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These people are at it again under the name of Career Solutions, but, with the same players...How interesting, I had similar experience with Mr Vargo. Before joining Chandler-Hill as a client Mr. Vargo stated that they have the Fortune 1000 companies in the Houston area as corporate clients as well as other major companies. He stated that they would be able to place me in a career position in 30-45 days making $600, 000 plus per year, easily, especially with my experience and educational profile. My 'profile' results showed that only 1% of the people in the country matched my educational qualifications and profile and that I would be in high demand for executive position. He stated that they were charging me the standard $13, 000 fee possible based on how quickly they would be able to find me a position. He stated that my profile/resume would be sent to all their corporate clients however when asked for proof of this I was given none.
Chandler Hill teaches/trains its' ‘employee’ clients NOT to use the job placement websites or to send your resume to the HR departments, they claim it is a waste of time, yet that is all they do. I first started working with Alex Luingas for 12 month with zero result (not even one telephone interview) and after complaining due to lack of results Jon Vargo stated that he would personally get involved and 'reach out' to his contacts and corporate partners on my behalf. After few weeks he failed to do so or prove otherwise. In fact he would not respond to ANY of my emails asking what companies he spoke to on my behalf.
Their 'professional resume writers' don’t really do anything. They make you fill out all kinds of 'assignments' and the software automatically fills in a word document to write the resume. If you ask to have them ‘spice up’ your resume with industry key words they tell you “no, we don’t do thatâ€. Your campaign manager really only has meetings with you to get you to sign paperwork stating that they are doing their job. If you question them on how they are assisting you they makeup excuses and tell you that they can’t move to the next step until you sign the paperwork saying they are doing their job. When I asked to see a list of their ‘Corporate Clients’ or a list of non-search engine positions that they knew about, my campaign manager (at the time Alex Luingas and later on due to a lot of complains Bruce Clagg) got VERY mad at me and YELLED at me and tried to terminate my contract with them. They do not actively assist you in finding a job. Their website and paperwork states one thing but their sales people and campaign managers verbally tell you anything to keep you coming back and paying them until your two years contract is over.
They rush you through the process and in and out their door as quickly as possible. After nearly 2 years with them I have yet to receive a call from anyone that Chandler-Hill supposedly submitted my resume to nor have received a legitimate lead from their 'exclusive client list'. The only positions that they have submitted my information for have been found through job search engines, not through their 'exclusive client list'.
I have followed up with all of the companies that Chandler Hill stated that they submitted my resume/information to and half have responded back to me. Half of them responded back to me and have never received my information nor heard of me or Chandler Hill. The positions and companies that they claimed to have submitted my information to have never received anything from them. These were valid positions that I could have applied for but since Chandler Hill said that they were submitting for me I did not apply.
I am unemployed and I wasted $9, 500.00 of what was left of my savings with this firm based upon verbal promises of employment. Someone needs to expose them and stop other people from falling for this scam!
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
I had the exact same experience. Career Solutions in Houston needs to be investigated by the Attorney Generals Office.
I also entered into a contract with Career Solutions. I pressed them on what exactly they would be doing that would add value to my job search for they large fee they charge. I was assured that 'a team of career professionals would be searching and working leads daily on my behalf"... 4 months later, not one position has come across my desk from career solutions. not one lead from career solutions. Here is what they do... Rewrite your resume. Make you feel like getting a high level position is impossible without their help. Run you though a couple "stages" of how to approach employers etc... and send you down the road. it is really a joke. the service that they provide is not at all what they describe when selling you. However, they are protected by a contract that is very clever. So - please dont be fooled. These people are criminals.
Is this the one in the Williams Tower? I just received a phone call from them to come into there office. They were kind of vague though.
File a lawsuit and you will see that the contract isn't so clever. They may not be operating legally in the state.
My husband and I had the exact same experience! He had been laid off and was desperate to find a job. They stated that my husband was very marketable and would have a job within 60 to 90 days. We cashed in my husbands 401 account to pay for this. The results were the same, no job and out $6000. I do not want any one else to have this experience! Stay away.
