a savvy consumer.
Best to you all in your search!
"B"
Hello Everyone!
This guy at ITS (or whatever you may know it as) really takes the cake for all-time scumbags!
You have to follow this link:
http://www.nvcontractorsboard.com/News_Releases/2006/060511%20Five%20Additions%20to%20N.%20Nevada%20Top%2010.pdf
His name is Ted Heims and he contacted me from the Reno, Nevada area.
theims@changingcareersonline.com
Phone (775) 342-5788
I am a pretty forgiving person. I understand we all make mistakes, but, my problem with this guy is that he has never been an 'executive' or in the 'executive' market. How in the hell is he going to find me an 'executive' level job - and more importantly - how could he possibly know what that takes?
This guy, before he became a 'Senior Consultant' with ITS, owned a small contracting business for 10 years. And I don't think he is very old in the first place; probably mid 40's. What has this guy ever done that can help me? What are his 'tranferable' skills? He banged nails for ten years.
Nothing against contractors I hope you all understand.
If this system really was that great, everyone would be using it and you and I would have heard about it by now.
I really did some research and I could not find one legitimate person that I could sit down with that said they used this system and it worked. That person is nowhere to be found.
Unfortunately for Mr. Heims, well, I was able to find him.
Stay away from him. Hope this helps someone. I know you all have helped me.
So far I have not heard/read anybody who got his/her money back. The most was a 10% refund.
It does NOT discourage me to fight this organization. I am not criticizing or judging them, simple I just want them to deliver on their contractual obligation, which they did not do.
I am working with the Credit Card company, BBB and FTC, and looking for other organizations who can put the pressure on them.
I would be interested about other ideas, or successes (either ITS did a good job or returned the money or at least a sizable chuck of it).
I promise to share my progress or failure of it time to time.
Glad I found this. They have been in touch with me. They are probably the same people just using different names. Latest name, Skip Hebden.
Anybody been in touch with 60 minutes yet?
Thank goodness for this blog!!! I was almost a client of ITS. Their website of executive searches.com, zoomjobs.com all lead to ITS. Not a good feeling that they can't get the domain of their company name.
Also, their "testimonials" can't be verified. The company names and contacts are blocked out. Overall, ITS does not give me a comfortable feeling. Just moments ago I faxed the contact back as "VOID". Thanks to all who posted and shed the light.
Thank you, thank you, thank you. As with many of you I was vulnerable and soooo close to signing but thanks to my supportive and technically adept husband he searched and found all the info re ITS. I just e-mailed them my decision to not pursue and got a phone call and an e-mail asking thatI at least take advantage of the "free" next steps. Free but a "refundable" deposit...yeah, right.Say goodbye ITS.
PS Anyone know anything about TMI Exec Recruiters?
Thanks very much for your help, saved me a pantload. My consultant Leon "LJ" Tauscher was a very soft sell and exhibited exemplary follow up and professional communications. I did however glean some information from these folks:
1. The job market is much larger than I thought.
2. My resume needs more work.
3. My skills are useful and transferable.
4. I need to look outside of my past experiences for new opportunities.
I sent an email to remove myself from future communication, I will post any response...
Thank you to all posts. I read the first few blogs and called my sales consultant "angela" from ITS to cancel my payment.
The Better Business Bureau rates it as a "B" company because of the low number of complaints versus the number of customers. From this blog...I would say that more people should post their complaints to the BBB under all ITS alias to change their rating. Don't get me wrong...I DO NOT CONDONE their business practices which are slimy to say the least. But, while this Blog swayed me, I too first looked at the BBB under ITS and JMAC before any follow up conversations. Step up everyone and let's "head the off" at the BBB.
Here is a cut/paste from the BBB concerning McKenzie Scott....
BBB Rating
Based on BBB files, this business has a BBB Rating of B.
Click here for an explanation of BBB Ratings
When considering complaint information, please take into account the company's size and volume of transactions, and understand that the nature of complaints and a firm's responses to them are often more important than the number of complaints.
The BBB processed a total of 28 complaints about this company in the last 36 months, our standard reporting period. Of the total of 28 complaints closed in 36 months, 3 were closed in the last year.
The receptionist, Stephanie, from Americas Job Network called me from my contact info on Monster yesterday. She stated that they're hiring for an internal Graphic Designer position and she's setting up 15 minute meetings with Bob Gerber the CEO. When I asked for more information- she told me the company size was 300 employees, and she referred me to the website itspersonalmarketing.com . ALARM RINGING Now, how strange is it that a company of 300 people asks their receptionist to make appts. AND manage the phones simultaneously (she put me on hold a few times). Also, what CEO of a 300 person company has time for a 15 minute meet & greet with some shmoe off Monster?
Needless to say, I scheduled my 15 min. for today and decided to research the company before going in- low and behold the wealth of information I've discovered. I'm tempted to keep my appt. and arrive with this whole blog printed in hand, but instead I'll focus my energy on finding a real opportunity elsewhere.
Thanks for posting everyone, and to you reading this- I hope it helps.
Same old song new dance location:
http://executiveopenings.net
thank god for technology. thank god for bloggers. I almost fell for this shit.
My wife was being pushed hard by these guys to sign up but I was skeptical. Everything was just as described in these posts - deceptive introductory e-mail, spectacularly smooth presentations with lots of soft promises about what they would do but no hard facts. It reminded me of a few other scams I had encountered so I went online searching for info on the firm and found this blog. Anyway - I owe you a big thank you for this blog and for not letting them scare you off. My wife really needed to see something like this in print to get past the sales job. You saved me a big conflict with my wife over this - and probably $5,500 as well.
There's a word for people who prey on people when they are vulnerable - it is "Evil."
Well, when I got their email I punched "managementrecruiting.com" into Google and and found your blog. Thank you thank you. Just as I suspected. My attitude is "Advance fee: NO." Except maybe for theLadders, which is a membership job board, I think I paid $130 membership, and although they do sell some resume services, to date they are way cool and they have real jobs.
I'm am very glad I found this blog! I just got off the phone with an ITS Managing Partner and what a great pitch. It just sounds too good to be true and after reading this blog it obviously is. I was pressed to make a decision on the spot but stood my ground on doing some due diligence and I'm glad I did. They wanted $8K for my search. I have a scheduled follow up call tomorrow and now I'm armed with some good information. I guess I'll just enjoy the free book they are overnighting me. Again, thanks for the blog it saved my $8K that I'll need for my family during my joy hunt.
So here's the deal:
I received the e-mail from them 1 day after being laid off from a very good mid management job ($100K + per yr)through MONSTER or 1 of the other sites I started looking through. I came into that gig through hard work over 5 yrs with this company. I did not have the education or background previously. Needless to say my family had become accustomed to living at that level and I sought out resourses to get back to that income level. They responded immediately but never responded to my response. 3 months later I was cleaning out my e-mail (still not gainfully employed) and came across LANCE CASSINO's initial response. I followed up and proceeded to go through the initial 30 minute call and the subsequent 2 and a half hour "interview". Fortunate for me, or so I came to believe, I was "Extremely marketable" and was eligable for the same $1K discount many of you spoke of. I have been looking for work in a very difficult mortgage/MBS market for 3 months, I was grasping at straws with this company and I cannot thank you ALL enough for helping my uncover what I had suspected from the get-go, these guys may or may not be a scam, but the cost is definately not worth the service.
I would love to hear a positive response, there don't seem to be any here or anywhere I have looked.
It amazes me how gullable I have been, I am usually the one to sniff these out of a croud.
I will be declining the service via e-mail today......THANK YOU ALL
Wish I had come across this site earlier. I signed an agreement with them 7-31-08 and rescinded it on 8-13-08 due to finding a job on my own.
No service was provided by ITS, changingcareersonline.com, managementrecruiting.com or whatever they want to call themselves. Unfortunately for me, I gave them my credit card number (since it was easy to get started). As of 8-28-08, I have not had my VISA credited nor do I get return phone calls or emails. In fact, I still get the Bryce Decker emails.
Buyer be ware. There is a better way to find a new job / career without the use of this company!
They are also using this web site to get the info out:
changingcareersonline.com
John Emmerson was the latest one from ITS to call me....
To Aug. 28th post who wants money back - file a complaint with the Denver BBB or threaten to.
I've just been talking with people at ITS, but found your blog before we got to payment stage. I appreciate hearing these comments, but when I try to follow up on some of the supporting links, I don't get the information the blogger says I'll get. For example, when I go to indeed.com, I don't find any negative comments about any of the so-called ITS "family" of companies. Bewareits.org, ere.com and marstonmills.com are all mentioned in various posts, but not of these sites are active. When I visit ripoffreport.com, there are lots of comments, but the people at ripoffreport seem to indicate that the company has resolved all the issues people had with their company.
I think it's usually a rip-off when companies ask for money up front, and I have postponed future phone conversations with ITS, but I would really like to hear some more-recent feedback (last post I saw was May, 08).
Just got an email from "Delany, Byczinski & Potamkin". Thankfully I found this blog. Sorry to all those who have lost money. Is there anything that can be done about this type of scam?
Got my money back!!!
It took me several months but got all of my money back.
What did I do?
Informed the CC company that ITS did not delivery the service I paid for.
Logged a complain with BBB.
ITS refuted my complain both to BBB and CC company, sent supporting material etc.
Fortunately even their supporting material showed that they did not deliver the service, of course they were talking about their performance guaranty. But there were no proof at all they can mitigate the non deliverable, especially the lost time.
I pointed out the above issues, and the bank who issued the CC forwarded it to the CC company (like Visa or MC). At the same time I started to file complains to BBB once in a week. There are about 10 different ways/reasons to complain. BBB got tired of my or they have a "minor" collusion with ITS, since they sent back my complains that they do not understand....
At the same time I logged a complain with FTC.
The bottom line I called the bank and was told that all charges have been reversed.
(My next step would be to complain the the state attorney general, who is handling CC disputes if the bank does not refund money).
Good luck and do not give up.
BTW: this kind of dispute really hurts the merchant, since after a certain number of dispute the bank/CC is raising the commission on the transaction. This is the extra benefit for stress and headache they caused me.
Finally the saga is over. I got all of my money back.
Hit them from every directions.
Add:
Mark Fightmaster, Senior Consultant
ITS
phones listed as (877) 298-5021 or (303) 357-3954, but called me from (303) 846-2800
Went to the site, registered, got a phone call from Mark Fightmaster, who sounded knowledgable and professional. What he had to say about "transferable skills", having a personal marketing plan, and the "unpublished job market" sounded promising.
