A couple of years ago, I posted information about a scam focused on bogus venture capital (or other) job opportunities, which forwarded folks to “fake” ATS scoring systems, and then to bogus resume services to “fix” resumes. At that time, many resume writers got messages from their clients that their resumes were not ATS-friendly – along with many job seekers, even though they were. One of these fake scorers was Resumeterpro (not Resumeter).
When I posted that online, I received hundreds of calls and postings from job seekers who were taken in by this scam. However, after receiving threats, I took down my posting at that time.
As of today, the FTC is shutting this scam down. Nick Corcodilos (Ask the Headhunter) followed up on this. See the following posting: https://www.asktheheadhunter.com/12779/ftc-halts-sevenfigurecareers.
The FTC has halted this operation. It took awhile, but there is hope in shutting down shady operators.
BELOW IS THE POST I MADE IN THE PAST ON THIS.
This is a post I put to private when threatened a year ago by the scammers. It has since been confirmed as a scam on sites such as Fortune Magazine: Venture Capital Recruiting Scam Resurfaces | Fortune.com, and shut down. I am re-posting this publicly since similar scams still abound. ResumeterPro no longer exists.
Last week I posted a detailed commentary on resumeterpro.com: https://robinresumes.com/2016/06/11-red-flags-to-consider-before-using-the-www-resumeterpro-com-applicant-tracking-system-ats-reverse-engine/, which detailed 11 Red Flags I found doing an investigation. This is a continuation on that research…
At that time, I did not know the name of the “recruiter” referring candidates to resumeterpro.com. Since then, more that 20 job seekers have contacted me by posting on my website, posting on LinkedIn, and/or by phone, indicating they were contacted via their LinkedIn profiles by various “recruiters” from “Finnburg & Switzer” – www.finnburgswitzer.com – telling them they would be referred for a job – and then emailing them about the failure of their resume to pass ATS.
Based on the comments, I have done some investigation on Finnburg “&” Switzer – the recruiter job seekers have been contacted by. A press release for the company, dated May 3, 2016: https://www.accesswire.com/439509/Finnburg–Switzer-Expands-Recruiting-Practice, has the same unreachable contact phone number as the press release for ResumeterPro, but it uses a different name and email for the contact: Michele Burgess
newyork@finnburgswitzer.com. Another press release on the company on May 19, 2016 (http://www.nasdaq.com/press-release/private-equity-firms-are-turning-to-finnburg–switzer-to-grow-portfolio-companies-20160519-01182) has a different contact: Michael Lee, contact@finnburgswitzer.com 800-507-4870 which is the same phone number used by the person in an email to the job seeker.
If you go to the site, they refer to the company as Finnburg and Switzer or Finnburg Switzer or Finnburg & Switzer. It is unusual for a company to list their names in 3 separate ways on websites and in emails.
Also, they have a phone number associated with contact@finnburgswitzer.com that is different than in the press release: +44 2071 646 174.
Note, Finnburg “&” Switzer is a financial firm, supposedly located in Switzerland some of my google search (based in Geneva per their press release) – but based in London, per their Linkedin profile. Their domain is hidden on Domains By Proxy, LLC on GoDaddy, Inc. – a US based company. The domain was registered on 11/21/2013, so it is a bit older. The company did not cover other domains such as Net or Org – and for a company of 51-200 employees this is unusual. The website lists addresses in Geneva, London, and NY that agree with the addresses on LinkedIn and the Press Release.
The address on the email sent to me is a mail drop / temporary office space in New York city shared by many others. It is not a permanent address for a company.
They have only 3 employees with LinkedIn profiles. None have a picture, and they look sparse to me. There have been other LinkedIn scams with networks set up in the past.
This goes deeper. If you go to LinkedIn and the finnsburgswitzer website, they report Ames Conner is their CFO. There is a picture on the finnsburgswitzer website of Ames, http://www.finnburgswitzer.com/our-firm.php. However, if you google search the image it is a STOCK PHOTO – not a real person – found on http://www.123rf.com/stock-photo/pensionate.html among other standard image sites such as http://www.canstockphoto.com/images-photos/business-man.html). It has been posted as the image of other people as well on the Internet.
There are other pictures of company officials on the site. One other is also associated with others on the Internet per google search and is also available on stock photo sites. The second one is difficult for google images to read and I am not sure if it is a match for the one google is presenting.