I'm having the exact same experience. I have Alex Luingas who is supposed to be assisting me but it is a complete waste of time. These guys are just used car salesmen. Actually, worse. Used car salesmen at least give you something ! All I got was a rewritten resume (which was actually worse than the one that I had originally) and that took them 4 months as well !. keep away from this company ! And yes, this is the one in the Williams Tower.
I had the same experience with Career Solutions located in the Williams Tower. I can personally vouch for the legitimacy of the complaints. This company has a bad reputation by their former clients. There is not a one single positive review by anyone anywhere on the internet when I wrote this complaint. SCAM!
I went to this same location ( at The William Tower) and after some personality tests one woman told me that I needed to make a deposit of $5, 000 to them. Even though they said that they would re-fund part of this money, to me it was enough information to leave the place, and I never came back. During this difficult time when many high profile employees are in the market ( unemployed) this is not the only company which is trying to make money out of peoples' pain. I agree that it should be reported to The Attorney General for further investigation.
I was also called in for a visit with them and I am glad i found this website before that. There is another place called MAP in the uptown area which is also up to the same scam. Stay away from them too.
I went there today because I responded to a job posting they had on Career builder.
They guy was really nice walking to his office, but once we got inside he noticed that I hadn't divulged my current salary or expectations on his application.
I didn't think that would be a big deal as any real recruiter would get an offer from the company trying to hire you and start the negotiations there.
He flipped out on me and basically kicked me out of his office. I'm so glad I didn't get involved with these characters after reading all of this.
Many thanks to those who have posted. I had contacted this organization because I had not been as successful as I have hoped I would be after getting my undergrad and starting my grad school in Houston. I ran into an organization like this more than 15-17 years ago over on McQue and Westheimer. I am sure the same players that were there are still involved with this organization.
I am sorry for anyone who has lost money with this group. I will write that they are clever and the digs in the Williams tower are nice but those "offices" are an executive suite. If you ever enter an "Executive" level office that has an executive suite setup, exit as quickly as you can.
Again, my deepest thanks to those who have posted as I have not interviewed with a company in several years and had forgotten about organizations like this. Your posts saved me a lot of trouble and headache.
The gentleman who pre-screened me for placement - Mark Gasaway - asked what I thought my interview skills were. I said a '10'..he said he'd NEVER met a 10. Then he repeatedly told me that at 49 I was too old to find work without his help. When I asked about the fee, he said it was 1-6% of my salary upon placement. I am skeptical by nature, but this company had my ears to the wind and the red flags whipping. I am glad I took the time to look this up before my second session, today
In regards to andersen1963: I, too. met with Mark Gasaway and yes, he has met a 10 in interviewing skills because he met me. Trust your instinct and go with it. Any Executive Placement firm that uses executive suites, i.e. rented office space not dedicated to a single company, is highly questionable and in this case, Career Solutions is a definite scam.
Also, I am older than you and I do just fine in getting interviews without the help of someone like Gasaway. I only contacted this company as one of my methods of networking as I seeking to return to the Executive ranks after refining my technical skills. I wanted to see if they had their act together so they could help me. They don’t and I moved on. Everyone else should not bother with this organization, and in particular Mark Gasaway. Actually, Mark represented himself to me, in both email and a business card, as Michael Gasaway. The email address I have for that person is mgasaway@careersolutionsweb.com.
Be careful folks and do not believe all you are told. andersen1963 if you are 49 and have the experience, an organization would want to have someone like you at the executive level.
Please avoid doing busy but Career Solutions. I has the same horrible experience. It was a waste of time and money!
I have also been scammed by Amy Riggs and Alex Luingas. I submitted my complaint to client advocate and got nothing. Now their phone number doesn't work. And no trace of them on the internet. Anyone want to join me in calling Fox2?