I viewed the on-line presentation, which was slick. At one point, the visual image was of a book by "Bob Gerberg" (cf. http://www.robertgerberg.com/). ITS claimed to have superior technology for finding unpublished jobs and to provide superior service in constructing resumes plus "seven letters" apparently appropriate for all occasions. The presentation suggested that a chronologically arranged resume is not good. I noticed that they eventually mentioned fees and money-back guarantees, so I decided to check these guys out.
Googling for "its" and "jmac" (Job Market Access Center) is useless--too many matches. "Mark Fightmaster", who told me he was in Denver, may or may not be the stock analyst (http://www.linkedin.com/ppl/webprofile?action=vmi&id=667520&authToken=SE-X&authType=name&trk=ppro_viewmore&lnk=vw_pprofile and http://pipl.com/directory/people/Mark/Fightmaster), but the name along with "changingcareersonline.com" got no matches.
I did, however, find these matches:
http://randomconvergence.blogspot.com/2006/03/rest-of-mckenzie-scott-saga.html
http://www.complaints.com/2007/november/26/ITS__McKenzie_Scott_ripoff_155235.htm
http://www.complaintsboard.com/complaints/its-scott-mckenzie-c36460.html
http://www.complaints.com/2007/april/30/complaint_against_ITS_Corporation_in_Denver_144213.htm
http://www.complaints.com/2007/november/26/ITS_Class_Action_Lawsuit_155221.htm
To summarize the many names and URLs of ITS:
America's Job Network (usajobmarket.com)
Amerijob Network
CAN Inc
Career Advancement Partners (careeradvancementpartners.com)
Career Advisory Network
Career Transition (careertransition.com)
Changing Careers (changingcareers.com)
Delaney, Byczinski and Potamkin (AKA DBP Executive Search)
Executive Mailing Service
Executive Search Online
ITS
ITS Corporation (its.justgoodbusiness.biz, itspersonalmarketing.com)
ITS Family of Companies
ITS Personal Marketing (itspersonalmarketing.com)
ITS Technologies (wehireengineers.com, itstechnologies.com)
Job Market Access
managementjobs.com
Management Recruiting (managementrecruiting.com)
marketopenings.com
McKenzie Scott (mckenziescott.com)
Princeton-Masters
Professional Career Advancement Partners
professionalopenings.com
resumeadvance.net
Robert Jameson Association (AKA Robert Jameson Gerberg, AKA Robert Gerbergwork AKA "Bob", chairman at ITS)
salesopenings.com
USAJobmarket
An ITS press release at http://www.send2press.com/newswire/2008-06-0611-006.shtml ties Robert Gerberg to ITS Personal Marketing Services and represents them as employment experts.
Other guys to watch out for:
execcareerhunt.com
execcareersearch.com
Bernard Haldane & Associates
J L Kirk & Associates
RMC International
Hamilton Clark International
Renaissance Group International
jobsinnonprofit.com
Please help. My husband is considering CTP Enterprises in Atlanta. Sounds very similar, but there is very little info when I google it or the owner, Trent Perry. Fee is $4,800, with half due up front. Does anyone have experience with this company?
The reason that it looks like all the complaints have been resolved is that you have to tell the BBB that your complaint is resolved and have them post it on their website as a condition of your refund. I got half back, by the way, which is better than nothing. I don't have time to file a complaint every week.
I actually found this *after* I sent an e-mail, replete with swear words and libellous comments, to their so-called SVP. If I hear nothing back.... confirmation of what I accused them of! I am tired of getting this crap just because I posted my resume. Those of you who have even considered it: I know you are feeling low, but NEVER give anyone money to help you find a job! I am at the C-level, and this is not the way to go. I would not pay someone sixty bucks, let alone 6K.
I got three variants in three days-and they all smelled like the sh*t they were. Because I am feeling particularly annoyed, I may spend my time to create some issues for these lovely folks, who, from this blog and its excerpts, cannot seem to spell nor punctuate anything correctly, and assume everyone is a fool.
Keep your heads up, buy a resume book if you need it, spend the money joining an appropriate org. (which you should be doing before you lose a job, so you have contacts), rub some dirt in it, and drive on. 6K will float your basics while you look for work, instead of paying for some sleazeball's pros and his high roller days in Vegas--on your dime!
---snip---
Click on http://www.professionalopenings.com
The "Register Now" button will take you to the profile information that we need.
Regards,
Bryce Decker
Sr. Vice President
--snip--
Here is another one, for chekc clearing:
Hello [myname]
ICI Inc. would like to offer you the following part-time jobs!
Founded in 2005, ICI Inc. is an Internet money servicing company providing quick payment solutions to thousands of people and organizations. Our huge experience in electronic money transfers along with the use of new Internet technologies allows us to collaborate with hundreds of banks and financial institutions and provide our customers with top-notch services and new exciting opportunities they can benefit from.
Anticipating a high demand for its services ICI Inc. has recently started its extensive expansion into European and US money servicing markets. With a great number of people and companies displaying strong interest towards our payment solutions, we decided to establish a number of job openings before setting up ICI Inc. office in USA. Therefore, we are currently looking for responsible individuals who can fill in the open positions and will maintain ICI’s high quality standards. These jobs are perfectly suitable for those who can devote part of their free time to make extra money. Please read below for details.
ICI Inc. Job Openings:
1. Payment Processing Agent:
Employment Requirements:
- US Citizenship;
- A PC user (MS Office, MS Windows), Internet and e-mail basic skills;
- Good communication skills;
- Aged over 21;
- Honest, active and operative;
- No criminal record
Employment Terms:
- Part-time (up to 10 hours per week);
- Permanent contract;
- Competitive salary ($32,000 - $44,000 per year);
Job Description:
- Receiving payments from ICI, Inc. customers to your bank account;
- Withdrawing the funds and transferring them to our clients;
2. Supply Department Agent:
Employment Requirements:
- US Citizenship;
- A PC user (MS Office, MS Windows), Internet and e-mail basic skills;
- Aged over 25;
- Honest, active and operative;
- No criminal record
Employment Terms:
- Part-time (up to 12 hours per week);
- Permanent contract;
- Competitive salary ($36,000 - $48,000 per year);
Job Description:
- Receiving payments from ICI, Inc.;
- Purchasing equipment, further customer support;
Please submit you inquiries and your resume to icicom.employment@gmail.com if you are interested in any of the offered openings. Make sure you specify the opening you are interested in the subject field of your email. Our managers will give you a prompt and competent reply. We are looking forward to work with you!
Your email was given by 3rd party website careerbuilder.com on our request, as you or someone else subscribed to a job opportunities newsletter.
Thank You,
ICI, Inc.
HR Department
icicom.employment@gmail.com
and here is another MLM this week:
Hello [my name]
We offer growth and opportunities:
Life Path Unlimited is a rapidly expanding International Personal
Development company which offers an outstanding environment for our
candidates who value building trusted adviser relationships with their
clients. Our company is absolutely exploding with growth in this multi
billion dollar industry . Our world class products, solutions, our
lucrative compensation, development are recognized as best in class with
opportunities for advancement abounding. We offer a streamlined
opportunity that uses the power of the internet matched with our
unparalleled business systems to bring you this opportunity.
www.lifepathjobs.net
Senior Advisor Position:
You will experience guidance, mentoring and coaching from some of the top
leaders in the world in their field. You will be given all the tools,
resources and support you need to be successful. This opportunity will
allow you
to leverage your time to live the lifestyle you deserve while earning
upper CEO level income. You will have the opportunity to coach and mentor
other! s to success using personal development techniques based on the
teachings from The Secret and the Law of Attraction.
Responsibilities:
· You expect to make well over a six figure income
· Must possess a strong communication and have leadership skills
· You enjoy helping people reach their full potential
· You enjoy coaching and mentoring others and are a team player
· Outgoing, self-starter with a long-term focus on making an impact
within our rapidly growing company.
Our Benefits:
Our compensation is unmatched in our industry with generous bonuses and
benefits from training, development and advancement opportunities.
* Long Term Growth
* Exit Strategy
* World Class Leadership and Training
* Flex Time Off
* Weekends Off
* Lucrative Bonus Plan
* Unlimited Personal Development
The first step in the process is for you to determine if this opportunity
is right for you. The level of training, support and automation is
unparalleled. You can take pride in the world class life changing
products that we offer. Once you have completed your review, feel free to
contact me to request further information and discuss your interest.
Assuming you remain interested, we can determine if there is a place for
you on our team at that time.
Timing is important in our industry especially in the selection process. I
will be fielding calls from candidates this week and will be happy to set
up a meeting to sit and discuss the position available You can visit
www.lifepathjobs.net to review the opportunity now.
To Your Success,
Life Path Unlimited Team
Life Path Unlimited is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer.
Applicants are considered for all positions without regard to race, color,
religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, sexual orientation,
ancestry, marital or veteran statusstatu
As a post-script: I got a bounce-back on my e-mail to "Chuck Williams"--Mailbox Full. Will try again my cease and desist letter tomorrow.
Sorry to repost, but this is important...
Please help. My husband is considering CTP Enterprises in Atlanta. Sounds very similar, but there is very little info when I google it or the owner, Trent Perry. Fee is $4,800, with half due up front. Does anyone have experience with this company?
To post looking for info on CTP: I haven't heard of it, but I would run anyway. It may be the same kind of setup, albeit cheaper. The thing is, the services these companies promise are BS. They talk a good line, but are generally unable to deliver. For example, they promise to provide access to unpublished jobs. They also promise to bypass HR and get you to the decision makers. All this is BS. Stick with resume services only (the Ladders has one) and headhunters.
An FBI investigation has been opened today on these guys in San Francisco. Anyone with experience or info on this scam should call the On-Duty Officer at the FBI - 415-553-7400 and ask for your comments to be added to the McKenzie Scott investigation.
Thank you so much for the info. I received a call tonite from an ITS representative, saying I was just what they were looking for as Marketing Director for the ITS company. I'm a professional freelance copywriter with 17 years in marketing and advertising. The job, as she described, wasn't a marketing position, but I agreed to receive their email and check out their web site. I also googled and found nothing at first. It was only after really following links that I found this site and a few others linking McKenzie/Scott and ITS. The rep is supposed to be calling me back on Friday as follow-up. After reading this, I'd be willing to bet she'll try to sell the services rather than trying to hire. It'll be interesting. Thanks again.
