Much like many of the other reviews online, I signed up with this company to have them help me find a job after being laid off due to company restructure.
I came in for their requested interview, met with a recruiter, did exceptionally well on all of my requested testing, and spent a decent amount of time discussing things. He assured me that they had quite a few positions that I matched very well with, based upon my qualifications, and that he would get busy working on getting me a job immediately. He told me to contact him and that he would get back with me really quick, e-mail or call, and I told him that I would do so frequently so that we were on the same page. In fact, I told him that I would get with him in a few days just to touch base. He seemed upbeat about my desire to regularly and frequently communicate. I came out of the discussion hoping that this situation might be different than the handful of other staffing agencies I've worked with in the past. Generally, in my experience, they say these things, but as soon as you leave the office, you never hear from them again. I thought I'd give them a shot, though, because some agencies absolutely rock!
I went in on a Friday, and I sent an e-mail on Monday to the recruiter. I know that it was just the weekend, so I didn't expect anything -- I just wanted to basically let him know that I was interested, and that I was going to keep in communication with him like I told him that I would. No response. I waited another day, and e-mailed again. No rush, of course, but I did except him to respond at least the same day like he said he would. When he did respond, he was short, and I perceived an irritated attitude from him. In fact, he basically told me not to contact him, and that he would contact me IF he heard something. He would not answer any questions about what he was doing on my behalf, if he was even working my resume/app. I figured, fine, I'll give him some time, and the benefit of the doubt.
Two weeks later. Nothing. No phone call. No followup e-mail to even touch base just to let me know that he hadn't forgot about me. So I sent him an e-mail again, several paragraphs long with some questions. The following morning, I received an e-mail that consisted of three short sentences. Again, basically don't bother contacting me -- you'll be contacted if someone is interested. Again, in this e-mail, he didn't answer anything, and didn't say anything. Nothing. Just "don't call us, we'll call you."
Unfortunately, not only is this company what I would consider a "typical" staffing company, they're actually worse than that. It's almost as if there is a some kind of rule about transparency. They won't answer questions, they won't spend time even communicating, and they will brush you off when you contact them. Quite frankly, I feel like I pissed the staffing rep off when I e-mailed him the first time (for some reason), and that my resume/app got pushed to the back of the stack and/or stuck in a file somewhere. I have no confidence whatsoever that LPC Personnel is even bothering to help find me a job. Why do I feel this way? I've been brushed off several times now, and they can't even tell me what they've done to try to find me a position. Not even vaguely.
What's worse is that I have a background in HR and staffing -- I know how this game works. Every company has their own ways of doing things, but the process is fairly straightforward. Some clients take time, and others are quick. Unless they have no clients whatsoever (and they should have been up-front about this if this were the case), there should have been at least several jobs closed in a two-week period. Beyond this, any reputable staffing agency will be forthcoming about what they are doing to help you find a job, how many companies they are repping you to, what kinds of jobs they are sourcing for you, and what kind of feedback they're getting from clients (if you aren't getting interviews or jobs). LPC Personnel has not bothered to do ANY of this, and only gets agitated if you ask. I'm not sure what the problem is.
Ultimately, I'm very, very disappointed with LPC Personnel. Except during my original interaction, I would consider them to have been almost rude, unprofessional, and indignant -- none of which are traits that I should be using to describe a staffing agency worth their salt. I've wasted gasoline, and my time -- both of which could be used somewhere else to actually help get a job.
Now, if there was any truth to them working my resume/app, once they read this, they'll definitely throw my stuff through the shredder. I would like to say that I hope that Paula W. will respond with more than a "canned statement" and offer to have me call her and discuss the situation so that we could resolve this. Unfortunately, I won't hold my breath because I just don't think they care. I hope they prove me wrong. read more
