I was contacted by Chandler Hill Partners who told me I met their stringent selection criteria and that they could help me transition into a lucrative position in a new industry. I did my research and uncovered mixed reviews, however everything I read seemed to be countered by some kind of research and insight explaining it away. I can only guess the reason why I was targeted by Chandler Hill was because after being informed by my current employer that my position was being eliminated I began to research opportunities in the DC area and post my resume to various online job boards. Upon being contacted by the Chandler Hill Partners representative I was led to believe I had submitted my information versus them finding me. Because I had submitted my information to a number of sites in pursuit of a reliable headhunter it was easy for the Chandler Hill representative to lead me to believe I had submitted my information versus them trolling job boards for people who recently uploaded/updated their resume. I 'interviewed' with a Chandler Hill Partners sales consultants which consisted of a meeting where I was questioned about my 'liabilities' and a Myers-Briggs assessment. The sales consultants do a good job of making you feel like they can really help, and even addressed my concerns about complaints I read on the Internet. I was led to believe that so long as I was willing to put the work into it I was perfect for placement with one of their contacts looking for director level candidates. I was then that before Chandler Hill would take me on I must go through a second interview with my spouse. I was that part of Chandler Hill's process is to ensure the candidate and their partner met the cut to move forward with their services because the companies Chandler Hill Partners were to connect me expected to interact with both my husband and I as part of their interview process. Prior to making my decision to sign with Chandler Hill, I accepted a position with my current employer. In light of the current economy, I decided it made sense to continue to explore options and consider doing so with Chandler Hill Partners. I signed on with them in mid-April and put in many hours of 'homework' that was supposed to result in career advise and the creation of marketing collateral that was supposed to include a resume that would take me to 'the next level.' All I received was a Word document with the text I inputted into the eSearchOnline portal.I was told my inputs had been reviewed and edited by a certified resume writing expert but had not.I was tasked with writing a script for a video that was to be reviewed and edited to better align with the direction Chandler Hill was taking me in.I know the script was not reviewed or edited because it came time to film it I read off the text I sent - typos and all.There was no assessment of my skills and experience or discussion around what I was looking to transition to. The meetings with the campaign manager consisted of 'workshops 'where my campaign manager told me how to do all the things I was doing before I signed the contract with Chandler Hill.I did not receive the promised direct contacts I was promised until months into the process.I was told I had to provide them contacts within my network and pursue them before I would be provided contacts from Chandler Hill.When I did receive their direct contacts I found they were associated with the industry I had said, on many occasions, I wanted to look outside of.After finally being provided with the draft marketing collateral and direct contacts (none of which met the mark) I raised my concerns.At that time I also attempted to contact Chandler Hill Partners for copies of receipts for the amounts for which they had billed me thus far.I requested my sales consultant contact me but was instead contacted by my campaign manager.When he contacted me in response to my message he did not seem to know why I called and instead told me to call him if I had a problem with something.When I told him that I had reached out to get a record of charges billed to my credit card his tone became less accusatory.During this time I had also contacted the campaign manager by phone, email and during meetings to let him know that the marketing collateral, etc., I had received was not satisfactory and that I did not see how it was going to help me get the type of position I was told Chandler Hill could help me get to.He told me to redo the inputs I had provided earlier in the process but provided no direction on what those inputs should look like, what needed to be changed.He then asked me to provide him with a job description for an integrated marketing director - the type of position I was looking to transition into.After telling him that I thought I was paying Chandler Hill to provide me with that type of information and coaching he said he would look for something I could use.This aroused my suspicions and led me to contact the Chandler Hill Partners client advocate who assured me that she would act on my behalf. She told me my options were to pursue another campaign manager or request a refund. I told her I would think about it and let her know as I was still in the mindset (as I still am) that it is in my best interest to continue to research and explore employment options.
In the meantime, my campaign manager provided me with some job descriptions for the type of positions I was looking for and asked me to rewrite my inputs based on that information.He said we needed rework everything that had been done thus far because it did not align with the direction I had been looking to move in since I started working with him and Chandler Hill.Basically, none of the information I ahd submitted or provided about my experience and the direction I was looking to take had been reviewed.I was told I would need to start from scratch.I was six months into the process and I had nothing to show for it so I decided that the best thing for me would be to end the relationship with Chandler Hill Partners and pursue a refund.The client advocate said it would take 8-10 business days to review my case and get an answer. I was told that the case would be reviewed by Sarah Hightower Hill and an executive committee. I spoke with the client advocate on Tuesday and received a response the following Monday - I am guessing my 'file' was not reviewed by anyone other than client advocate and the response went out in that day's mail. The respnse I received informed me that Chandler Hill Partners provided me 75% of the services and therefore would not provide me a full refund. I did not receive the items promised in the agreement. I was also send 'documentation' which was made of faxed copies of forms with my signature and questionable dates.One document reflected that I received marketing collateral and contacts on 7/21 despite the fact that I have emails correspondence with my campaign manager reflected that as of 9/7 I had not yet been provided with the promised direct contacts.I requested an original, notarized copy of the documents and was told by the client advocate that I did not need them. In my experience, the people at Chandler Hill Partners are not adept in doing what they claim they are - career transition and marketing - but to their credit are adept as selling their services and not following through.I wish I had taken a friends advise when I asked her about this firm - she said you should never pay someone to find you a job. Use your network-talk to friends and family and get an honest critique of your resume. Do research-there are a ton of free resources out there. Do not let Chandler Hill or other companies like them con you into spending your hard earned money on an empty promise.On a side note, I reworked my resume with the help of a friend and former co-worker, have received calls from potential employees and have a phone interview next week.