Now, I really was planning on writing an entry not about job searching. I swear! I have a couple half-written already. But I got an email today that just made me so angry, I had to switch the schedule up a little bit.
I’ve been following a couple of unemployment blogs lately, and they’re always warning against scams. There are lousy people out there, always looking to make a quick buck off of the insecure and vulnerable- and who is more insecure and vulnerable than the average unemployed schmuck these days, who has likely been laid off by a company they’ve worked at for years, been unemployed for several months by now, is facing foreclosure on their house, and facing the possibility that they might have to change fields altogether or take a job flipping burgers despite a decade of experience in finance (or wherever) just to make ends meet? No one, that’s who.
I never really doubted that such scams existed, but I never really considered the possibility of encountering one until today.
Sometime last week I created an account at jobfox.com. It’s a pretty new site, from what I can tell, and they have an interesting search method- they basically mine data from your resume and try to match it with keywords in job postings to give you “likely matches.” It’s a really cool concept, which totally failed in my case. I’m a recent college grad who was involved in everything under the sun for the last four years. I loved all my experiences, and I know each of them gave me incredible and useful skills, but none of them are strictly related to my career aspirations. I shrugged it off as a fluke (for all I know, the site works well for others), but before I signed off the site without much intent to return (I can’t see a way to search for jobs on my own terms, so I am literally only able to see positions that don’t match my real qualifications at all), I checked the box next to “get a free resume critique from jobfox.com!” Why the hell not, right?
Today I had an email in my inbox from one Madeline Willis, telling me that my resume critique was ready and I could view the comments online.
Well. I did. And now I’m fucking pissed.
I’ll admit, at first I wasn’t reading too closely. It was long, so I started skimming. This was the first thing I saw:
Your design is very flat…by way of example, it’s like the difference between a professionally printed brochure, and one that was done at home and printed on an inkjet printer.
Ouch. That seemed unnecessarily harsh. “They must be trying to sell me something,” I thought. But I kept skimming. And it just kept going. I kept reading, waiting to find the part where they want me to pay them something, but all I found was an endless sea of criticism. After awhile I forgot that I ever thought it was a scam.
I found [your resume] to be drab, uninspiring, and unlikely to catch anyone’s attention…For people at your skill level, I’m used to seeing much stronger visual appeal…I concluded that much of the information was superficial …[If I were a hiring manager] I wouldn’t remember you…you come across as a “doer” not an “achiever.”
A sliver of doubt entered my mind. I’m sure my resume isn’t perfect, but I spent a lot of time on it, and had it critiqued by the MIT Careers Office through several iterations. I figured it was at least alright, maybe even better than average. But wow, now it sounds like it’s the worst resume ever written.
Keep in mind, I am reading this as someone who graduated from a top-notch school, let’s see…8 months ago, and is still unemployed. My emotional state is a little fragile here. I don’t want to tell you how many times I’ve collapsed on the floor in tears over this mess I’m in over the past few weeks. I don’t want to go into detail about the dark thoughts that force their way into my mind as I try to fall asleep (they’re nothing short of “my entire life plan is irrevocably destroyed and I will never be able to find a job in my chosen profession for the rest of my life.”) I store tissues under my pillow lately.
And now it turns out my resume sucks. The more I read, the more panicked I became.
Then I read:
Most people are like you – they struggle to put themselves down on paper effectively, but that’s where we come in….The Jobfox Deluxe Package includes…
Oh, thank God! It was a scam after all! I suddenly started breathing easier, knowing I could completely disregard everything they said. (Not only that, after careful inspection, I found a lot of their claims to be demonstrably false.)
But now, instead of panicked, I was pissed. I went back and started from the beginning, reading more carefully.
I should warn you about my style: I’m direct and to the point, so I hope you won’t be offended by my comments.
Ha! Translation: “I should warn you about my style: I’m direct and to the point. My hope is that you will feel so beaten and depressed by how shitty I tell you your resume is, that by the time you finish reading, you’ll be willing to cough up 400 bucks for me to fix it.”