Here is the content one of the job seekers sent me of their email from the “recruiter.” They get the email for an interview FIRST, before they get this second email. It could be from other recruites, here is a typical email
From: Sofia Campbell
Date: June 7, 2016 at 8:14:31 PM EDT
To:
Subject: Re: PE Portfolio Opportunity
Reply-To: Sofia Campbell
I have been having problems getting your resume in our applicant tracking software. For some reason all your past experience is not being scanned correctly resulting in a lot of missing information. I contacted our software provider and was told that the issue is due to your resume using styling that converts the text to non-readable format, the file type is not the issue since our system accepts all file types. They instructed me to ask you to check your resume through a free online tool they work with (https://www.resumeterpro.com) and see if you can identify and fix the problem.
Have you experienced any issues with your resume being rejected in the past? Can you please run your resume through that tool and try to fix any issues before the end of next week otherwise I will have to manually enter all your information in the system which I will not be able to do until I return and since we have to submit the resume to their inhouse recruiting team even if I manually enter it in our system I am afraid the same issue may come up then too. I hope you can get this fixed by the end of next week so our timing is not affected.
I’ll wait for an updated copy from you and will keep you posted on our progress through emails while I’m traveling.
P.s: Sorry I cannot commit to an exact time for interview right now but what I can do is email you a few time slots by next Thursday and we can agree to something that works for both of us.
Best Regards,
Sofia Campbell
Finnburg Switzer
295 Madison Ave, 12th Floor
New York, NY 10017
Office: 800-507-4870×143
http://www.finnburgswitzer.com
NOTICE: The information contained in this message may be privileged. It may also be protected from disclosure or be a privileged work product or proprietary information. This information is intended for the exclusive use of the addressee(s). If you are not the intended recipient, please notify the sender immediately by replying to this message and you are hereby notified that any use, disclosure, dissemination, distribution (other than to the addressee(s)), copying or taking of any action because of this information is strictly prohibited.
This is the recruitment letter I got from another job seeker:
Thank you for sending you resume over. I apologize for the delay in response, I was swamped with meetings.
I am leaving for London early morning tomorrow for meeting with the investors of this deal. I have worked with them in the past and have a good idea of how they move things. My team and I have a number of candidates shortlisted and at this point you are definitely a top contender. Here is some more background
A very prestigious European private equity firm acquired the company recently for a turn around opportunity. It is a mid-sized company with national presence and revenue in the range of $50m to $60m. Investors have already brought in a new interim CEO and are looking to replace the c-suite and other senior leadership positions. Company is headquartered in Florida and will not require relocation which is one of the reason why you are an ideal candidate because everyone else being considered at this point will need to relocate. Some overseas travel may be required since the investors are all in Europe. I think your past experience in the industry, especially in your role at MBL Risk Analytics makes you an ideal candidate. While I am still waiting on more details and specifics, based on my past experience working with these investors I believe the complete compensation package will be above your expectations and I also believe this is a great opportunity for you to advance your career at this time. One of the biggest advantage of working with this PE firm is their loyalty, I have seen many of their past picks appointed to board and advisory roles in other portfolio companies and I think a career advancement opportunity like this is perfect for you at this time. All in all I think this is a great fit for everyone but since we are in such an early stage of the process all I can tell you is what I believe to be true and there is no guarantee at this point that all the decision makers will agree with me. I hope you can understand the requirement for confidentiality at this time which prevents me from sharing more details until we start the paperwork next week.
I will be sending your resume to their inhouse recruiting team today and will also enter it into our system so we are ready to move forward as soon as I return. Next step at this point will be the NDA which I will try to get over to you via email as soon as possible after the meeting next week. I will be back in NY by the end of next week but do not plan to go into work until Monday. I would like to schedule a call with you first thing on Monday 20th June so let me know your availability. Formal interview in our NYC office will be required and we can set a schedule for that during our call.
Please let me know if you have any current commitments which may prevent you from moving forward with this in a timely manner so I can take those into consideration if a question comes up during my meetings.
Best Regards,
Sofia Campbell
Finnburg & Switzer Recruiting
295 Madison Ave, 12th Floor
New York, NY 10017
Office: 800-507-4870×143
http://www.finnburgswitzer.com
NOTICE: The information contained in this message may be privileged. It may also be protected from disclosure or be a privileged work product or proprietary information. This information is intended for the exclusive use of the addressee(s). If you are not the intended recipient, please notify the sender immediately by replying to this message and you are hereby notified that any use, disclosure, dissemination, distribution (other than to the addressee(s)), copying or taking of any action because of this information is strictly prohibited.
