The Franklin Johnston Group


Country United States
State Virginia
City Virginia Beach
Address 300 32nd St #310
Phone 757-965-6200
Website http://thefranklinjohnstongroup.com/

The Franklin Johnston Group Reviews

  • May 20, 2015

Frank Gump and The Franklin Management Group are nothing but a scam in the world of professional recruiting. His business plan is simple- he spends the majority of the time scouring and trolling through job search/resume sites looking for “higher level” candidates than can afford his $1795-$4995 fees (whatever he feels he can take you for; paid in advance of course). He recruits hard with promises of a better opportunity and his personal inside connections – anything to get you to give him your credit card or western union him the money. Then after some simple paperwork- “he” and it’s a one man show by the way – launches the campaign. Does he reach out to his connected inside contacts? NO. Those don’t exist.

Does he pick up the phone and call recruiters or HR personnel at the companies you desire to be employed? NO- he has YOU select the target companies you wish to pursue (no existing job posting targets, inside information, opinions, or direction from Frank) then he constructs a list names out of a national database that he somehow has gained access to: Fancy Titles, Key positions, and roles for the chosen companies and begins CONTACTING them-but he doesn’t CONTACT them at all----- here’s the scam his “top notch” cutting edge tactics are a blanket email with the clients information and the clients resume attached- a total hail mary approach. Those Targets (the key decision makers as he calls them)- they’re busy; doing their day to day jobs- they have never even heard of Frank Gump. His emails are either ignored or more likely (and this was verified) go straight into the recipients SPAM or Trash folder- to never be seen - a real bogus, misleading, and unproductive process.

Frank claims in writing, and it is one his main selling pitches, – “I have access and connections into the hidden job market” – if there is such a thing, he sure as heck doesn’t have access to it- how could he, he doesn't know these people- they don't know him, he doesn’t communicate via phone or network with any of the targets in his emails- he’s a list guy.

Communication- he, (just him) never someone else from his imaginary agency, will call you over and over, sometimes upwards of ten times a month (bordering on harassment). wanting to have status updates and job search progress reports, etc prior to you signing on with him. He curses the job boards and your personal connections. Once you have paid though- he’ll never call you first, and don’t dare call him or email him asking for an update; if you get a response at all, and sometimes it will take weeks and 5-10 calls/emails from you before he responds, it will either be a vanilla “plan is going well, next set of emails is going out; hang in there; we’ll get traction soon” or “a vulgar degrading, disrespectful tirade”– bottom line, he doesn’t want to status or serve you as the paid client- he doesn’t want to take any of his precious recruiting time to talk to those who already paid- he wants you off the chase believing he is working in your best interest. Meanwhile, his entire intention and focus is on that of the recruiting trail to get more new money flowing into his funnel while his existing customers are left to fend for themselves and excute their own recruiting efforts.

Frank makes a claim on his website that he successfully helps thousands of job seekers each year making his one person firm one of the nation’s most successful full service career management companies- LIE!!- First, “most successful” is surely self proclaimed- how would one even measure that- is there a Top 10 ranking of national recruiting firms- there very well may be – I’m certain the Frank Gump Agency isn’t on that list. Next, he claims to have placed thousands annually – yeah right! With his slimy tactics and inefficient methods, I doubt he has ever helped a single job seeker land in a new role via his efforts- Call out to Frank- if you have helped thousands - produce a list – thousands would mean you are successfully placing three or more people a day/everyday- that’s just a flat out fabrication. For sure you personally wouldn’t need to call the same “Targets” for your scheme over and over and over if you were doing that volume.

Here are some promises made by Frank during the recruitment process and end results after six months of his “strategic job search platform”

First – he called me upwards of a dozen times in a five week period starting on the day my resume went public. He made the following promises during the recruitment process:

We’ll do a personal skill assessment/ ensure you are well placed in your current role and identify future roles, possibilities, potential industry changes. NEVER HAPPENED

Resume Optimization – “I will have my resume coordinator re-do your resume into a fantastic, top notch document”- Didn’t do a single thing with it. The resume coordinator is also Frank.

LinkedIn- We (Plural) will work with your linkedin template and change formatting and key words to draw recruiters into your profile. Never did anything.

Claims- “I have direct to decision maker access” I get fast introductions and meaningful meetings happen – yeah, right- zero responses. ZERO!!!!!!!!!!!

I will give Frank and “A+” in marketing – he is real good- knows his “Targets;” just who to call, income level, current/most recent job titles. He knows what to say – His online web site is well done; those people pictured- unfortunately those aren’t Franklin Management Employees- they are images pillaged off other sites to make his company look professional and reputable. He can advertise- He knows what to call out on his website- anything to get YOU to send him money and once you send it, its flushed away forever; you won’t get it back – he has a strict no refund policy and no guarantee. Whomever did his website though- that individual has talent.

Read Frank’s rebuttals to all the other online complaints he has on him (this site / better business bureau/others) which I’m sure he will be quick to post on this one– he is the master of deception, misleading information, false promises, and deflection. He’ll claim defamation, etc- but everybodies’ testimonial is 100% aligned – tactics, results, overall dissatisfaction, etc. Read up do your research- a consensus is building. The RipOff is being exposed.

I hope you make a better choice than I did in entrusting the “Frank Gump Agency” to help you in your job search. Don’t be a sucker to his lies, unethical recruitment tactics, and false promises. Use a reputable firm that comes with strong personal recommendations you can validate in advance and in which the hiring organzation finances the recruitment fees. If they call you first, the radar should go off. To those who have taken the time to read this- hope this helps. Best of Luck!

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