In 2016, 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.
In 2019, the FTC shut down this scam. 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 of that research…
At that time, I did not know the name of the “recruiter” referring candidates to resumeterpro.com. Since then, more than 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 a “recruiter” that contacted the job seekers. 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 searches (were based in Geneva per their press release) – are 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 went to LinkedIn and the finnsburgswitzer website, they reported Ames Conner is their CFO. There was a picture on the finnsburgswitzer website of Ames: http://www.finnburgswitzer.com/our-firm.php. However, if you google searched the image it was 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.