Barbara Beaubien says
I got the same scam sent to me..the sender was “jeff stewart” at Finnburg……same letter just substituted my state and my company.
Robin Schlinger says
Others have been contacted by a Jeff Stewart also per their contacts to me. There are several names.
Eric C. says
I got pretty much the same email as the others who have posted comments to your site. In mine, “Jeff Stewart” had dropped the reference to resumeterpro.com, and now refers specifically to Taleo. It seems like they have refined the pitch a little bit:
I have been having problems getting your resume in our applicant tracking software and just spent an hour manually entering your information in our system. For some reason your past experience was not being scanned correctly resulting in a lot of missing information. You have a very professionaly written resume and there is no need to make changes to the content but according to Taleo the issue maybe due to your resume using styling that converts some of the text to non-readable format. The file type or format is not the issue either since they accept all file types including word and pdf.
I have had two candidates in the past with similar issues and they used to get their resume fixed. They also provide free ATS Resume templates and a short guide on how to make your resume ATS Proof yourself which can be downloaded at /free-template-downloads
Can you please use those instructions and template to update your resume and fix any issues as soon as possible since we have to submit the resume to their inhouse recruiting team too and I am afraid the same issue may come up then too. I hope you can get this fixed by the end of next week so our timing is not affected.
I’ll wait for an updated copy from you and will keep you posted on our progress through emails while I’m traveling.
P.s: Sorry I cannot commit to an exact time for interview right now but I can email you a few time slots by next week and we can agree to something that works for both of us.
Thanks for doing the research on this. It is certainly a very well-constructed scam.
RReyonds says
Same Sofia Campbell correspondence to the letter. It’s a scam.
Joseph A Mattioli says
I received the same email from a Steven James…..
Shannon Tiemeyer says
Can you explain what the scam is? Resume Meter Pro looks legit. Is it? Is that the scam the $150 for a new resume or does the “recruiter” ask for money. I got one of the letters.
Clay Schulz says
Wanted to add to this. I’ve recieved similar emails from a Jessie Sweeney at Finnburg & Switzer. I think this goes a bit deeper. “She” continues to correspond with me from London, supposedly, saying that all is going well with her client (the hiring company), that they’ve accepted my resume (I didn’t do any uploading), but that she doesn’t have access to her phone while there (right).
What I think all this is eventually leading to is an attempt to extract personal info from me or, worse, to get me to front money in some way for travel in some sort of wire exchange/ fake check scam.
Stay away from these people. So far, nothing I’ve followed up on with them checks out.
Ashish Advani says
I was contacted by Jeff Stewart too. Exactly the same two emails as above. I have a third email just today which states:
Hey, this is Jeff. I am having trouble with my email account while I am here so I am sending you a quick update from our shared account. Sorry there was a change in meeting schedule and I was not able to update you earlier due to email issues.
Thank you for sending updated resume. Unfortunately, I do not have the access to our system while traveling so I cannot check until I get back. Looks good to me, I am sure this will work. No need to stress about this. Like I said if for any reason it still doesnt work, I will add your information in the system manually and I found a way to transfer candidate information directly from our system to theirs.
FYI – we are meeting with the decision makers today and depending on how well it’s going I may introduce you directly. I will let you know how it goes when I get back to my room tonight. There may be a slight change in my travel plans again due to another potential project and meeting. I am hoping I will be done here on time but may have to change my return flight to 24th June and since I do not have access to phone and all my tools here, we may have to change our call to next week. I will know for sure after the meeting today.
Lets keep our fingers crossed and hope for the best.
Jeff
Finnburg Switzer
295 Madison Ave, 12th Floor
New York, NY 10017
http://www.finnburgswitzer.com
NOTICE: The information contained in this message may be privileged. It may also be protected from disclosure or be a privileged work product or proprietary information. This information is intended for the exclusive use of the addressee(s). If you are not the intended recipient, please notify the sender immediately by replying to this message and you are hereby notified that any use, disclosure, dissemination, distribution (other than to the addressee(s)), copying or taking of any action because of this information is strictly prohibited.
His email seems to be oddly routed too: es@finnburgswitzer.com via amazonses.com
Robin Schlinger says
I don’t know. May be for the $150. Resumeterpro.com per my extensive investigation likely DOES NOT WORK. See my article: https://robinresumes.com/2016/06/11-red-flags-to-consider-before-using-the-www-resumeterpro-com-applicant-tracking-system-ats-reverse-engine/
It also may be for more than just this, since the latest letters appear to no longer be referring folks to upgrade their resumes using resumeterpro.com
Steve says
I too have received the emails. I am playing along though. I emailed the management company for the 12th floor of the bldg they “occupy”. They have no tenant under that name and have received a few other inquiries and called the 800 # listed. Got a very vague, receptionist. I tracked down the 800 # and it is owned by Onebox. So they probably have this service http://www.onebox.com/signup/pricing-live-receptionist
Anirudh V says
Got the same as mentioned above by other members . Seems like a scam. Also it seems they are using Amazon ses for email engine.