After posting my resume on Careerbuilder.com these guys got my contact info too. Jack Skerlj is the guy who is calling and emailing me lately. I backed out of the sign-up process for a "secret passcode" that would get me access to all of these great services. I knew by all the information they were requesting and their lack of detail around what jobs they could actually place you at that it was BS.
Thanks to all who took the time to post info on these scams. You saved me a lot of time. Here is the
email I got from DBP...it looks a lot like the one from Executive Search Online.
Delany, Byczinski & Potamkin
West Loop Center, 10 Riverside Plaza, Suite 1800 Chicago, IL 60606
Phone: 312-474-6018 FAX: 877-222-8019
Are you still in the market?
We felt your resume indicated that we may have immediate openings at DBP that could be right for you. However, if you are interested, we need some added information.
Delaney enjoys a growing reputation as a fast growing recruiting service. Our clients include small and large employers, growth companies, and Fortune 1,000 corporations. We deal only in professional and executive openings and there are no fees.
To register with us, as well as to review current situations at your income level and in your geographic area, please do the following.
Click on http://www.dbpexecusearch.com
The "register now" button will take you to the profile information that we need.
Regards,
Charles Williams
Senior Vice President
Delany, Byczinski & Potamkin
just saved me 5500$ guys, thanks a million
Thanks a lot for this blog. It certainly helped saving my time and any false hope that I would have started believing in and most importantly money transaction in these tough economic times!!
I was contacted by Paul Baker and as most of the comments posted here suggest, he approached to me as a recruiter and started asking about my background and other preferences for the kind of job I was interested in. I tried to ascertain which recruiting company he belonged to, and he mentioned that he has all kind of clients in various industry, and would let me know later about it. He immediately brought the discussion to schedule another call where he could speak to me for 20-30 minutes to "understand" what I was looking for. I will be honest that I am struggling to get a job in a little senior level and unlike the interviews I have faced so far (IT technical interviews, I mean), I imagined that may be at senior managerial level things work differently and perhaps that could be the reason for a detailed understanding what Paul wanted to have before he starts finding suitable positions. However, I was little doubtful as why someone would be so interested for providing me so much of help for "FREE"! Nevertheless I scheduled a call for next day.
Paul called me next day and he started with a lot of emphasis on having a strategy and plan for job search with a time line. Agreed, most of those made sense but then he insisted that I must watch a video and he will be "working" with me for next 4-6 weeks. He scheduled another call next day and wanted me to complete the marketability profile immediately. Also, he wanted me to watch a video on how ITS works by midnight as after that access to watch the video would not be available to me. All these sounded to me a bit suspicious. And that is the point when I started searching for other users who had any such experience with ITS. And thanks to the entire group here who have posted their experiences here which helped me to get complete information about this scam.
I informed Paul through a mail that I have been to this blog and I would not like to go any further and even my call scheduled for today would be a wastage of time for both of us.
He neither called nor has replied to my mail yet. Seems like mentioning the name of this blog frightens them and they know for sure that one possible prey is lost. Thanks again for your efforts which has saved many including me.
Wow-
I am very happy I found this--not to be redundant but I never found anything when I googled ITS--rather strange, don't you think.
The website is well done and convincing but the guy I talked with on the phone was far from being intelligent. He said for me to review the video and he would call me back on Mon--I am Eastern time he is central--He messed up the time to call me back--I didn't realize this since we were wrapping up our call. But after our call I was telling my wife and realized he got the time time wrong. I know this sounds petty but with such a FINE organization and so professional they should not make that mistake, don't you think? Wondering when he is going to call me Mon--probably 4 hrs too late... No matter, there were other issues that I found suspect about the site. The video showed a person on Park Ave NYC---I live in Manhattan and I am curious why they would use such a prominent address--Gee why do you think, to make you think they are legit? I am sure this resume is not a real person, I think they even showed his address??? Come on!!! If this is a real person, I am sure given his credential, I think it was being a CEO and Director in the past his resume would have looked far better and more professional.
These are just my thoughts and comments--tough time out there but keep your heads-up--
Best wishes-
I recieved this email today....
Dear *********,
Are you still in the market for either a professional or executive job? Your resume indicates that we may have openings at Executive Search Online that are appropriate to consider. However, if you are interested, we need some added information.
Executive Search Online enjoys a growing reputation in executive circles as the fastest growing ecruiting service. Our clients include a mixture of small and large firms, growth companies, and Fortune 1,000 corporations. We deal only in professional and executive openings.
To register with us, as well as to review current situations at your income level and in your geographic area, please do the following:
Click on http://www.managementrecruiting.com/site.data/3.
The "register now" button will take you to the profile information that we need.
Regards,
Bryce Decker
Senior Vice President
There are a few things that just have SCAM all over it.
1. "we need some added information"
For what purpose?
2. "ecruiting service"
Most of the so called Ecruiting Services I've been contacted by are outright scams
3. "review current situations at your income level and in your geographic area"
If they bothered to read my resume they would know my geographic area and maybe provide some companies in this email as examples.
4. "The "register now" button will take you to the profile information that we need"
Is it me or do they seem to REALLY NEED information???
Now we come to some inconsistancies and things you need to ask...
1. Why would this so called Bryce Decker if that is the persons real name and if he really is a senior VP send me an email and not have an actual recruiter do it? He must be pretty bored being a VP....
2. Management Recruiting.com is a subsidiary of Executive Search Online.com and if you go to both links you will notice the same exact pages. They are dressed up differently but both have same purpose of getting information.
http://www.managementrecruiting.com/site.pages/profile-profileOnLanding.html
http://www.executivesearchonline.com/
I'm going to stop here because this list can go on and on. Luckily I have never been taken by any of these companies thanks to diligent research and blogs such as this. I generally don't post but after reading some posts of people being taken by these companies I plan to become more vocal and agressive against them.
One parting word of advice if it seems to good to be true, it probably is....especially on the internet.
Yes someone should start a class action law suit, there will be hundreds who will join. There claims to be an FBI Investigation, but when you call the FBI has no idea what you are talking about.
ITS lives in fear of anyone reporting anything to the BBB, so play to their pain and report them.
The turnover at that company is huge so you will get ex employees involved too. Someone's got to know an attorney who would like to make some money.
So I'm hearing what not to do, does anyone know any reputable folks to work with? What got me hooked on ITS is the pitch about the unpublished job market, which my skills fall into.
One problem I have is what I can offer a company doesn't fall neatly into the pre-established job postings, and I don't know how to get my credentials infront of the right folks that could benefit from what I can deliver... that is what I liked about the pitch I got from ITS. Does anyone have any other avenue other than blindly applying for jobs on theLadder or sixfigure.com?
Thanks.
Hi All job seekers.
The same as everyone else I am going through or have gone through the paces, although not signed up I will take the call, good research. Portions of the website have been helpful, also. I will not sign up with them... THANK YOU.
Worthy of note is a simmiilar experience with another company out of Warwick Rhode Island - The barret group and CarreerChange.com. Same pitch and pricing, found only a little on them - one ex-employee who was blasting them. If anyone has info on them also, please let it fly.
Cheers
Thanks for everyones comments on the blog. I have been talking with Rick Clark, Managing Director ITS for several days. Unlike many of the others here, I was not approached with some type of job offer. They seem to have gotten my resume from Monster and inquired if I was still in the market.
I spoke with a Senior Coordinator who then set-up the interview with Rick Clark. In between I have completed their online survey. Our conversation lasted for 2 hours and was very low key and supportive. His comments were that my resume need work (true) and that I had a variety of transferrable skills.
Like others here he overnighted a package and had me view the website. I was pretty clear that they were charging a fee for their services, which is legitimate. Whether their services are worth the cost is another question. Like others before the cost is $6500, which was in the ballpark of the estimate.
I had asked Mr. Clark about his background, and he indicated he had been with ITS for 6 years and before that he had his own local company doing much the same thing. It all sounded very professional and reasonable.
Having not had to look for a job in a number of years, the idea of having help and support is attractive. I hire professionals to do my taxes or if I need a lawyer, so why not with the hiring process?
However with reading all the comments, I have to conclude the benefits are not worth the cost. I'd like to think I would get enough out of it to make the job search easier, but I don't think so. But they may have refined their approach or it may be that Rick Clark is just better at this than most of the others at ITS.
Good luck to those still trying to get their money back. I have noticed fewer post in the last couple of months, so perhaps they are finding fewer gullible people.
B
Just got a call from Ron Norton a Senior Consultant at ITS.
Would never hand over a penny without some due diligence, so very happy I found this site.
Note Ron's phone number is (480) 429 1118 - when it pops up on caller ID you'll know to ignore.
Thank you for sites like this. Valuable and empowering.
To add my experience and a latter date to this thread. It is now October 2008 and the same thing is still going on. I think the 60 Minutes suggestion is a good one. I'm writing them next. My contact was Randy Doremus.
I have been dealing with a Berry Stein out of Denver CO. (ITS) and they hit me with the Fed-X delivery, the whole sales pitch, got to admit they are good. I was sending my check today but my wife had an emergency and had to leave town so I agreed to send the check tomarrow when she returned. I have been having the a little doubt tonight so my search has lead me here THANK GOD for you people and saving my $. I cant wait till this Berry guy calls me tomarrow I know he will.
I got an email from this DBP Execusearch today, but thought to Google them first. I am so glad that I did! Thanks guys!
Delany, Byczinski & Potamkin
West Loop Center, 10 Riverside Plaza, Suite 1800
Chicago, IL 60606
Phone: 312-474-6018 FAX: 877-222-8019
Are you still in the market?
We felt your resume indicated that we may have immediate openings at DBP that could be right for you. However, if you are interested, we need some added information.
Delaney enjoys a growing reputation as a fast growing recruiting service. Our clients include small and large employers, growth companies, and Fortune 1,000 corporations. We deal only in professional and executive openings and there are no fees.
To register with us, as well as to review current situations at your income level and in your geographic area, please do the following.
Click on http://www.dbpexecusearch.com
The "register now" button will take you to the profile information that we need.
Regards,
Charles Williams
Senior Vice President
Delany, Byczinski & Potamkin
I thank you all for the info here. I almost signed up with ITS but I decided to due a quick check on them. The contact I had was a lovely gentleman, Greg Childs. However I sent him the letter below which includes some of the odd things I found out about ITS. If some one can use this or update this info. Please post back.