That’s right. FOUR HUNDRED DOLLARS. (I laughed at myself when I remembered being annoyed that a particular job search engine wanted to charge a registration fee of $19.99.) Of course, if you’re unemployed and can’t drop $399 on a professional resume service, you can pay it in monthly installments instead. Just six easy payments of $69.95! (Which actually adds up to $419.70. I guess they charge interest.)
The letter ends with the contact information of this Miss Madeline Willis, and I will be taking complete advantage of this. You can expect to hear from me, you slimy piece of crap.
No one likes used car salesmen for a reason. People find it slightly icky, at the very least, when other people are trying to push a sale on them. It’s bad enough to have someone pushing a sale on you. (I should know, I just got two phone calls and an email about a “job application” I filled out for a teaching position at a post-secondary institution which turned out to not be a job but a way to “partially subsidize the cost of tuition once you enroll with us.” On the topic of job scams and all…) But when you try to sell something to someone by making them feel like absolute crap, that’s low. And in today’s tough economy and competitive job market giving people enough stress at it is, this is tantamount to kicking someone while they’re down, curled in a fetal position, sucking their thumb and crying. All so you can get them to open their wallet to you. How disgusting.
It turns out that “TheLadders” (which is a a complete lie in and of itself) does the same thing. They’ll even write scathing critiques of resumes they’ve written. Some scumbags just aren’t smart enough to keep track of what they’re doing, I guess.
I’m trying to decide exactly how to proceed here. Should I just send this woman a nasty email? Should I actually call her? Demand to speak to her manager? I mean, it’s not like I can convince them to not be slimebuckets or anything, and I’ll probably just get hung up on. But I bet it will feel so, so good. Let off some frustration at people who really deserve it. Thoughts?
(Update: Read about my response to the letter here.)
———————————————————-
Here’s the full nearly full text of the email I received:
Dear Laura,
I’m the Jobfox resume expert that was assigned to critique your resume. I reviewed your resume with the goal of giving you an honest, straightforward assessment of your current resume, and not a judgment of your skills and qualifications. I should warn you about my style: I’m direct and to the point, so I hope you won’t be offended by my comments. My perspective is that resumes get chosen, not candidates. In a perfect world, interview candidates would be selected based on their strengths and experiences. In reality, this isn’t how the process works. A recruiter chooses the short list of candidates from a pile of resumes. Meaning, we have to make sure your resume does the heavy lifting in the selection process.
Here’s the good news: my first impression of you is that you are off to a good start in your career. You’re an up and coming Mechanical Engineer, with a lot to offer an employer. Now, here’s the bad news: your resume isn’t doing a good job saying that to an employer. I found it to be drab, uninspiring, and unlikely to catch anyone’s attention. If you were selling yourself as Sizzling Grilled Steak, it’s as if your resume is saying “cooked meat.” Which one would you want?
Your resume needs a boost from a visual, content, and organizational standpoint to engage the reader. It needs to make them want to learn more about you. I didn’t find it to be exciting and it didn’t make me want to run to the phone to call you. These days, employers are being flooded with resumes, and we need yours to compel a hiring manager to continue reading and contact you for an interview. Countless studies have proven that resume quality is the key determinant as to whether a candidate is selected to be interviewed.
……
Here are the major issues I see on your resume:
VISUAL PRESENTATION
Your design is very flat. The appearance is not polished, and doesn’t say high potential Engineering professional. By way of example, it’s like the difference between a professionally printed brochure, and one that was done at home and printed on an inkjet printer…
CONTENT
As I was reading your resume I was trying to imagine myself as a hiring manager, looking for that ideal Mechanical Engineer. I then asked myself whether I’d have picked your resume, and whether it was memorable. I concluded that much of the information was superficial and that in many instances it was too brief. Simply put, I wouldn’t remember you. There are a lot of words on your resume, but they’re not formulated into powerful and impactful statements….
From the way the resume is worded, you come across as a “doer” not an “achiever.”….Here are some examples of task based sentences in your resume.
