R.L. Stevens & Associates Misleading, unethical and preying upon the unemployed Columbus, Ohio

Responded to what I thought was a job posting on Career Builder in March 2009.  The posting brought me to the R.L. Stevens website.  I submitted my resume and received a call almost immediately that I needed to come in for an interview.  Once I arrived for the interview, I realized this was not for the job posted but was an employment agency.  I Interviewed with Ken and was told that with his 30 plus years of experience, and contacts in the Columbus area that I would have a job in no time.   

Ken asked for $4175 for my "campaign" and for that money he would send my resume to the "real decision makers" at the companies with unadvertised job openings.  My resume would be forwarded to hundreds of recruiters and "R.L. Stevens would be with me every step of the way".  I needed to act quickly, however, to get the best jobs at a higher salary then I was making at the time.  Shortly thereafter, Ken took a leave of absence and Dan was assigned to my campaign.  I was assured that R.L. Stevens has a 98% success rate in placing individuals in jobs and that they have access to jobs that are never posted. 

Once I paid the fee, communications were pretty much one sided - mine!  I would report what I had done the previous week such as contact HR departments at large companies, cold calls to companies, networking and other avenues I had taken to find a job.   The response from my advisor was "you need to make more cold calls".  I realized at this point that I had been scammed. 

In May of 2010, I saw another job posting on Career Builder and when I clicked on it I was brought back to R.L. Stevens website.  While I realized that I had wasted over $4K I decided I did not want it to happen to someone else.  I have filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau and the State Attorney General's office.  I am in the process of contacting the local media to see if they might be interested in exploring this issue further. 

All I received for my money was a resume, which is worth around $300, and two DVDs that any person looking for a job is already aware of.  Please beware of this group.  I have talked to several people that have spent anywhere between $3500 and over $6000 (I guess the figure they come up with depends on how much money your last job paid).  Do not fall for the postings on Career Building or any other job posting sites.  R.L. Stevens preys on people who are unemployed and, in the present economic situation, really truly need some help in finding employment.