Dear Greg,
You have been delightful. However, after some additional research I don't believe this is the avenue for me. A couple of issues: The ITS web site tells me nothing about the people that work there, no last names, no bio's, no contact info. I looked for a phone number and/or address for the office in Chicago with no luck. I have a good friend with Korn Ferry and she nor her peers have heard of ITS. You offered no references for me to speak with at a major company - ITS claim confidentiality of clients ( I have clients that are happy to be me references and I deal in a highly confidential business.) Finally, I found several blogs and sites that had a lot of negative information about ITS and it's many affiliates.
Regards,
Michele
Thanks for all your info! My hubby and I were nearly taken in. The folks who contacted us were called several different things, with several different websites, domain names, etc.: "executive search.com" AND/OR "ITS" AND/OR "changingcareersonline.com".
We dealt with Richard Chrysler and Lydia McCarther (claiming to be a managing partner, not sure I've spelled her name right) in Denver, CO at the following phone numbers: 877-298-5021 x3924 and/or
303-846-2800 or 2822.
ITS is still going strong. I had been contacted by them and went through the 3 conference calls, videos and tours of their web site resources.
The base offer to me was $6500 w/ 3 extra services that would have brought it over $9000. When I balked, all was offered for $6500, but only because they claimed to have an immediate opening.
I'll agree with a previous writer that sitting through the presentations are worthwhile. I got a good look at sample "skills" resumes that are superior to chronological ones; especially so, if you have concerns about your age impacting your marketability.
It also gave me new ideas as to recruiting sources such as trade pubs and the like that often have their own career pages.
So, while I decided not to move forward with this one, there were some valuable lessons to be shared.
By the way, I had done some "scam" research first. Had not seen this blog listed on Google (wish I had). What interested me was discovering that RIPOFF REPORT, which had several scam notices dating back a few years had retracted all of them, claiming to have done a full audit of all claimants, catching up with them to find that all retracted their claims. Some recanted that they had been unfair in their charges, others said that ITS came through and found them jobs.
So, is RIP-OFF REPORT a scam itself? Have they been paid off by ITS; or, is ITS a company that helps some, but not all, earning itself a segment of disgruntled customers who might label it a scam?
I bring this up because I worked in recruiting for a good many years and can tell you that if you don't present yourself well, any number of good job leads will not help you.
Finally, what really bothered me with ITS was their willingness to help you for a set time period of 6 months, changing out your "team" after 3 months if things aren't working..
Yesterday, I checked out Morgan Scott Palmer, actually visited their offices, and had an hour consultation. Two registered clients came in for their appointments while I was sitting there. I struck up a conversation and the woman stated she had been placed 18 months ago, and had been down-sized out when the economy went south in September. As per her 3 year contract with MSP, they had put together a new team and marketing plan to get her a new position. She said she has had some interviews and is very satisfied with their service. The rep I talked to said I can go through and contact any number of positive references.
Are there some scam reports out there re MSP? Yes. But again, are those labeling it a scam to be trusted and believed? Deceit can work both ways.
Great blog. Thanks for doing it.
Thanks for this blog. I was contacted by Isaac Khan and thought that this was too good to be true. I provided all of the info he required and my credit card information however, just felt something wasn't right. I found this blog and thought I was going to have a heart attack. I canceled my credit card and saved myself $12K of my hard earn money.
This is a FABULOUS site...whoever started it, you are to be commended for saving people a lot of money and heartache. Like everyone else, I was hit by these bastards after posting on Monster. They are smooth...and vile.
Names to add to your list of scum and villainy:
Bill Gauhs, Senior Consultant
ITS
phone: (518) 899-7309
Cindy Nelson
Executive Sports Placement
Toll Free: (888)884-0495
Direct: (760)469-2119
Thanks for the posts. I almost sent my info to delany byczinski & potamkin.
Add this name to the list: Thomas Kelsay. Below is an email from him:
Robin,
Per your request I'm sending you 3 email message that address the Review Board's proposal.
Please refer to the attachment for this one entitled PROCESS.
Regards,
Tom Kelsay
ITS - A Division of America's Job Network
Now notice the signature line for Tom above....then it switched over in later emails here to the one below. Perhaps, he doesn't know where he works? LOL - JK
Tom Kelsay, Managing Director
ITS
More interesting - his email address is:
tkelsay@changingcareersonline.com
Anyone hear of changingcareersonline? Also, I the fee agreement papaerwork he sent me and never signed or acknowledged - but it says to pay JMAC. Anyone know if that is yet again another company?
Hope this helps someone.
Amazing! These scam artists are still at it. Thank you for keeping this BLOG alive. I almost got caught in this web a year ago that would have cost me $15K. I had a contract and was ready to sign. I asked them to provide me one reference in my industry with a brand named company. Get this ... they couldn't provide me one reference! Now I'm getting emails from this character Bryce Decker pitching the same "stuff" I saw a year ago. Please keep this BLOG going so no one else becomes a victim!
This BLOG is fantastic. I was sold with the salesmen who was talking with me. I was ready to sign up. My rep told me that he would save me $1,000 if I sign up in the next couple of days. A supposed deal at $5500.
Thank you so much for this blog. It was a money saver.
Jimmy
CLASS ACTION LAW SUIT AGAINST ITS MCKENZIE SCOTT. IF YOU FEEL YOU HAVE BEEN WRONGED BY ANY OF MCKENZIE SCOTT´S COMPANIES...
Please contact us at:
jeff@harringtonlawassociates.com
Add Bret Hoyt -- bhoyt@changingcareersonline.com
Thanks! My google of ITS raised many red flags and prompted a call to my daughter who has a MA in IT. She used her talents to examine ITS et al and was overwhelmed by many arrows pointing to "be very careful". Then she found your blog. You are definitely providing a service...keep it up!
Hello: I felt that today's discussion of your career situation was productive and I look forward to our next meeting on Wednesday, November 26 at 3:00pm. Before that please visit our website below with Deborah and review the 6-minute video on JMAC and the short video of our Worldwide HQ. The JMAC video will introduce you to our technology and allow us to move more quickly at our next meeting. The Worldwide HQ video will help you understand our "process" and the people involved in your campaign. I look forward to our conversation.
Regards, Christine Hondrellis, Senior ConsultantITSHere's one more to add to the list
ITS almost conned me....thank God I found this site before hand.....here is a copy of their contract.....$6,500 basic fee!!!!!
Our service charges
The ITS service charge (exclusive of any options below that may be selected)........................................ $6,500
Options that may be added
1—An interview resume (if selected, this is done under our money back guarantee).......................................$750
This 2–3 page resume can benefit all professionals. We supply the three resumes mentioned earlier for generating
initial activity. When an interview progresses well, it can be helpful to supply a longer document… one which reveals
more about you. Having a highly persuasive “interview resume” can save a lot of time and help close an offer.
2—Distributions—local marketing package (for added speed and convenience)..........................................$1,250
n 500 placements with key decision makers at employer prospects (electronically). n Up to 500 appropriate
recruiters, locally or regionally… and up to 3,000 nationally if you decide to be a candidate for national situations
(electronically). n Up to 100 personal contacts / alumni (electronically).
3—Distributions—To up to 2,000 key employers in areas of choice (electronic)................................................$750
Greater market exposure helps anyone. People benefit from as broad a distribution as they can afford.
These guys are unbelievable.....or perhaps to be more accurate....believable!!! Very slick, very polished. Got my hopes up a bit before I found this thread. I just scheduled my first meeting with them. I've not spent a dime, so I am going to milk them for all the free information I can get....and then call the BBB and Tom Martino.
BUYER BEWARE!!!!
Got another name for your list, Art Schill. Cindy Lester (who has been mentioned in previous posts) also has contacted me by phone & email. I did make the mistake of watching the video, but caught on pretty quickly to the "too good to be true" aspect. Thanks so much for all of these postings, it kept me from doubting my instincts.
I have to admit they are very smooth with the package arriving next day, the drop of $1000 due to a slow time of year, even thowing in some extra mailings with options 2 and 3 of the contract for free. Verbal references of their great work will take a week to setup? DON'T fall for it!!
I am also a victim of these con artists to the tune of $5500.00. The salesman said with my background I could easily make 6 figures in the pharmacuetical industry working close to home. I got nothing more than some resumes and cover letters. They claimed to have faxed my resume to companies I had targeted some 10K times. The only verification I recieved were a small handfull of emails or letters politely asking me to apply for the jobs through their websites. Then my marketing director left. My new marketing person said they fired him, ( highly unprofessional). The new "Director" wouldn't return my calls. I had to go over his head to get him to call back. I recieved a poorly re-written resume from him for my efforts... I have given up with these clowns as this has stretched into 9 monthes. I am very interested if someone is going forward with a class action lawsuit. I will join! Also, their claims of a $30 million dollar "JMAC" website are bogus as well. I found better opportunities on Monster/Career Builder/Sales Ladder etc. Please believe me when I tell you they prey on the vulnerable. I had just lost a job of 16 years with a Fortune 10 company making 6 figures. They told me exactly what I wanted to hear.
Thank you for this post. I also was contacted shortly after registering on Monster. I saw the video and had a couple phone conversations, but was dubious from the start. This is an age old scam I was first aware of in the early 1980's in New York via a firm by the name of Bernard Haldane Associates which was subsequently forced out of business. My money lost in that scam was minor (they've gotten much bolder now in the up front money!) but the ITS pitch is exactly the same. It didn't work for me then (I got a job soon after on my own). But the ITS sell job is breath-takingly smooth (as others have stated, yet another alarm bell). Thanks for confirming all my alarm bells.
They are still at it! I've received emails from Bryce Decker and Charles/Charls Williams to contact them.
I'll stay away...
JC
If anyone has paid with a credit card (not debit), you can contest your charges with your issuing bank up to one year after the transaction. Good luck.
Thanks for this blog. I saw their presentation, was impressed but suspecious. I found this blog 20 minutes before my scheduled follow-up call. I e-mailed them with a link to this site and said thanks, but no thanks. I got no call. I did get a few tips from their video that imporoved my resume, so there are lessons to be learned no matter what the source.
I was in need of a good job and the guys at ITS called me soliciting business. I listened to their pitch, reviewed the materials and the guy dropped the standard line "I can virtually guarantee you will have a high paying job in the next 3 months." Needing a job and looking for a leg up I deciided to give it a shot....think I paid $7,500. That was about 1 year ago.