Finnburg & Switzer Recruiting
to me
6 hours agoDetails
Hey, this is Jessie. I am having trouble with my email account while I am here so I am sending you a quick update from our shared account.
Thank you for sending updated resume. Unfortunately, I do not have the access to our system while traveling so I cannot check until I get back. Looks good to me, I am sure this will work. No need to stress about this. Like I said if for any reason it still doesnt work, I will add your information in the system manually and I found a way to transfer candidate information directly from our system to theirs.
FYI – we are meeting with the decision makers today and depending on how well it’s going I may introduce you directly. I will let you know how it goes when I get back to my room tonight. There may be a slight change in my travel plans due to another potential project and meeting. I am hoping I will be done here on time but may have to change my return flight to 24th June and since I do not have access to phone and all my tools here, we may have to change our call to next week. I will know for sure after the meeting today.
Lets keep our fingers crossed and hope for the best.
Jessie
Finnburg Switzer
295 Madison Ave, 12th Floor
New York, NY 10017
http://www.finnburgswitzer.com
NOTICE: The information contained in this message may be privileged. It may also be protected from disclosure or be a privileged work product or proprietary information. This information is intended for the exclusive use of the addressee(s). If you are not the intended recipient, please notify the sender immediately by replying to this message and you are hereby notified that any use, disclosure, dissemination, distribution (other than to the addressee(s)), copying or taking of any action because of this information is
David Kasun says
Jessie Sweeney has emailed me pretty much the same deal. Seeing if it is real or fraud. 🙂 She is in London right now.
David says
Robin,
Thanks for exposing this for what it is. I’ve received the same emails, verbatim, from Jeff Stewart. According to a UK government site (https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/07385162) Finnburg Switzer LTD was dissolved on May 1, 2012 and there are no other active companies in the UK by that name.
It seems likely that someone is using that name to perpetrate whatever they’re attempting to do, but what exactly they’re trying to do escapes me. This is really very elaborate and time-consuming to go through a process like this. Most scammers don’t utilize such concerted effort and although I’m sure it’s a scam, it’s kind of fascinating to see how they intend to monetize their effort and what the end-game is. I’ll share information if I find anything new.
John says
Hi,
I’m at the stage of “things did not go well, but I am happy to refer you to another recruiter hiring for a different company”
I am waiting to see what the scam is. So farm the supposed recruiter did not ask me for anything personal or money. This is one strange scam.
Geoffrey Miller says
I received same email from Jeff:
I have been having problems getting your resume in our applicant tracking software and just spent an hour manually entering your information in our system. For some reason your past experience was not being scanned correctly resulting in a lot of missing information. You have a very professionaly written resume and there is no need to make changes to the content but according to Taleo the issue maybe due to your resume using styling that converts some of the text to non-readable format. The file type or format is not the issue either since they accept all file types including word and pdf.
I have had two candidates in the past with similar issues and they used https://www.atsproofresumes.com to get their resume fixed. They also provide free ATS Proof Resume templates and a short guide on how to make your resume ATS Proof yourself which can be downloaded at https://www.atsproofresumes.com/pages/free-template-downloads
Can you please use those instructions and template to update your resume and fix any issues as soon as possible since we have to submit the resume to their inhouse recruiting team too and I am afraid the same issue may come up then too. I hope you can get this fixed by the end of next week so our timing is not affected.
I’ll wait for an updated copy from you and will keep you posted on our progress through emails while I’m traveling.
P.s: Sorry I cannot commit to an exact time for interview right now but I can email you a few time slots by next week and we can agree to something that works for both of us.
Best Regards,
Jeff Stewart
Finnburg Switzer
295 Madison Ave, 12th Floor
New York, NY 10017
Office: 800-507-4870×133
http://www.finnburgswitzer.com
NOTICE: The information contained in this message may be privileged. It may also be protected from disclosure or be a privileged work product or proprietary information. This information is intended for the exclusive use of the addressee(s). If you are not the intended recipient, please notify the sender immediately by replying to this message and you are hereby notified that any use, disclosure, dissemination, distribution (other than to the addressee(s)), copying or taking of any action because of this information is strictly prohibited.