- Performed experimental tests of Bluetooth signal reliability
- Designed and performed experiments to study curing rates of photosensitive resins
These statements are more about what you did, not what you achieved. It would be like you saying “I played tennis last week” when you could have said “I won the tennis tournament at my local racquet club last week unseating the person that held the title for the past three years.” Which sounds more impressive?
Additional Issues
Lastly, I’m a little concerned that you won’t be found in resume databases. A well-designed resume includes the keywords and formatting that makes it easy for a resume parsing machine to learn about you and route you to a decision maker…
NEXT STEPS
Most people are like you – they struggle to put themselves down on paper effectively, but that’s where we come in. All the recommendations above can be combined in a cohesive, strategic manner so that you can distinguish yourself from other candidates. Our resume writers are experts in doing this. Countless studies have proven that professionally written resumes get more interviews, and, if it shortens your job search by even one day, a professional resume will pay for itself.
Purchasing the right resume writing service is important. You want to be sure you are getting everything you need to be successful in your job search without being nickel and dimed. We designed our package to be affordable by spreading the payments over a six (6) month timeframe. Money is tight for everyone but getting back to work with the best possible income is the goal. Countless studies have proven that professionally written resumes get more interviews, and, if it shortens your job search by even one day, a professional resume will pay for itself.
The Jobfox Deluxe package includes:
A Professionally Written Resume
A Cover Letter
An Electronic Version of your resume
Keyword Optimization
What’s the process once I purchase?
1.We will assign a resume writer to you who has experience writing for your industry.
2.We will send you a questionnaire that will get you thinking a little differently about your career and what you have to offer. It will help you discover your skills, qualifications, and personal attributes.
3.The writer will complete the first draft of your resume within 4 to 6 business days.
4.Once you are completely happy with your new resume, the writer will finalize the document for you and send it to you in two formats…
It was a pleasure reviewing your resume and providing you with this critique.
Please give me a call if you would like to discuss more details about our resume writing service. I’m here to help. You can reach me at 1-877-456-2369 x1115.
You can also e-mail me at madeline_w@jobfox.com.
Best Regards,
Madeline Willis
Candidate Service Consultant
It looks like you have joined the thousands of people out there who have gotten a critique from Jobfox – most of them don’t come from the same person. It’s all computer generated, they don’t even look at the resume.
I hate to tell you this, but trying to call or write does no good. I’ve tried. I have emailed, called and twittered – but no. It’s a scam.
There are several people out there who are reporting the company to the Better Business Bureau. Some are mad enough that they are calling state’s attorney office because this company will not respond to requests to have their “advantage” cancelled.
Good luck with your job search. It’s tough out there!
Linda
Oh, I have no illusions that I will be able to undo the scam or anything like that. I just think it might be satisfying to call them and yell at them. =)
I’d say just let it go. You’ve done your bit by letting the world know how you feel about it. Of course, if it will make you feel better to give them a piece of your mind, you might want to do that. In that case, I’d advise stringing them along for a while, acting like you’re interested so that you piss them off as much as possible when you reject them. Hell hath no fury quite like a salesperson who has spent a lot of time with a prospect only to come away empty.
JobFox sucks. All the job sites do. I’d bet 80 percent of the postings are fake. I worked briefly with a staffing agency, and they posted fake or near-fake “job openings” constantly; their real business was list building. Gross. Just gross.
I really hope this makes you feel better. I understand what you are going through and all I can say is to control the things you can: your diet, exercise, network, network and network. It’s helping my psyche and I’m getting freelance to tie me over until I find something.
I got the same exact wording as you did! So I wrote her an email that said:
Hi Madeline,
That’s funny that you think my resume is exactly like all the other applicants you responded to with the same exact bullshit. I do get a lot of responses, on my own without JobFox. Did i mention I’ve designed a lot of collaterals for JobFox as well when I worked for “can’t say herea”? A designer’s resume will not be the cookie cutter “business” style or follow the same rules. I have a hard time using jobfox, monster… because they are not a niche market.
That being said–always keep in mind what the person does for a living before soliciting your opinion. Your rules does not apply to creatives! Also, keep in mind that a good portion of people will know that you are trying to sell a service. Not that there is anything wrong with that, but knocking down my resume that has served me well. will not get you my vote.