There was a flurry of activity at first and i thought they were working very hard for me. Then it slowed. I did have a lot of interviews from the faxes and letters they sent out, but they were almost all for insurance, finance, 100% commission type jobs. A few real career type places asked for my resume and had me for interviews. And when I say few I mean 3.
As much as I want to bash ITS and their companies completely, I have to credit them with getting my foot in the door with my current job that I just started. One of the few 'real' jobs that got their fax is who I work for today. Now, I got the job because of persistence on my part and some great interview performances, but they would have never known that I had existed if it wasn't for the fax sent from ITS.
I had to have 6 interviews and the process lasted almost 12 months, but I ended up getting the job. In the meantime while this interview process was going on the ITS materials and marketing slowed to nothing.
Bottom line, the service is completely and maliciously oversold. They do not do everything for you. Their sales pitch is way better than their product. If I have to look for a job again, I would not re-hire them even though I have to give them some credit for my current job, but that had more to do with me than them.
I found this information on 1-22-09, and as you can tell these people are still upto their old tricks. I like all of you were tracked down via one of the employment databases (Monster, Careerbuilder, etc.) and contacted about the ITS service. Spent the 30 minutes on the initial call, I wonder if they have a timer going, as it seems this is typical amount of time. He mentioned that I was one of the "select" 500 or the 35000 people that contact them per month, funny thing I didn't contact them, they contacted me? but as like most of you I smelled something fishy, and figured I need to find out what was going on. Itially I just wanted to see what it would cost, which of course they don't disclose until they have you signing paperwork. I also thought it was odd that the email address of the person who contacted me was different from the company name. I agree with alot of you in that ITS is a nam used so you can't find info on them. Thankfully I used the 303-846-2800 and googled that and found this information. I have yet another name and company name for the list.
Ellison Brimage, Senior Consultant
ITS
phone: (877) 298-5021 x 3950
ebrimage@changingcareersonline.com
Thank you everyone for this, and hopefully like me other will find this and know that this is nothing more than a scam.
Add this name to the growing list of ITS personnel.
Ellison Brimage, Senior Consultant
ITS
phone: (877) 298-5021 x 3950
ebrimage@changingcareersonline.com
Seems everyone with this company is a "Senior Consultant"
Thanks to this blog, I didn't waste anymore of my time talking to "Forest" at ITS. The presentation was very convincing and almost had me thinking, boy, I wish I had the money to sign these guys on, but my gut said that this was a scam. When I repeatedly told him that I could not afford his services that I did not have that kind of money being unemployed and all, Forest said well usually his clients pay by credit card. I told him I was not about to put that kind of money on a credit card which leads to another set of problems (like accrual of interest that adds up over time). Anyway he told me to "sleep on it" and that he would call me on a Saturday morning. He also said that I have extremely good marketing skills and that they don't take just anyone on as a client. Yeah right. Another tactic trying to massage my ego. I sent him an e mail just a little while ago and said, thanks but no thanks. By the way, you were the only blog I found so far on ITS -- thanks so much for blogging these scam artists and saving a bunch of people alot of money they couldn't afford to spend in the first place. KUDOS TO YOU!!! Regards from another American out of work.
I had a couple of conversations with a Stephanie Reed at changingcareersonline.com after receiving an e-mail offer from her. She was a smooth talker, all right. I picked her brain about different things, watched their videos, and even downloaded a few resume samples, which have been a little bit useful in reformatting my own resume. But then came the price tag: $8,500, but if you sign up now, a $1000 discount. Gulp! I wouldn't spend $8.5K on CAR, let alone on some untested, unsolicited e-mail contact. So I said, no thanks, and have a nice day. Then, I got an e-mail from Delany, Byczinski & Potamkin, which looked suspiciously like the one I'd gotten from changingcareersonline.com, and others I've gotten from managemenrecruiting.com. That's when I decided to look these people up, and I came across this blog. People, please beware, be AWARE, and never hand off a huge chunk of money to anybody based on a sketchy, random e-mail contact. Thanks for the blog. It will definitely save a lot of people a great deal of grief.
It's simply F'ing amazing! I was contacted by Ron Garceau, Senior Consultant from ITS..WOW! This guy was smooth, made me feel like I was on to something and he could help me. On a hunch, I decided to google "ITS" and I was unable to find anything...in the process I came across the blogs on ITS...You SAVED MY A**. I just sent "Ron" an e-mail telling him to not call or contact me. Oh by the way..I was suppose to have my interview on Tuesday (not happening). Folks, it's crazy out there in this economy, be careful and it it sounds to good to be true, IT iS! A-holes out there are trying to sucker you out of your hard earned savings.
They also operate as Delany, Byczinski & Potamkin with the same address. Here is the email I received. It contained a link, but I know you can make a link read anything you want, but where it takes you or what it does is a completely different matter. So, I never click on a link. I always cut and paste. When I did, it said page not found. So, I Googled the name Delany, Byczinski & Potamkin and found a ton of shit, including this blog. Thanks for keeping it updated.
Delany, Byczinski & Potamkin West Loop Center, 10 Riverside Plaza, Suite 1800
Chicago, IL 60606
Phone: 312-474-6018 FAX: 877-222-8019
Are you still in the market?
We felt your resume indicated that we may have immediate openings at DBP that could be right for you. However, if you are interested, we need some added information.
Delaney enjoys a growing reputation as a fast growing recruiting service. Our clients include small and large employers, growth companies, and Fortune 1,000 corporations. We deal only in professional and executive openings and there are no fees.
To register with us, as well as to review current situations at your income level and in your geographic area, please do the following.
Click on http://www.dbpexecusearch.com
The "Post Resume" button will take you to the profile information that we need.
Regards,
Charles Williams
Senior Vice President
Delany, Byczinski & Potamkin
To the Dec. 24th blogger: I fell for it too. $8,000 worth. Ended up filing a complaint with the BBB. ITS refunded half back if I agreed to withdraw my complaint. It was better than nothing, so I took it.
http://www.indeed.com/forum/gen/Career-Advice/Personal-Marketing-Firm-Paying-Recruiter-find-you-job/t58881/p3#c575396
Here is another link to follow on indeed.com
I am using ITS. I'm a log of my experience on indeed.com forums. I'm certainly as interested in seeing if they deliver what they say - but I did check references and I did actually enroll in the process - which there doesn't appear to be many of on this blog - so it'll be interesting to see another counterpoint.
I just had the sales pitch today. They are now operating under the name Executive Resumes International. It is no wonder that they have to continously change their name.
Thanks to everyone for their experiences! I was just about to have my "interview". BTW,the BBB has a relatively good "Report" on them as an "Accredited Business". But beware,when you click on BBBs definition of "Accredited Business" it contains the disclaimer "BBB accreditation does not mean that the business' products or services have been evaluated or endorsed by BBB, or that BBB has made a determination as to the business' product quality or competency in performing services." So the "accredidittion" means nothing. All out there also beware of a franchise operation called WSI, last I heard. They were World Sites International and changed entity names for dubious reasons. Many have been taken.
Thanks for writing this. I just got an email from the crooks. I will mark it as spam.
I spoke to Stephanie Reed today. She had left me a voice mail mentioning managementrecruiting.com. So, I went there and got a screen saying I already had a profile. Went to login, tried one of my usual logins and found my complete profile. I didn't remember having been to that site. I even told her I didn't remember it but that I've been doing so much job-hunting that it wasn't surprising. She gave me access to videos etc. at changingcareers.com and set up another phone call for tomorrow. I watched the videos. Then I decided to google--couldn't find ITS. So, tried googling "managementrecruiting.com complaints" and found this blog. I'm extremely glad I did.
I then decided to search my email for the wording of one I found on this blog, and sure enough I found an email from DBP. That's the one that got me to give them my profile. Here it is...
X-Message-Delivery: Vj0xLjE7dXM9MDtsPTA7YT0wO0Q9MjtTQ0w9Ng==
X-Message-Status: n:0
X-SID-PRA: cwilliams@dbpexecusearch.com
X-Message-Info: 6sSXyD95QpVDDlI7U1LuwGGRSh/tgFuDfP9oJoWki5QVhxROPzhKwRqDcLqj2qAsRAz2KF6o/adlxWkTb+1hFqtDD2+/syYw
Received: from giskard.careeradvnet.net ([63.76.152.49]) by bay0-mc5-f10.bay0.hotmail.com with Microsoft SMTPSVC(6.0.3790.2668);
Wed, 28 Jan 2009 05:39:03 -0800
Received: from Holly5 (den-vwm-105.ajn.net [192.168.248.105])
by giskard.careeradvnet.net (8.13.3/8.13.3) with SMTP id n0SDiURu029153
for <***my email address deleted***>; Wed, 28 Jan 2009 06:44:30 -0700 (MST)
Message-Id: <200901281344.n0SDiURu029153@giskard.careeradvnet.net>
Subject: Mr. ***my name deleted***, we may have immediate openings at DBP
Date: Wed, 28 Jan 2009 06:39:34 -0700
X-Logtime: 1233149974
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
To: ***my email address deleted***
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
From: cwilliams@dbpexecusearch.com
Return-Path: cwilliams@dbpexecusearch.com
X-OriginalArrivalTime: 28 Jan 2009 13:39:03.0671 (UTC) FILETIME=[C8B79870:01C9814D]
Delany, Byczinski & Potamkin
West Loop Center, 10 Riverside Plaza, Suite 1800
Chicago, IL 60606
Phone: 312-474-6018 FAX: 877-222-8019
Are you still in the market?
We felt your resume indicated that we may have immediate openings at DBP th=
at could be right for you. However, if you are interested, we need some add=
ed information.
Delaney enjoys a growing reputation as a fast growing recruiting service. O=
ur clients include small and large employers, growth companies, and Fortune=
1,000 corporations. We deal only in professional and executive openings an=
d there are no fees.
To register with us, as well as to review current situations at your income=
level and in your geographic area, please do the following.
Click on http://www.dbpexecusearch.com
The "Post Resume" button will take you to the profile information that we n=
eed.
Regards,
Charles Williams
Senior Vice President
Delany, Byczinski & Potamkin
To opt out from further email messages please visit www.dbpexecusearch.com/=
optout/.
<~lt44v4mxF9sqDmd9~>=09
I am now going to contact some local consumer investigators.
They are still around...
Just got an email from Bryce Decker - both email and URL are at managementrecruiting.com. (Looks like they now use matching domain names.)
I was excited thinking "nice, someone emailed – perhaps things are looking up." I followed the link immediately and... Something doesn't seem right! (I won't disclose what - I don't want to help them make a better scam). So I started searching for info on them before I even tried to log on.
