Harvard Professional Group

Peter of Cranford NJ (1/13/05):
I signed a contract with the Harvard Professional Group ($4400 up front) to find employment. I was told with my professional background (22 years on Wall Street) that they could find me employment in the 60K range. After six months of sending resumes out (I paid for the postage) and not much more, I found a job on my own. (Where I am currently employed.)

Jon of Newark NJ (1/26/05):
During my initial interview with Michael he told me that he had insider information about unadvertised job openings with specific pharmaceutical companies who were looking for people with my experience. He specifically requested that I not plan a vacation for the next few weeks since interviews and placements were imminent. The second meeting, the sales pitch, was a hoax, and we should have seen that.

Our appointment was for 8 PM but Michael said that he was running late and did not see us until after 9 PM. He said that he had sent out for dinner for his 9 PM and 10 PM appointments because he was running late, but when we left the office there were no other clients there, and he left the office 10 minutes later. During the sales interview, Michael showed us a list of open positions but there were Post-Its covering the names of the employers. I was subsequently given stacks of letters and envelopes to send blind applications to potential employers within and without my field.

Despite their contractual obligation to help me find "the position that I want at the salary I want" I have not heard from anyone at Harvard since August, 2004.

Damage Resulting: $6000 spent for nothing I am not working I need to pay expenses.

Lisa of Livingston NJ (9/26/04):
In March of 2004 I lost my job, due to cutbacks made at my previous employer and I was desperately looking through the newspaper for employment. I answered an ad in the Sunday Star Ledger and called their telephone number - they wouldn't give me specifics regarding the company on the phone and "required" me to come in. I was introduced to a rude individual called Michael and was told he was the “expert” in my field. He proceeded to thoroughly insult, harrass and make derogatory comments, such as “What are you poor or something?” and “You’re married right? So, if a good looking guy walked by you would you sleep with him?” He said this when he wanted to set up a meeting with me, that conflicted with my schedule.

I told him I had an interview with a company that I found on my own. Michael mentioned that he had 3 Pharmaceutical opportunities lined up for me and that we needed to act on them right away. When someone is looking for employment, that sounds very appealing. In order to do this, Michael said I needed to sign a contract with Harvard Professional Group right away. I unfortunately signed with them because I was unemployed and vulnerable. Harvard Professional Group attempted to charge me $17,500 with an initial payment of $3,500 which was paid to them.

After numerous meetings I was finally told, that I would need to pay $3,500 upfront and the balance of my sign-on bonus (which could be upwards of $21,000) after I accepted the position. Prior to mentioning the fee, Michael told me that he had 3 positions for me already. He pressured me even further by saying, “Other candidates are lined up for the position and that we need to move quickly” and was not willing to give me copies of the specifics about the positions.

Michael promised that within approximately six weeks at the latest, that Harvard Professional Group would successfully place me in a position that would have paid me a bonus of $21,000. The agreed procedure was for Michael to keep in touch with me at least once a week, which Michael has not fulfilled, as well as the other things that are mentioned in the contract.

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