There are many that feel like I do that you “verbatim” said the same thing, read http://thewordcynic.com/?p=122
Do you even exist?
Shame on You!!
Her response was:
Thank you for your message. Yes, I do exist. I will take you off of our mailing list and I wish you the best of luck in the future!
Best,
Madeline
Madeline Willis, Resume Consultant
Nice enough I guess. She was hired to do a job. So no, I say let it go.
Good blog post! The response that Jude received from his (her?) email was just as nebulous as the computer generated “you-suck-and-so-does-your-resume” critique.
You’d think that the folks at Jobfox would make some changes. It looks like they just change the name of the person who is the resume critique “expert” and sent along the same emails -ad nauseam. There is a load of complaints on an Indeed forum that have asked Jobfox to respond to some of their questions but so far Jobfox hasn’t responded.
The end result of that is that Jobfox doesn’t care. At All.
Thank you for posting! I just got the same stupid email and did a web search so I could see if anyone else had tried replying. Seriously, scum of the earth. Good to know that there are fake jobs on those things. Excellent information, all y’all.
Great to see this because I received the same ‘critique’ … not exactly word for word, but so very similar … what a coincidence except my critique was from someone else at jobfox. Spooky! (not)
block, delete, send to SPAM
We all seem to have the same shitty resume…I must admit though they keep inundating me with emails from different people and I was starting to believe them…thankfully I stumbled upon this blog
I applied to a job yesterday and got this “free review” too. Same stuff, even some of the exact same phrasing regarding “do language instead of achieve language”. BTW, I have a master’s degree in English.
At first, I almost fell for this, too, because I’m the primary earner in our family and I’m out of work. Oh, also, I have a disability and can’t afford to lose my private health insurance, even tho I’m on Medicare, because if I don’t have private insurance even for a minute, insurers will be able to deny me coverage because of a pre-existing condition. With COBRA costing $1000 a month, I have to find work with insurance quick, so of course I’m a prime target for slimebags like this. Watch out! I was really starting to think I should consider this “service” to help me get hired faster, then I saw the ridiculous price tag. $50, maybe, but $400?? Really, they’re giving themselves away by being greedy and asking for such a high price.
Just got a letter today from Madeline. She wrote the same stuff to me as others here have written. I almost fell for it too. Thanks for the blog. Stay strong unemployed people!
Just got the email/critique. I bet this Madeline Willis is “foxy”
Thank you for your posting. Reading that you got practically the same letter – almost word to word – as I did today, had really put me at ease. (My letter came, allegedly, from Peg Crits, Candidate Service Consultant). For the last 9 years I have been on the “other side of the fence” as a hiring manager, and having my resume “critiqued” this way had freaked me out and angered me at the same time. Thanks again for sharing.
I also did a test drive of Jobfox and received a resume review from Madeline Willis and guess what, her comments on my resume nearly identical. Did we copy each others resumes during study hall?
I just wrote a blog on Jobfox and the resume review & writing service at http://blog.careerxl.com/ I did a LinkedIn search for Madeline and could not find her listed. See my comments on the resume review, very similar to your and your readers.
I would really appreciate your comments and sharing your experience.
Got the same email from good ol’ Madeline today. Funny, I am a technical writer and yet, my resume too was poorly written, organized, and visually unappealing. Thanks to all for the heads-up!
I’m glad I read this. I just finished talking with a guy from Bakos Group. He had me thinking my resume was terrible and for the low, low price of $295 he could fix eveything. I thought it may be a scam.
THX!!!
Go to Twitter and complain that @jobfox resume critique is a scam.
Kudos to you for seeing through the BS! I haven’t yet received my critique, but now I know what to expect.