Well. Wish it was real opportunity but it is not... I feel quite let down that I am back to, well, no prospect yet.
But, well... At least I didn't loose a penny, and I am a little wiser having experienced that...
All - received this email today after posting to Monster. Almost registered but it JDLR.
Thanks for all the other AKA's. These folks are malevolent.
"Are you still in the market for either a professional or executive job?
Your resume indicates that we may have openings at Executive Search Online that are appropriate to consider. However, if you are interested, we need some added
information.
Executive Search Online enjoys a growing reputation in executive circles as the fastest growing ecruiting service. Our clients include a mixture of small and
large firms, growth companies, and Fortune 1,000 corporations. We deal only in professional and executive openings.
To register with us, as well as to review current situations at your income level and in your geographic area, please do the following: Click on http://www.managementrecruiting.com/site.data/1.
The "register now" button will take you to the profile information that we need.
Regards,
Bryce Decker
Senior Vice President
To opt out from further email messages visit
http://www.managementrecruiting.com/optout
Management Recruting 8547 E. Arapahoe Road, Suite #J 136 Greenwood Village, CO
80112-1430.
<~BjhljhjDSm89bfwFktseDqef~>
You people are so stupid for listening to these people. ITS does help!
I wish I read this before I threw away $9,000 to ITS. Any help for me in getting it back? I've been "with" them for 5 months and haven't received JACK! It is a total scam, bait & switch, high-pressure sales tactic. I was vulnerable and needed help, they promised me mulitple offers and a new career.
My husband was contacted by ITS about a week ago. The sales pitch was excellent. With this economy and the lack of job availability, we were seriously looking into signing with ITS at a cost of $10,250 upfront. Thanks to this sight we were saved. Thank you....Thank you.....Thank you!!!
They're still at it. A couple weeks ago I received an e-mail and mutiple phone calls from a Patty Vondra @ changingcareersonline.com, representing ITS and their $5500 "personal marketing servvices". Very slick and well presented, but totally unverifiable. They provide you limited access to their JMAC (job management access center) tool on the web, but if you look carefully, it's just pre-scripted web pages full of empty promises, not an actual "live" database.
The latest e-mail I received was from Charles Williams @ DBP Executive Search. Different name, same game.
Stay away from these who prey on people in a very vulnerable state!! You can actually get access to a large majority of the published jobs at WorkTree.com. For $57 I received 6 months of access to a consolidated list of jobs from internet job boards, magazine listings, newspaper listings, and company listings all in one location. And theLadders.com has a great executive resume re-write service for about $700. $5500?? NO WAY!!
Received my 2nd email today. All details in the email have been posted here by others, but it is interesting to me that they haven't changed the pitch in a year and a half. Here are snippets from the email I received today:
Click on http://www.professionalopenings.com
Bryce Decker
Sr. Vice President
Thanks for maintaining this web site.
R.L Stevens is another one, here in Colorado and also in AZ. They are doing the same thing.
http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/0/289/RipOff0289546.htm
Dan,
Thank you for your courage and contribution. I really hate these "profit from pain" scammers. I think people like this are primarily responsible for the state of the economy.
I received a "Resume Advance" ad for 100K+ jobs. Not one work about being a pay site. No, they wait until you fill out all of their junk first.
I sniffed it out and blocked their E-Mails without going through the trouble. It just seemed like a scam. Then I Googled the site and found Random Convergence.
Again thank you very much for your courageous contribution.
Wil
I don't see any recent activity in this topic, so I'll add - just received this 4-5-09:
From: cwilliams@dbpexecusearch.com
Add sender to Contacts
To: ********@yahoo.com
Delany, Byczinski & Potamkin
West Loop Center, 10 Riverside Plaza, Suite 1800
Chicago, IL 60606
Phone: 312-474-6018 FAX: 877-222-8019
Are you still in the market?
We felt your resume indicated that we may have immediate openings at DBP that could be right for you. However, if you are interested, we need some added information.
Delaney enjoys a growing reputation as a fast growing recruiting service. Our clients include small and large employers, growth companies, and Fortune 1,000 corporations. We deal only in professional and executive openings and there are no fees.
To register with us, as well as to review current situations at your income level and in your geographic area, please do the following.
Click on http://www.dbpexecusearch.com
The "register now" button will take you to the profile information that we need.
Regards,
Charles Williams
Senior Vice President
Delany, Byczinski & Potamkin
Oh, it arrived in my Yahoo "Spam" folder, BIG tip off! Boy are they off base to send to me. I was layed off by my former employer in 02-2009 and just signed Chapter 7. I don't even have the money to upgrade my CareerBuilder resume, much less pay a service (legitimate or not). Also, the link in the email appears dead, same day I received it.
Same here .... got the call from Tom Kelsay (ITS) two weeks ago. Stroked my ego until I blushed and then offered the materials. Got a follow-up from DB&P just last week ... that search brought me to this blog. Killed 2 scams with one stone - thanks.
Question: does anyone have any information on MGA based in Princeton, NJ, or Executive Recruiting Placement (ERP) out of Boston. Same pitch as ITS - prepaid search fees. Both have seemingly credible websites.
www.mgasearch.net
www.erplacement.com
Add
Dave DeMeritt, Senior Consultant
ITS
phone: (877) 298-5021 x 2841
to the list. His email is changingcareersonline.com and the info he received on me was based on an email I received from Bryce Decker@managementrecruiting.com. In our short phone all, he referred to the company as ITS. This started raising red flags to me. We have a call scheduled for Tuesday where I plan to get whatever ideas they have for free and then will tell them I'm not interested. Keep up the good blogging work!
This morning I heard my husband on a conference call with a "headhunter". I worked for one several years ago. I began listening to this long winded blah blah, watching as my husband so wanted this crap to be on the level. As "Hugh McDermott" spoke, I checked out everything possible, asking my husband for written info on the company, the person, addresses, etc.
What I found out were so many red flags that this guy ought to be in jail. It caused a huge argument since my husband wanted so much for this to be true since we are facing financial problems like many people.
Finally, he capped the conversation, began searches since he didn't want to believe mine and now he has apologized and gone to bed.
This is so sick. I told him of my experience with legitimate headhunters, the fact that "Hugh" couldn't give him straight answers regarding costs, just a bunch of b.s. about various info that any job seeker can find out from a book.
In fact, it sounded like he was reading from one. My husband has been in sales, marketing and knows every trick in the book. I just woke up, heard a half hour of this b.s. and since I have another computer (thank goodness) I proved to him this guy is an outright con.
Your site was extremely helpful. It is sad that people like "Hugh" can live with themselves. I was just concerned since this had been laid out for over a week that any of our personal info was going out the door into the rock where "Hugh" lives under, so he can do more damage.
I hope he moves to Nigeria.
Thanks also,
I just got this e-mail today 4/19/09 and I instantly "googled" it and found this blog.
DearXXXXXX,
Are you still in the market for either a professional or executive job?
Your resume indicates that we may have openings at Executive Search Online that are appropriate to consider. However, if you are interested, we need some added information.
Executive Search Online enjoys a growing reputation in executive circles as the fastest growing ecruiting service. Our clients include a mixture of small and large firms, growth companies, and Fortune 1,000 corporations. We deal only in professional and executive openings.
To register with us, as well as to review current situations at your income level and in your geographic area, please do the following:
Click on http://www.managementrecruiting.com/site.data/3.
The "register now" button will take you to the profile information that we need.
Regards,
Bryce Decker
Senior Vice President
4/20/09
Got this e-mail twice now in a week. I always "google" this stuff and luck I found this blog. There are some who say it works, well it may for some but it seems as if for the major portion of people, it does not work.
Den
Thank you bloggers. I almost considered contacting these people. For some reason I googled (thank you google!) Delaney, Byczinski & Potamkin and the first site I clicked is Random Convergence. After reading just a few blogs I am going to report DBP to careerbuilders as a scam Keep up the good work bloggers.
I received the following e-mail from Charles Williams, Senior Vice President, Delaney, Byczinski and Potamkin. It says:
" Delany, Byczinski & Potamkin
West Loop Center, 10 Riverside Plaza, Suite 1800
Chicago, IL 60606
Phone: 312-474-6018 FAX: 877-222-8019
Are you still in the market?
We felt your resume indicated that we may have immediate openings at DBP that
could be right for you. However, if you are interested, we need some added
information.
Delaney enjoys a growing reputation as a fast growing recruiting service. Our
clients include small and large employers, growth companies, and Fortune 1,000
corporations. We deal only in professional and executive openings and there are
no fees.
To register with us, as well as to review current situations at your income
level and in your geographic area, please do the following.
Click on http://www.dbpexecusearch.com
The "register now" button will take you to the profile information that we need.
Regards,
Charles Williams
Senior Vice President
Delany, Byczinski & Potamkin "
After reading a couple of posts on Random Convergence (Thanks Dan),this scam must be stopped. I am going to report this to ALL appropriate authorities. I invite fellow bloggers to do the same.
Delany, Byczinski & Potamkin is still on the prowl for more suckers as of today 24Apr09
I, too, am in the process of due diligence and discovered this website regarding ITS. I noticed that there are no more comments posted after mid 2008. Has the company. Has the company reemerged under a different name? It sounded as though that might be the situation. Confirmation and further information would be useful would be helpful.
Wow -- i just happened accross this thread. What an eye opener to say the least. I even had gotten the company i was leaving involved in trying to fund the ITS search, glad it didnt work out.
I had even dropped by their office here in Denver to talk to their sales representative and it really looks like a real organization.
Thanks for saving me 6K everyone.
They also use
randomName@site.careerbuilder.ca
or other state for a name. Watch out, make sure you know who you are dealing with at all times. These are bottom-feeders.
NS said...
Wow, it pays to do a little research. I was approached by Ellison to go to work for ITS as an SC. I live in the Denver area and they have an office here. I couldn't find out anything on ITS due to the overuse. I am glad I found your blog. Thanks so much!
Good afternoon to all of the trackers of this wonderful group. The group is also running newcareersonline.com. Hugh McDermott is the name that I have, but the phone number seems to be popular. 732-284-9973. He has called me once and I have no intention of returning that call. I am trying to find a job not spend money!!
Thank you all for sharing your experiences.
I found a new company linked to ITS, resumeadvance.net. Linked into Monster.