I too were contacted by, Jonathan Allan, one of their "recruiters" in June 2012. I had been working overseas since 2003 and was really looking forward to getting back to work in the USA once again. After about a half an hour, Jonathan, explained in full the sort of relationship we'd be entering into. I quickly realized it was a possible scam as real recruiters DO NOT charge the employee a fee. I challenged his position on every statement he made - He quickly became sharp in his comments when he realized he was not going to get any money out of me.
I got a job soon after that - unfortunately it was overseas again, but, I'm very happy that I did not engage in the supposed business these unscrupulous individuals are selling. I'm almost finished with my one-year contract overseas and I expect to return home to the USA to continue my quest for a legitimate position.
Please be aware that Jonathan Allan Vargo and his group are operating under a new Name, it is called Paragon Group, the website is www.paragongrouptx.com, office is located at Paragon 9950 Cypresswood Second Floor Houston, TX 77070
[protected], They tried to Scam me but I figured it out and I became more certain after I looked at the above reviews ... thank you to all and please be careful ...
Paragon Group TX company has never been in any way connected with the group known as career solutions.
We are in no way connected to Career Solutions. They have an office in Houston in the Galleria area. Career Solutions is based in Phoenix Arizona. We are Texas owned and operated Jon Vargo did join our group recently after resigning from Career Solutions due to their operating practices.
Paragon Group Management
Same players, different name - NRA Companies. Paragon Group Texas located at 9950 Cypresswood Drive, Houston Texas 77090.
Patsy Collier and Bruce Clagg will insist that you really do need their help in finding the RIGHT job. But BEWARE of those two!
They will urge you to sign a contact so you can get started with your search - $2500 up front, plus another $2500 once YOU find a job. They are NOT a recruiting agency as they will initially lead you to believe (smoke and mirrors). They DO NOT arrange interviews with potential employers. Those promises of Paragon's long list of employer contacts to match your skills are totally untrue!
So $5000 seems a bit steep for advice on job search engines, resume writing and interviewing techniques?
Please BEWARE of Paragon Group Texas.
I got a phone call from Ashley and at first it seemed like a recruiting company calling regarding some jobs they had open, so I scheduled an appointment to go meet with a "recruiter". I tried looking them up via google but nothing came up so I checked their website on her signature line (Paragonemploymentagency.com). The site is very vague so I called back to ensure this wasn't something to where I'd have to come in and pay them...she blatantly lied to me and said the senior recruiter saw my resume and had some positions that were a good fit and they get paid via the hiring company. I then asked which positions she was referring to since I was on their site and non were a fit for my background, her response was that there were some new ones not posted and couldn't give me any more information. I hesitated but still went in. I then met with Bruce who went on for over 30 minutes about job market stats, newspaper ads, hr people vs recruiters and how they don't work for the candidate etc.. I had to interrupt and ask on three separate occasions as to why I was even there. Finally, the third time I asked him for a clear answer and asked if this was something I'd need to pay them for since the first 2 times he skirted around the topic. He then went on to tell me my resume was maybe a 5 (which I've had professionally done) but then had no real feed back as to how to make it better. He then went on to tell me they only select 1 of every 10 people they meet to work with, which I don't belive as I don't think 1 of every 10 people they meet with even agree to this. This was a total WASTE of time, I wish they had been more honest as I wouldn't have wasted my time or theirs by going in.
Is this the same group as career services group in 2700 post oak? They contacted me the same way as described here
I was just contacted by Ashley today to come in the Cypresswood location for an interview tomorrow. Fortunate for me I check every company out on the Internet. Here converstion was vague with no real knowledge of jobs they seen fit for me. Also their website is bare and none of the 5 jobs listed in Houston where even in my career field. I'm so glad I found this posting and thanks everyone. I definitely will not be wasting my time or gas on this appointment!
I was also contacted by Ashley W. (no last name, just W.) Pretty much the same conversation went with me. But she asked me what type of salary I was looking for and before I even finished she interrupted and asked if I was at least looking for $X that was way over my salary range; even for Houston, TX. I always do my research as well and I could not get any information for them in Houston and the I cam across this...I'm so glad I ran in to this! I definately will not be wasting my time going to this "interview with my senior recruiter".