I received my “critique” from Ms. Willis on May 7, 2010. This is the response I sent:
Dear Ms. Willis:
Thank you for your email and critique of my resume. Based upon your astute observations regarding my resume, you are surely highly educated and trained in your profession. However, upon careful scrutiny of your critique I noticed several statements that mirror statements from other such critiques. Mirrored so closely, in fact, that the wording is identical. Imagine my surprise at seeing this. Perhaps merely a coincidence, but based on my training (you will recall that I have a Law Degree) I detect the possibility of a perpetration of a fraud or at the least misrepresentation. In fact, your entire “critique” smacks of the tactics of a used car salesman or carnival barker trying to play upon the emotions of another for pecuniary gain. Perhaps, those you have already persuaded to remit your required fees should seek legal redress for possible fraud in the inducement or even theft by deception. I, personally, would relish the opportunity to expose you for the charlatan I have no doubt you are (if in fact you actually exist).
Apparently, I am not alone in my observations. Please, refer your attention to http://thewordcynic.com/?p=122 for a similar “critique” of your “critique.”
Oh, I failed to mention at the outset of this reply that, “I should warn you about my style: I’m direct and to the point, so I hope you won’t be offended by my comments.”
Thank you.
James Thomas Henry, J.D.
100% SCAM. They do a great job of collecting jobs in your area so you will apply for them JUST so that they can “critique” your resume and get you to pay for a new one.
This is NOT A JOB BOARD! There are no real jobs to apply for, they just want your money.
And by “critique” I mean completely tear you apart.
PROOF: The one job that popped up for me was a job that I had already applied for locally, through the Dept. of Labor office. I called them and asked them about the status of my original application (still under review) and then asked them about JobFox… they said they do NOT even use third party job boards… so there you go, absolute proof from the employer themselves that JobFox is a SCAM!!!!
So glad a friend sent this blog link to me. She is a professional recruiter and had reviewed my resume originally for suggestions and ideas. I was so upset by the Job Fox “critique” email that I sent it to her to evaluate for me. I was feeling like garbage yesterday after receiving my “critique” from Ms Willis. Thanks to all who shared and made me see that it was just a low life scam!!
Jobfox is definitely a scam!
I applied for a job through Jobfox about six weeks ago and received almost the exact same “free resume critique” letter from Peg Crits. That letter set off several alarm bells for me right away. She said my resume needed a more visually appealing layout and design, but I’ve always been told resumes should NOT have a fancy or complex layout (bullets, unusual fonts, bold text, etc.) because that will cause many companies’ resume scanners to reject them. The simpler and cleaner, the better. She also said my resume contained lots of passive words and not enough action verbs, which is a complete lie. I’ve made it a point to include engaging, active words in my resume, such as “launched…spearheaded…expanded…substantially improved…revamped…developed…completely overhauled…,” etc. Anyway, you get the idea. Clearly no live person at Jobfox had actually read my resume or even skimmed it for 10 seconds. Then, after making me feel like my resume was a complete piece of crap written by a third-grader (my degree is in English, with a minor in Writing), that’s when the old hard sell kicked in, trying to sucker me into buying their worthless resume writing service. And since then, it’s been a daily barrage of spam from Jobfox trying to convince me that unless I buy their service, I might as well throw in the towel, as I’ll never find a job or even get an interview or so much as a phone call from an employer. These folks at Jobfox are slimy scammers who prey on job seekers and exploit their insecurities. There’s a special place in hell for them. Oh, and–surprise, surprise!–I just got a note yesterday from Jobfox saying that the job I originally applied for was no longer open. Thanks for wasting my time, Jobfox, but you WON’T be getting a penny from me!
Laura,
I hope you realize what solace this blog entry provided me; I’ve been going through a near-identical process the last two-and-a-half months following my graduation in journalism from Ohio University.
I have not only applied to journalism-related positions. I’ve applied to jobs in corporate communications, public relations, marketing, I even applied for a copy editing job for a guy who wrote user manuals for vacuum cleaners – yet, I never received the slightest bit of response from the dozens upon dozens of resumes and cover letters that I sent out, inspiring me to not only second guess my college education (something I was pretty much doing sophomore year and onward) but also my entire philosophical aesthetic, the foundation I’ve built my entire life upon.
And then, Jobfox comes around. Jessica Carlson was my girl, and she was brutal. My design was uninspired, I used too many passive verbs, and a company would never hire me as an “Editorial Intern” (the wording was EXACTLY the same as yours).