We have several 100K+ jobs that may be of interest to you. If you are still seeking employment with a salary expectation of 100K or above please contact me at:
jeffbarnes@resumeadvance.net
Best Regards,
Jeff Barnes
Resume Advance
Go thru their checkin, you get an ITS company. Can't wait to get a call from them,should be fun.
To all- Each one of you is a hero in a way, as you are getting information out to families who are struggled and are potentially going to get scammed out of thousands of dollars. Most families that are out of work, similar to myself, would be crushed by a fraudulant scam like this, and the best way to avoid it is to have information like what you have posted available. I have not yet talked to anybody that is promising something they can not produce, but I get at least 2 emails a day from questionable sources, that I automatically delete. I just received something from Delaney, Byczinski and Potamkin or DBP Recruiting out of Chicago, Illinois. While researching them, I found this web-site, and I am grateful for your comments on these companies. In a difficult job market, it is easy to fall for these wolves in sheeps clothing, and we all want a little positive words to boost our confidence up, which makes us vulnerable and an easy target. Thank you for your stories, and recognize that you are potentially helping many people.......
still at it! From Careerbuilder data:
Good Afternoon,
We have several 100K jobs that may be of interest to you.
If you are still seeking employment with a salary expectation above $100K please contact me at: michaelrager@resumeadvance.net
Best Regards,
Michael Rager
Resume Advance
If you are in search of a legitimate service of ths type, try Drake, Beam & Morin.
I did some work with their Salt Lake City office and they go so far as to provide you with an "office" on their premises where you can conduct internet searches, make calls, etc.
Good luck to all.
The scam letter I received:
Dear Brian,
Are you still in the market for either a professional or executive job?
Your resume indicates that we may have openings at Executive Search Online that are appropriate to consider. However, if you are interested, we need some added information.
Executive Search Online enjoys a growing reputation in executive circles as the fastest growing ecruiting service. Our clients include a mixture of small and large firms, growth companies, and Fortune 1,000 corporations. We deal only in professional and executive openings.
To register with us, as well as to review current situations at your income level and in your geographic area, please do the following:
Click on http://www.managementrecruiting.com/site.data/1.
You can then enter the profile information that we need.
Regards,
Bryce Decker
Senior Vice President
Thanks for saving me from wasting my time. I received a letter from DBP today. I don't have time to play with those bottom feeders.
I found my own job with my own resume and my own cover letter. Be passionate above your past job experiences. Remember what you liked about the job and use it. Get help from your family and friends, school teachers, former employers, etc. When I interviewed and was not given a job, I asked the interviewer what could I do to make me more employable.
I just recieved an e-mail from a company called
GCM-A Lincolnshire/Arbora International Partner
I believe it may be a new name for ITS. I have already been down that road but I was able to get my money back by telling them the search tools and resume did not impress me.
Thanks to this blog - it was just in time. I will not let that happen again.
I have recently been contacted by Art Schill in NY - I had been told that due to a client postponing their service, I will obtain one of three spots where my rate will be discounted by $2,000 and he will add 2 services at $950 each for free. I would be charged $5500 for all of this, but what I find odd is that I would get a $3,950 rate reduction/free services for only $5,500. Sounds too good to be true. I also was pitched that $5,500 was nothing compared to a month's worth of lost wages. They are trying to get me to split the cost on multiple credit cards since I do not want to put it all on one, but I do not have tons of cards and very little (couple hundred) in cc debt and a great credit score. I was told I should have a job in 90-120 days, or they will re-do my marketing materials at their cost. I'm not sure that I'm comfortable with this. My husband and I almost agreed to biting the bullet and doing it, but after reading all of these blogs with similar stories to mine, I will be declining services. Thanks for this blog - you just saved me a lot of money! I guess I will have to take a chance that I will become less marketable the longer I am out of work, but at least I won't have all of that credit card debt to boot!
They are still at this but they have changed names again.
Here is the message I got
Hi XXXXX,
I was unable to reach you by phone. I reviewed the profile and resume you submitted through one of our websites and wanted to get some more information about your background.
I also wanted to make sure you received the job search information you requested - which was emailed yesterday. You can reach me at the number below.
Regards,
Rob Bjorklund, Senior Consultant
ITS
phone: (303) 913-6620
They are still at it. Just got this after posting my resume on Monster.com
Are you still in the market?
We felt your resume indicated that we may have immediate openings at DBP that could be right for you. However, if you are interested, we need some added information.
Delany enjoys a growing reputation as a fast growing recruiting service. Our clients include small and large employers, growth companies, and Fortune 1,000 corporations. We deal only in professional and executive openings and there are no fees.
To register with us, as well as to review current situations at your income level and in your geographic area, please do the following:
Click on http://www.dbpexecusearch.com/site.data/2
The "register now" button will take you to the profile information that we need.
Regards,
Charls Williams
Senior Vice President
yikes, this stuff is really scary. I received a call from a Steve something with the exact same song and dance. I actually watched the 30 minute video which was actually not bad but when I took the survey I suddenly realized how cheesy this company is so I started doing my research. The scary part is a part of me was actually thinking about doing signing up with ITS. I at least had to find out how much the service would cost. Of course Steve wouldn't tell me how much the service was but I figured it was a couple hundred bucks. I almost threw up when I saw that the minimum is around 6,500. You have to be kidding me. Anyway, good luck to everyone on your search and thanks for getting the word out on companies like ITS.
Seems this group has a new VP named Craig Jenkins I received the following email today and one similar to it last week...
"Are you still in the market for either a professional or executive job? Your resume indicates that we may have openings at Executive Search Online that are appropriate to consider. However, if you are interested, we need some added information.
Executive Search Online enjoys a growing reputation in executive circles as the fastest growing e-cruiting service. Our clients include a mixture of small and large firms, growth companies, and Fortune 1,000 corporations. We deal only in professional and executive openings.
To register with us, as well as to review current situations at your income level and in your geographic area, please do the following:
Click on http://www.professionalopenings.com
The "Post Resume" button will take you to the profile information that we need.
Regards,
Craig Jenkins
Sr. Vice President"
The Email was from CJenkins@ Managmentrecruiting.com.
I got suspicious when I went to professionalopenings.com and saw the word FREE this and FREE that all over the site, this set off the red flag in my head that something else wasn't free so I searched and found this site. These people are the scum of the earth, preying on desparate job seekers trying to keep their homes and family together. Thanks for your site and the opportunity to vent my frustration.
Here is another:
Sam Omron, Senior Consultant
ITS
phone: (408) 835-7047
Thanks to this website, I won't be getting sucked into their scam during my current job search. I know the major postings ended in May of 2008, but, I'm sure these guys are still out preying on innocent, hard working Americans.
Thanks again.
FYI, here's a linkedin profile from someone who lists himself as a former vice-president of McKenzie Scott
AND Merrill Adams
AND (wait for it)
Haldane Associates.
http://www.linkedin.com/in/dontabler
I was just called tonight...thank you for your blog!!
More fun. This site lists CAN Inc. as owning 319 other domains.
http://whois.domaintools.com/itspersonalmarketing.com
Joseph Pouliot, Senior Consultant ITSphone: (916) 973-0672
jpouliot@newcareersonline.com
Thanks for this blog!
I find the McKenzie Scott name to be ironic. Most of you are probably too young to remember, but Scott McKenzie did a song in the 60's called San Francisco. The hook went, "If you're going to San-Fran-cisco, be sure to wear some flowers in your hair. If you're going to San-Fran-cisco, you're going to meet some gentle people there." Gentle indeed.
I engaged ITS and the JMAC nightmare
for only $6500. I am interested in a lawsuit. I have had a job and work full time.I was looking for a better opportunity. The have us all by the cahoneys because of their gag clauses in their contract allegedly for "confidentiality" Well although I corrected much misinformation and contact phone numbers before approving my initial documents, on the first mass mailing/faxing, they put as my contact phone number, my office phone number. My boss and coworkers received numerous calls from angry fax recipients of my resume. The person addressed was dead for years or had left the companies years previous. This has compromised my current career significantly. Does any legal mind out there think I have legal grounds to a refund of my money or to sue for damages as they suggest in the violation of confidentiality?
Friends...
I just received a solicitation from a Mr. Craig Jenkins and although the initial pitch sounds good, I am always a skeptic. Thanks for this site...
Dear xxxx,
Are you still in the market for either a professional or executive job?
Your resume indicates that we may have openings at Executive Search Online that are appropriate to consider. However, if you are interested, we need some added information.
Executive Search Online enjoys a growing reputation in executive circles as the fastest growing ecruiting service. Our clients include a mixture of small and large firms, growth companies, and Fortune 1,000 corporations. We deal only in professional and executive openings.
To register with us, as well as to review current situations at your income level and in your geographic area, please do the following:
Click on http://jobs3.managementrecruiting.com
You can then enter the profile information that we need.
Regards,
Craig Jenkins
Senior Vice President
These guys are still at the same game. I received the following email:
We liked your resume. Are you still in the job market? October 22, 2009 7:15:37 AM MDT
From: CJenkins@managementrecruiting.com
To:
Are you still in the market for either a professional or executive job? Your resume indicates that we may have openings at Executive Search Online that are appropriate to consider. However, if you are interested, we need some added information.
Executive Search Online enjoys a growing reputation in executive circles as the fastest growing e-cruiting service. Our clients include a mixture of small and large firms, growth companies, and Fortune 1,000 corporations. We deal only in professional and executive openings.
To register with us, as well as to review current situations at your income level and in your geographic area, please do the following:
Click on http://jobs2.professionalopenings.com
The "Post Resume" Tab will take you to the profile information that we need.
Regards,
Craig Jenkins
Sr. Vice President
The link in the email directed me to this URL: http://jobs2.professionalopenings.com/
A web search brought me to your BLOG. As I dug into their fine print if found a statement that said their liability relative to any services offered on the web site was $100. So much for their guarantees!?!?!?
Its a pity that people who are already suffering from a job loss then get abused by these scumbags! Thanks for providing a forum to help get the word out.
i just found this today... I was initially contacted by them, and referred them to my husband. We ourselves have not been taken yet, but I promise you will not be talking to them again... I just wanted to BUMP this blog in the organic results....
I received a call from Bob West (One of the founders of the company) last night. I felt something wads "off" when he said that he lived in Texas but his number was a colorado number. Needless to say, I am looking forward to his followup call today. Perhaps I can get him to meet me in person! hahaha
11/20/2009 I received the following e-mail from Michael Rager with Resumeadvance.net
Professional and Executive Jobs
Good Afternoon,
We have $100k+ employment opportunities that may be of interest to you.