DT says
I received the same from Stephen James. Nothing checked out and thought it was very suspicious from the beginning.
DT says
Here’s the latest I received:
Sorry, I have bad news which is why I did not contact you yesterday as promised. The meeting didnt go as I planned. They are moving things really slow which is to be expected from a European firm but the interim CEO they hired for the company is against the idea of making any changes until the end of his first quarter. This pushes the start date of our search project since they are not willing to move forward with the paperwork until Q2 results come in. This was completely unexpected for me because I have worked with them in the past and know how they move things but the new CEO is a close friend of several board members so my team and I had little say in the decision. They did assure us of their commitment to bring in a new team as soon as possible but the earliest they can start the process is in August and even if everything goes as planned they will not be extending offers to candidates until September. Needless to say I am very disappointed because I had high hopes and was expecting to make placements and get paid before the start of Q3. Unfortunately, this leaves us with no choice but to suspend our efforts until they are ready to move forward. Our phone call does not make sense now because there is nothing I can share with you at this point, let’s cancel that for now.
I would like to stay connected but I understand if this change in plans does not work for you. If you want to move on, let me know and I will delete your resume and information. Alternatively, if you are willing I can introduce you to a friend of mine at Gladstone Companies (PE firm based in VA) who is working on a similar project/role but will require relocation. I am also sending your resume to a couple of board members and the interim CEO in hope of changing their mind and if I hear anything back I will let you know. I can imagine your disappointment and I apologize that I got carried away with excitement before the deal was finalized. Let me know how you wish to move forward. I hope that you’ll stay in touch and will be willing to move forward with me if you do not have other commitments when the deal is finalized. I am flying back on Wednesday now and will add you on Linkedin once I’m back so we can stay in touch.
Thoughts?
Sincerely,
Stephen
Finnburg Switzer
295 Madison Ave, 12th Floor
New York, NY 10017
http://www.finnburgswitzer.com
Jason W says
I’ve received the same email but from a guy named Phil Smith. I thought it was fishy and did some of the same research on LinkedIn profiles, etc. Good that this is getting exposed.
Scott Gilman says
I am receiving the same emails. Like everyone, I was suspicious but they have not asked for any personal information or tried to monetize this. Maybe they are just bored and trying to string along some job seekers? I’m baffled but like others I am interested to see where it goes.
Here is what I received yesterday. They must have us on a distribution list.
Sorry, I have bad news which is why I did not contact you yesterday as promised. The meeting didnt go as I planned. They are moving things really slow which is to be expected from a European firm but the interim CEO they hired for the company is against the idea of making any changes until the end of his first quarter. This pushes the start date of our search project since they are not willing to move forward with the paperwork until Q2 results come in. This was completely unexpected for me because I have worked with them in the past and know how they move things but the new CEO is a close friend of several board members so my team and I had little say in the decision. They did assure us of their commitment to bring in a new team as soon as possible but the earliest they can start the process is in August and even if everything goes as planned they will not be extending offers to candidates until September. Needless to say I am very disappointed because I had high hopes and was expecting to make placements and get paid before the start of Q3. Unfortunately, this leaves us with no choice but to suspend our efforts until they are ready to move forward. Our phone call does not make sense now because there is nothing I can share with you at this point, let’s cancel that for now.
I would like to stay connected but I understand if this change in plans does not work for you. If you want to move on, let me know and I will delete your resume and information. Alternatively, if you are willing I can introduce you to a friend of mine at Gladstone Companies (PE firm based in VA) who is working on a similar project/role but will require relocation. I am also sending your resume to a couple of board members and the interim CEO in hope of changing their mind and if I hear anything back I will let you know. I can imagine your disappointment and I apologize that I got carried away with excitement before the deal was finalized. Let me know how you wish to move forward. I hope that you’ll stay in touch and will be willing to move forward with me if you do not have other commitments when the deal is finalized. I am flying back on Wednesday now and will add you on Linkedin once I’m back so we can stay in touch.
Thoughts?
Sincerely,
Jessie
Finnburg Switzer
295 Madison Ave, 12th Floor
New York, NY 10017
http://www.finnburgswitzer.com
Fletcher says
I received the same email (as Scott) from Phil Smith. Amazing effort these guys are going through to potentially make $150.
