Five Chairs Llc

Mark Newsom is slick on the phone. Phylis Harrell collects the money and promotes the resume rewriting through a separate firm called Goldfish. If you pay the $295 fee, your money will be wasted as there is no intention to provide any service of value. \r Getting your picture taken is also a scam. It may make you feel good but it should not add value to your career development. I fell for it all. \r Avoid this scam firm. more

Contacted by Five Chairs. Did the interview. Had the resume done and photo taken (my choice, not mandatory) , reviewed and approved resume & photo, and never heard from them again. No calls, no e-mails, no job contacts or interviews. more

\r \r Anyone who has actually used FiveChairs can tell you that there is no $300 fee, no mandatory photo, no hour-long interview, and no “agent”.\r \r I am a recruiter with FiveChairs. Our fees are 100% paid by the employers who hire us to fill positions. The job seeker pays NO FEE.\r \r FiveChairs has placed thousands of job seekers with hundreds of Nashville-area employers over the last 10 years. All FiveChairs income is from the placement fees the employers pay when we successfully fill their positions.\r \r The job seeker has an OPTION of being featured in our online Talent Pool, for which a $95 photography fee is paid to a third party photographer for their services. FiveChairs does NOT benefit from this fee, however, as a courtesy to our candidates, if we place you, we refund the fee to you. Again, this is an OPTION – not a requirement.\r \r Anyone with any questions is welcome to call me personally at 615-504-8534 or check out our website at www.fivechairs.com.\r \r more

Don't waste your money!\r \r I was contacted by Five Chairs requesting a phone conversation with the President. Impressed, I agreed. He told me what a great candidate I was and how he would be honored to represent me in my search. Well for only $300 we were in business. The only problem is that they disappeared after the initial call. There have been no leads, no conversations with my ""agent"" and I really feel stupid for having put $300 into something so worthless. Take my advice, use The Ladders and Career Builder and Monster and hit the listings regularly. That is far better than doing anything with Five Chairs. more

I was tricked into going to FiveChairs only, at the end of an hour long interview, I was told that I needed to buy a $95 photograph fee in order to use their services. That immediately set off a red light - I said no, and after reading several reviews online, I realized that this place is only after a photography fee. Not ONLY does FiveChairs try to scam you out of your money, they're actually going around to websites like Citysearch and getting all negative reviews removed. As early as January of 2010, all you could find on the internet were details on FiveChairs's $75 (or, now, $95) photography scam: go for a 'job interview', pay an enormous fee for photography, and never hear from them again. The fact that they're whitewashing their image by getting reviews taken down is indicative of just what kind of company they are. STAY AWAY. more

I'm sorry. But, it just seems that these reviews were written by staff at FiveChairs. I could be wrong. There just seems like there is far too much familiarity between what is said and the company's operations. And, all perfect stars? Really? more

I was recommended to FiveChairs to help me in my job search after moving from another state, and am so thankful I went to see them. I had put resumes out all over on my own, but FiveChairs knew about places and jobs that weren’t posted anywhere else. Within just a couple weeks, maybe less, I found myself interviewing for a job position I had always wanted and hoped to someday get. And that someday was surprisingly then! I’ve been there for a couple years now and have FiveChairs to thank. They were an absolute pleasure to work with. more

Since 2003, FiveChairs’ entire business model has been built on one thing – earning placement fees from employers. To learn more about FiveChairs, go to the web site. There you will find a complete explanation of how it works - as well as a detailed FAQ section that should answer most of your questions.\r \r In short, FiveChairs offers two options for job candidates – the Talent Registry and the Talent Pool.\r \r The TALENT REGISTRY simply requires a candidate to fill out an online web form and attach a resume. Anyone may add themselves to the FiveChairs Talent Registry. There is no fee, no photo and, unless you want to, there is no need to meet with FiveChairs. Most of the candidates who choose the Talent Registry option are passive candidates who are already employed – and not aggressively looking for a position. This is a private database and the only individuals who have access to your information are FiveChairs’ recruiters. FiveChairs only earns income from employers – if/when a placement is made. Candidates pay nothing.\r \r The TALENT POOL requires that a job candidate submit an application. FiveChairs identifies candidates who meet the basic requirements for the vocational category they are pursuing. A Bachelor’s degree is typically required for most vocational categories - with some exceptions made for candidates with impressive experience. The Talent Pool is a customer-facing database that Nashville-area employers can comb through and select candidates they wish to interview. If FiveChairs makes a placement – a fee is charged to the employer. Again, candidates pay nothing to FiveChairs.\r \r Candidates who elect to participate in the Talent Pool use a third party photographer to get their photo made in the FiveChairs trademark chair. This third party charges $95 for the portrait and the candidate is given a digital copy to use for other purposes (e.g. Linkedin). If FiveChairs places a candidate from the Talent Pool – the photo fee paid to the third party is reimbursed by FiveChairs. Over 80% of all placements made by FiveChairs are made through candidate participation in the Talent Pool. To see some of the Nashville-area candidates in the FiveChairs Talent Pool, click on the ""Browse the Talent Pool"" button - after clicking on Nashville.\r \r After serving over 4,300 local candidates, over the past six years, FiveChairs has placed a large number of talented candidates. And of those candidates FiveChairs doesn’t place, the overwhelming majority say they’re pleased with the experience.\r However, there will always be a handful of people who aren’t going to be happy. Especially over the past 18 months, as the U.S. has experienced the most severe economic downturn since the Great Depression of the 1920’s, some job candidates have suffered through long job searches. Many have depleted their finances and have been placed in very desperate situations.\r While FiveChairs has been very fortunate, even during these turbulent times – some candidates get angry, even depressed. If they are one of those that aren't helped - to them, the service doesn't work. This is a perfectly understandable conclusion - from a personal standpoint. However, the reality is that FiveChairs is one of the only 100% permanent placement recruiters - exclusively serving Greater Nashville - and they continue to be successful placing some of the areas most talented candidates.\r more

The folks at FiveChairs bring a new spin to the recruiting industry, and meeting with Mark about your needs is definitely worthwhile. You'll learn a lot about the job market, and how to improve your chances of landing the perfect employment opportunity. No recruitment firm can place everyone they work with, but I've had two friends and the wife of a coworker who used their service - and ALL were placed. That's an awesome batting average however you look at it. The images included with a candidate's profile and FiveChairs' weekly email delivery to hiring managers are unique spins on the industry. I've worked with the FiveChairs folks for several years as their photographer and believe their approach puts a warm face on what can sometimes be an otherwise impersonal industry. more

I registered with FiveChairs at the suggestion of a friend. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the folks at FiveChairs took the time to listen and advise me on the direction they thought would be good for me. They even helped me refine my resume. Everyone in the office was friendly and professional. The photographer made me feel comfortable enough to get a great photo to use on their awesome website. My profile was online within days. I didn't get calls immediately but, when I did, they were great calls - just the kind of positions I had in mind! I felt like they really listened to what I had to say and really cared about what I wanted. I would definitely use their services again - and refer them to all of my friends! Pros: Great to work with, amazing website, employer-paid fees! more