Please contact me if you are actively looking and I will send you the link to open positions online.
Best Regards,
Michael Rager
michaelrager@resumeadvance.net
Resume Advance
You are receiving this employment opportunity email because you uploaded your resume on CareerBuilder.
If your employment status has changed or you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can update your privacy and communication preferences from your resume by logging onto CareerBuilder.com:
http://www.careerbuilder.ca/jobseeker/emails/emailsubcenter.aspx
Or you can Block this employer from viewing your resume and sending you candidate emails.
This email was sent from Account ID A7F4RW6H9XR62JYJN8W and by this logged in User U8H1Z55XR30FW4HD4BG
DISCLAIMER
Please be aware that the content of this email has not been reviewed or approved by CareerBuilder and is in no way endorsed by CareerBuilder. You are solely responsible for any response you choose to provide to this email and you do so at your own risk. If you have questions regarding the legitimacy of the position being offered please contact the CareerBuilder Site Integrity Team by submitting your inquiry at: at: http://www.CareerBuilder.ca/CA/JobSeeker/Help/Feedback.aspx Please also review common scams and tips for protecting yourself on CareerBuilder's Fraud Page. If you have questions or comments for and CareerBuilder, please use our feedback form.
----------End of E-Mail------------------
Just wanted to continue the thread and warn people about these canibals; I'm sure they eat their young too...
I almost got pulled over to the Dark Side, but thanks to this site, I retreated just in time. My "counselor" is Bill Barry out of New York City. My experience is the same as most of yours, but here's a twist that almost hooked me.
I was fortunate to receive severance from my last job. I made the mistake of telling Bill that. Well, as any salesman knows, to qualify the prospect, you have to find the money for your service. So, Bill's pitch to me for taking advantage of the "discounts" was to remind me that I was burning through my severance, and for every month I'm out of work, I'm losing $xxx. Believe me, I was sorely tempted to sign the contract, but thanks to all of you, I'm putting it to much better use.
Thank you all for exposing yet another Internet Fraud.
I was scheduled for an "initial session" but after reading all the crap I cancelled and saved myself the time and Lord knows maybe a whole lot of money, as I tend to trust people and get easily suckered. Suffice it to say that all those that posted on this web site, as very least saved one poor soul from their scam.
Thank You and all at ITS, I hope you rot in hell.
It is now 2010 and they are still using the Resume Advance name as seen previously in this blog from (2008). They are preying on CareerBuilder resumes:
Good Afternoon,
We have employment $100K+ opportunities that may be of interest to you. Please contact me via email if you are actively looking and I will send you the link to open positions online.
Best Regards,
Jeff Barnes
jeffbarnes@resumeadvance.net
Resume Advance
Looks like it's the Jobs Market Access Center now. Same song and dance too.
Dear Bloggers -- THANK you from the bottom of my heart for your comments and observations about ITS/JMAC and the tactics used by its sales staff. I was contacted by Paul Baker - a very slick and persuasive guy who tried to make me feel as if he were doing ME a favor by considering me worthy to spend $12,000 with his company. In fact, he went a long way to making me feel as if I'd be unemployed for the rest of my days without the help of ITS/JMAC -- or whatever the real name of that company is...
Thank God for the internet and bloggers such as yourselves. I am truly sorry for those who got taken and I feel as if I've dodged a bullet due to your willingness to discuss your misfortune so openly. BTW, I just got my FedEx package today and I'm going to 'round-file' it immediately and cancel my phone call with Paul for Monday. I am happy that my instincts made me put this call off until I could do some proper research. I am grateful that I found this site.
Endless thanks to all of you for your honest, open and up front comments. Did anyone actually ever sue them??? A class action seems very likely.
I just got this from resumeadvance.net as well. I always check out companies before I start sharing information with them, and my hunch was correct. I'm glad I found this blog.
If anyone ever wants to help you but demands money up-front, 99.99% of the time, its a scam. Whether its job hunting, or credit cleanup, or real-estate help.
In the nick of time.
The guy I spoke to, Paul B. (I dare not give his name) is actually a really cool dude. And I believe he believes in his product. So I will not ascribe dishonesty to him as a salesman.
But he has obviously been instructed to be cagey about the price point; and the fact that it isn't a fixed rate but based on my income is a little too opportunistic for my tastes.
I got perspective from discussing matters with him; as a good sales person he permitted me to play out some thoughts aloud on what is a kind of scary subject.
The price is dropping from what everyone else has experienced.
I don't think it is wise to place stewardship or responsibility for our futures at the feet of any firm; but since I am the master of my own job search, I feel that I need to avoid this program.
IF, they were THAT amazing, would they need to be calling us?
Thanks for being one of about four sources I checked to get feedback on the company. Sadly, they didn't send any verifiable feedback themselves, though I asked.
MDW
What is needed is a roster of Alias Names, Web-sites, and Personnel connected- perhaps as an updated link from the original post.
Only ones I know have already been mentioned.
Former employee. They sucked us all in, claiming they have the best technology and marketing support. They are nothing but a scam. Used car salesmen dominate the sales floor, ie Dan Ward, and they discuss psychology to get you to buy. Employees are staging a class action suit. Stay away from these fakes!
I also was targeted by a similar type of firm. They are VERY Slick and do the selling thing very well also claimed they could get me a board of directors spot. If these guys were as good finding us jobs as scamming they would be a great firm. Basically any REAL comapny in executive search will NOT CHARGE for thier service. The fees are paid by the companies they are doing searches for.
I received an email from Lydia Emerick McArthur, Senior Managing Partner (no indication of what she is a managing partner of)
Here's the text:
It is too late to contact you this evening; however, I have reviewed the profile you submitted through our recruiting site and would like to schedule a time to speak with you. You can reach me at (800) 773-9570 or respond via return email with a convenient time/date for us to have a teleconference.
P.S. Please email me your resume in Word/PDF format before our teleconference.
The Email was from lmcarthur@newcareersonline.com and I had no recollection of putting my resume on anything like that, so I googled newcareersonline.com and got the ITS site, with the URL redirected to http://itspersonalmarketing.com.
I thought it was a little fishy, so I googled Lydia Emerick McArthur and found this blog ... which sort of confirms my initial thought that I should stay well away, so that's what I'm going to do.
I just wanted to say thanks for the heads up.
So glad I found this blog. Just in time!!!
Yes,Yes, Yes...Lydia Emerick McArthur, Senior Managing Partner ..she's back and now she's disguising herself inside another company called NewCareersOnline.com Needless to say she was not happy when I strung her along for a month and finally fessed up to the game I was playing with her. Geez, how many times have she done that to other people promising spectacular results in any job market due to their "one in a million" marketing campaign. Payback is no fun is it girlfriend?? If you can't write a resume and market yourself you should be working for Obama in the government...where all you have to do is say you did something, instead of really doing it.
Not sure if anyone has posted here lately. But the company that everyone says is a scam was featured (not as an advertisement) in a Maxim mag. Saying they were job recruiters and would help with your resume for free. Just wondering if anyone on here actually had paid them and gotten ripped off.... itspersonalmarketing.com
Received email in response to posting resume on CareerBuilder:
We have employment opportunities that may be of interest to you.
Please contact me via email if you are actively looking and I will send you the link to open positions online.
Best Regards,
Kelly Smithson
kellysmithson@resumeadvance.net
Resume Advance
I didn't even bother responding. Happy I found this blog.
I have also received offers from chinese companies that will give me commission if I set up an LLC to sell their products through - yeah, right!!
Who is contacting the Office of the Attorney General of their state, and the Better Business Bureau about this? This needs to be investigated and shut down.
https://odr.bbb.org (BBB) lists
managementrecruiting.com
as having this contact info:
8547 E Arapahoe Rd Unit J-136
Greenwood Village, CO 801121430
I submitted a "complaint" which consisted of submitting no information at all, just selecting this business name from a list.
(I am assuming that there is only one managementrecruiting.com)
After hitting "submit" this is what appeared on the BBB page:
The BBB that will handle your complaint is:
BBB of Denver / Boulder Colorado
(Denver, CO)
1020 Cherokee Street
Denver, CO 80204-4039
Phone: (303)758-2100
Fax: (303)577-8101
Email: info@denver.bbb.org
Web: http://www.denver.bbb.org
However, people have got to submit ACTUAL DATA about these experiences to Better Business Bureau offices and the Offices of the the Attorney General in their states.
Now they are working under another name(www.newcareeronline.com)since their name is basically dirt in Denver and Nationwide. This blog is performing a great community service by keeping the information updated. Lynne Emerick McArthur is another one of the devious culprits at this firm and attempted to sucker me into her little game of take the money and run. But I was way too adept at questioning her and since I have all the credentials I need I quickly brushed her off. She was not polite, obviously out of her league when talking to me and doesn't know much about the marketplace. She's obviously "green" at taking people's money and providing nothing in return. Watch out for this one. She and the rest of her group have now morphed to a new Web location listed above. Shyster's are everywhere in this economic environment....be vigilant my friends!!!!
I am a victim of these thieves! Ouch. I have recovered and since doing well, but with this large a population of ripped off clients where is the class action suit to save any more people from being taken? Paul Bokelman has been all over the west coast taking money from hard-times people for decades. SF Bay area, Spokane, Portland - He should be stopped altogether. Tom - Oregon
Just curious, why did the posts stop in 2008? Also, ITS is now doing business as S.E.T. Same address as ITS. Same exact program. Same fees, $9500.
Is this ITS personal marketing now calling itself SET personal marketing.
I got the email and the call and am supposed to get a second call back from these people.
Will let you know more.
Is this the same as SET Personal Marketing? The process sounds very similar. I have not paid any money as of yet.
More to update the "Saga" November 2011....
The company has a nother new name "SET". It has connections to Bob Gerberg. I, like everyone else, looked at a job on a public site-responded to it and received the first call. I got to the point of receiving an agreement. The agreement had a "bad smell" compared to the pitch so I did some digging. I came across several blogs, none as good as this one.
When I was searching for information on "SET" I found the CFO, Mike Egan. When I searched for "Mike Egan Colorado" I found interesting info noticing a connection with Robert Gerberg on "corporationwiki". Check it out: http://www.corporationwiki.com/Colorado/Denver/robert-j-gerberg/35064299.aspx
Needles to say, I stopped all activity with SET.
I hope this helps others to avoid the mistake...these guys are still in business.
Post a Comment