R.A. H. says
I received the exact same letters as referenced above: I have an opportunity for you with a PE firm based in London; Your resume is not scanning into our ATS…: Sorry, I have some bad news, the interim CEO does not want to make any changes until after his first quarter… Definitely sounds like a scam to use the resume software at Resumeterpro. All of my emails were signed by a “Jeff Stewart” at Finnburg & Switzer. Emails started on May 26th and last one received was June 10th.
JAP says
I received the same emails also, from a Philip Smith, emails started on May 25th, the last one was June 10th…..
S says
I have received some of these same messages from Phil Smith. I just wrote him back to see what kind of answer I get. He sounded crazy, but I had no idea it is a scam! Sooooo interesting.
Mace D says
I received the same email from a Sofia Campbell. It is a scam
Curt says
Received all of the same e-mails from “Phil Smith”. Just a bunch of bottom feeding scammers.
Craig says
I received the same correspondence from Stephen James…
Still Angry says
I am pretty sure these people are the exact same group responsible for the ABS (Academy of Business Strategy) Scam and the Creative Associates International ‘misrepresented’ job postings. It is nice to see there are enough people around right now that are ‘wary’ of scams like these and post information like this to let people know about what they have discovered (and in just under a month or so of me getting an offer from these same people!). Thank you. Keep up the good work.
Kevin Lum says
I received same emails from “Jessie Sweenie” in May. Before responding to him, I did look him up on LinkedIn and it appeared legitimate. There was profile with picure. I had also looked up Finnburg & Switzer recruiting and they seemed to have a web site. There was even a May 3, 2016 news release that they were expanding their practice. Excerpt below: https://www.accesswire.com/439509/Finnburg–Switzer-Expands-Recruiting-Practice
“MANHATTAN, NY / ACCESSWIRE / May 3, 2016 / Finnburg and Switzer, a top international consulting firm, is pleased to announce that they are expanding their successful recruiting practice. As Mary Castillo, Vice President of the Finnburg and Switzer Recruiting Division noted, the company is planning to grow its recruiting practice by doubling their team of recruiters and opening a new office in Los Angeles, CA in 2016.”…
Based on this little bit of checking I responded. He/She sent 3 messages to me (below). I’ve subsequently noticed that I can’t find Jessie Sweeney in LinkedIn anymore and he/she did not response to any of my subsequent email sent to each of the email addresses he used.
Does anyone know what this SCAM is about and, now that I have apparently been compromised, is there anything I should be doing to protect myself? All they have of mine is my resume which I guess is no worse than what I’ve posted or put into profiles like TheLadders, CareerBuilder, Monster. Is it a marketing to sell services for ResumeterPro?
Thanks.
Kevin
Jessie Sweeney jessie@finnburgswitzer.com via amazonses.com
May 3
Good evening Kevin:
My name is Jessie Sweeney and I am a Sr. Recruiter at Finnburg & Switzer. Our client, a European private equity firm has retained us to fill various senior leadership roles in a recently acquired portfolio company based in USA. I was referred to your Linkedin profile by our sourcing team and based on your past experience I think you are a very credible candidate. I thought I’d send you a quick intro email to see if you are interested in new opportunities.
We are in early stages of this project and I expect to have everything finalized next week after our meeting in London so until then I cannot provide any details or answer any specific questions about the opportunity or the parties involved.
If you are interested in this great opportunity, please reply back to this email with a copy of your resume and as soon as we have the paperwork finalized I will send an NDA for you to sign and schedule a brief phone call to learn more about you.
Best Regards,
Jessie Sweeney
Finnburg & Switzer
57 West 57th Street, 3rd Floor, NYC, NY
Office: 631-403-1222
http://www.finnburgswitzer.com
———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Jessie Sweeney
Date: Thu, May 5, 2016 at 10:05 AM
Subject: Re: PE Portfolio Company Opportunity
Good morning Kevin
Thank you for sending you resume over. I apologize for the delay in response, I was swamped with meetings yesterday.