I’m a rather verbose guy, so before this reply attempts to swallow whole the very entry it compliments, let me thank you for your honest writing on this blog regarding the various emotions and neuroses involving your job search process. I blog frequently, but I reserve such topics as self-doubt and my natural state of pessimism for my private writings. Seeing this post may just inspire me to start my own blog about my job search. So for that, Laura, I thank you.
P.S. I could catch some similarities in our situations from this post, but your “About Me” section solidifies it. I’m the top-tiered journalism school graduate who loves everything…and can’t find a way to translate it into a meaningful career.
I am so glad to find this post. I received the EXACT same email that was posted above with a few minor changes such as job title. Thank you so much for posting this!
The consensus here is obviously that Jobfox is a scam. TheLadders doesn’t seem to score any higher on the scum-ometer.
So then, has anyone found any honest, reputable resources for assistance in tuning up a resume?
Would love some suggestions/links/thoughts.
As far as jobfox and their response to complaints about their disgusting treatment of their customers:
This same, supposedly kind response from companies is very common. More rotten a company, kinder response you get for any of your complaints. In the end, the only result is that you are basically robbed with kindness. Many times, I wonder whether people with unstable psychology / personality / behavior react by going postal for exactly this reason. Of course, going postal behavior could never be justified. What I think that should be done is change business environment so that companies are forced to a much higher standard in their treatment of customers.
Sincerely, Vladimir
So, it’s a scam! But what about all the lofty looking jobs that are posted on the sight? Shouldn’t they be told about this?
I received the same email, from the same woman, Madeline Willis, and when I called to speak with her, I was told she was “in a meeting.” I suspect she doesn’t exist.
This “service” is a complete scam and Jobfox (or JobWolf as I suggest they now be called) should be ashamed. It is attempting to sell expensive resume re-writes, so of course its “critiques” are unnecessarily harsh. And that it is attempting to extort the unemployed is simply unconscionable.
Thank you for this posting…
Hi,
I am a Graphic web designer and I have been in the industry for about 10 years now.
A friend of mine sent me this posting because I have been receiving emails from Jobfox almost 4 times a week. This is what I’ve been getting after my resume critique,
I’ve read your resume – I know you’ve accomplished a lot in your career. However, it’s not crystal clear what you achieved at a glance. I want a hiring manager to glance at your resume and instantly see what you’ve accomplished and know that you’d be an integral fit into the organization.
Which is why we are running our current $100 off special – with a busy fall hiring season ahead, now is the time to act and have your resume professionally written. Pay just $299 or 6 monthly payments of $54.83.
A couple of years ago I received a email from another company similar to Jobfox. I replied back and I got from one their reps who was suppose to be a recruiter. Well after about 1 hour on the phone he walked me through their website indicating how I would be the 1st one the get directly submitted to hiring mangers before the job is even announced. They would write my resume, cover letter and thank you letter. Also how they directly negotiate salary and get what I am really worth. Everything sounded good up until the part about money. The price came out to about $6,000, yes
that was six thousand dollars. Before I was able to slam the phone the offer come out to be $4500 if I was to sign that very same day. They guarantee I would get the results in 30 days or I can get my money back. Not only that but I was guaranteed to making more than 6 figures within 3 to 6 months. If I had over 4 to 6 grand I wouldn’t be stressing or in a real hurry to find a job. Do I look stuck on stupid?
Why should I have to pay a headhunter money I don’t have to find me a job when there several headhunters that offer free services.
Two words…..THANK YOU! Screw JobFox and this DAMN economy!
Thank you for sharing you experiences. I just submitted a resume through them yesterday, and then it led me to the actual company website, where I had to go all the way through their submission process again. This made me very suspicious, but then this morning I got my free resume critique from J. D. Jackson. While not identical, it also had a lot of the sentences that yours did. And while I was certain it was a scam, I still wondered if maybe they had a point. I was fairly down about it until I mentioned it to a friend on Facebook, who told me to google “Jobfox scam”, and here I am. Thank you so much for posting your experience. Good hunting to you!