I am leaving for London in the evening for meeting with the investors of this deal. I have worked with them in the past and have a good idea of how they move things. My team and I have a number of candidates shortlisted and at this point you are definitely… Here is some more background
A very prestigious European private equity firm acquired the company recently for a turn around opportunity. It is a mid-sized company with national presence and revenue in the range of $50m to $60m. Investors have already brought in a new interim CEO and are looking to replace the c-suite and other senior leadership positions. Company is headquartered in MO and will not require relocation which is one of the reason why you are an ideal candidate because everyone else being considered at this point will need to relocate. Some overseas travel may be required since the investors are all in Europe. I think your past experience in the industry, especially in your role at XXXXX company makes you an ideal candidate. While I am still waiting on more details and specifics, based on my past experience working with these investors I believe the complete compensation package will be above your expectations and I also believe this is a great opportunity for you to advance your career at this time. One of the biggest advantage of working with this PE firm is their loyalty, I have seen many of their past picks appointed to board and advisory roles in other portfolio companies and I think a career advancement opportunity like this is perfect for you at this time. All in all I think this is a great fit for everyone but since we are in such an early stage of the process all I can tell you is what I believe to be true and there is no guarantee at this point that all the decision makers will agree with me. I hope you can understand the requirement for confidentiality at this time which prevents me from sharing more details until we start the paperwork next week.
I will be sending your resume to their inhouse recruiting team today and will also enter it into our system so we are ready to move forward as soon as I return. Next step at this point will be the NDA which I will try to get over to you via email as soon as possible after the meeting next week. I will be back in NY on Friday but do not plan to go into work until Monday. I would like to schedule a call with you first thing on Monday 16th May so let me know your availability. Formal interview in our NYC office will be required and we can set a schedule for that during our call on Monday.
Please let me know if you have any current commitments which may prevent you from moving forward with this in a timely manner so I can take those into consideration if a question comes up during my meetings.
Best Regards,
Jessie Sweeney
Finnburg & Switzer
57 West 57th Street, 3rd Floor, NYC, NY
Office: 631-403-1222
http://www.finnburgswitzer.com
On Thu, May 5, 2016 at 2:21 PM, Jessie Sweeney wrote:
I have been having problems getting your resume in our applicant tracking software. For some reason all your past experience is not being scanned correctly resulting in a lot of missing information. I contacted our software provider and was told that the issue is due to your resume using styling that converts the text to non-readable format. They instructed me to ask you to check your resume through a free online tool they work with (https://www.resumeterpro.com) and see if you can identify and fix the problem.
Have you experienced any issues with your resume being rejected in the past? Can you please run your resume through that tool and try to fix any issues before the end of next week otherwise I will have to manually enter all your information in the system which I will not be able to do until I return and since we have to submit the resume to their inhouse recruiting team even if I manually enter it in our system I am afraid the same issue may come up then too. I hope you can get this fixed by the end of next week so our timing is not affected.
I’ll wait for an updated copy from you and will keep you posted on our progress through emails while I’m traveling.
P.s: Sorry I cannot commit to an exact time for interview right now but what I can do is email you a few time slots by next Thursday and we can agree to something that works for both of us.
Best Regards,
Jessie Sweeney
Finnburg & Switzer
57 West 57th Street, 3rd Floor, NYC, NY
Office: 631-403-1222
http://www.finnburgswitzer.com
On Wed, May 11, 2016 at 12:45 AM, Finnburg & Switzer Recruiting wrote:
Sorry, I have bad news which is why I did not contact you yesterday as promised. The meeting didnt go as I planned. They are moving things really slow which is to be expected from a European firm but the interim CEO they hired for the company is against the idea of making any changes until the end of his first quarter. This pushes the start date of our search project since they are not willing to move forward with the paperwork until Q2 results come in. This was completely unexpected for me because I have worked with them in the past and know how they move things but the new CEO is a close friend of several board members so my team and I had little say in the decision. They did assure us of their commitment to bring in a new team as soon as possible but the earliest they can start the process is in July and even if everything goes as planned they will not be extending offers to candidates until September. Needless to say I am very disappointed because I had high hopes and was expecting to make placements and get paid before the start of Q3. Unfortunately, this leaves us with no choice but to suspend our efforts until they are ready to move forward. Our phone call does not make sense now because there is nothing I can share with you at this point, let’s cancel that for now.
I would like to stay connected but I understand if this change in plans does not work for you. If you want to move on, let me know and I will delete your resume and information. Alternatively, if you are willing I can introduce you to a friend of mine at Gladstone Companies (PE firm based in VA) who is working on a similar project/role but will require relocation. I am also sending your resume to a couple of board members and the interim CEO in hope of changing their mind and if I hear anything back I will let you know. I can imagine your disappointment and I apologize that I got carried away with excitement before the deal was finalized. Let me know how you wish to move forward. I hope that you’ll stay in touch and will be willing to move forward with me if you do not have other commitments when the deal is finalized. I am flying back on Wednesday now and will add you on Linkedin once I’m back so we can stay in touch.
Thoughts?
Sincerely,
Jessie
Finnburg & Switzer Executive Search
57 West 57th Street, 3rd Floor, NYC, NY
http://www.finnburgswitzer.com
Carolyn Ballard says
I received the exact same message as DT and Kevin Lum– afraid after some checking I also responded. I was in so hopes for a new opportunity.
SO
Does anyone know what this SCAM is about and, now that I have apparently been compromised, is there anything I should be doing to protect myself? All they have of mine is my resume which I guess is no worse than what I’ve posted or put into profiles like TheLadders, CareerBuilder, Monster. Is it a marketing to sell services for ResumeterPro?
Thanks.
Alexandra L says
I got the exact same emails. Exactly the same. They were sent by Stephen James. I really thought it was true even though I saw some red flags – the NYC office for one.
Tom says
Boy do I feel foolish for falling for this though I am apparently in good company. I received all of this trash from Jessie Sweeney. I looked for her/him on Linked In and came in late enough for there not to be a profile despite him/her saying they would send me a contact request. That was a red flag for me, but it was already too late.
What I am personally out is $100 for “ATS proofing” my resume which made my Resumeterpro score go from 67 to 97. It was all pretty plausible and in fact I have had a dozen exchanges with the ats proofing person over the course of 3 weeks. Atsproofresumes.com.
So, perhaps that is the scam in the end. I think I got that link through uploading my resume into resumeterpro.com (which no longer works for me) and having it fail which would make sense. Why atsproofr esumes continues to communicate with me I don’t know. But Jessie is dark and despite Finnsburg and Switzer’s website looking professionally done, I now conclude fully it is not legit.
Thanks for having a place to bring this all forward.
Onward and upward.
Tom
Dave says
After exercising an abundance (but not enough) caution I fell for this as well. Within 24 hours of providing my credit card and downloading the ATSproof resume onto my laptop I came to the incontrovertible conclusion that this all was a scam. I immediately canceled my credit card and identified the charge as fraud to my credit card company. My much larger concern however is that I downloaded sophisticated, undetectable malware onto my laptop. Thus, I changed all my passwords and ran four different malware scans on my laptop. So far I have found nothing sinister. Wondering if anyone else out there suspects downloaded spyware or keylogging malware as being the agenda for this scam. Seems like this outfit went to a hell of a lot of trouble just for the $100 resume service charge. I am concerned that they have identity theft ambitions. thoughts?
Mark Tumblin says
I received the exact same correspondence as Kevin Lum from a Jessie Sweeney. Oddly enough “HE” had a LinkedIn profile for a very brief time as I too looked him up upon first notice. I followed all of the exchanges through to “see you in July”. Oddly enough for me being in Nashville there has been activity which matched their story. I too have been looking and got too excited over this scam. Those of you like me, keep you head up your day is coming. The right job is out there, you’ll see.
Jonathan says
All I can add is “ditto” similar emails from Jeff Stewart. Now the email address no longer ‘connects’.
Hard to fathom all the effort to obtain CV’s to generate leads for the resume formatting site. This takes phishing to a higher order. They’ve gone to a great deal of trouble to create a trail of legitimacy.
…and I thought I was savvy in this area. At least did not buy into the resume formatting .
Tom says
Same scam different name … Jeff Stewart was mine. Once he directed me to the site that could fix my resume for $150 .. I was out.
Amanda Redwine says
Same scam, different firm.
Amanda:
I tried the other file and that did not work either. Strange!
I got a generic response from the software support which did not help. I ended up having our assistant enter all your information in the system manually. We are good for now but I will have to submit your resume to the other party’s recruiting team and I am concerned if same thing happens again, it may cause unnecessary issues.
The file type isnt the issue since it uploads fine and I have had all types of files in the past with no issues. Problem seems to be with the way the system is parsing the information which results in your resume missing all the important fields. I highly recommend you Google or Youtube on “how to format resume for candidate management systems”. Here are two good posts I bookmarked yesterday, check them out and see if you can fix your resume before my meeting because I will have to submit your resume to other team after that.
https://www.themuse.com/advice/beat-the-robots-how-to-get-your-resume-past-the-system-into-human-hand
http://www.bestresumedesign.com/beat-ats-robots-once-and-for-all-with-these-resume-hacks
I am available all day next Friday but the best time to would be connect early morning between 9AM-11AM Pacific time. Let me know if that works, otherwise let me know a good time and I will make myself available.
Best Regards,
Richard Jones
Prelude Recruiting LLC
600 West Broadway ST#720
San Diego, CA, 92101
800-394-7950×203
Preluderecruiting.com