Clarity

I have been working with Clarity for about a month. They were so enthusiastic about my qualifications during my interview.
Since then they’ve only sent me one job posting that they submitted my résumé to. They emailed me to go for the interview. When I arrived at the company, I waited about 45 minutes for an interview for which they informed me they already had someone working in the role I was interviewing for, for almost a month!
Shortly after the interview the recruiter from Clarity emailed me saying how the company loved me, however they decided to go with an internal candidate. When I responded telling her that the internal ‘candidate’ was likely the person already working in the position I interviewed for. She never responded and hasn’t reached out to me since.
Don’t waste you time, especially if you really need a job. I’ve been working with a different recruiting company for the past two weeks and have already went on 4 interviews

I have nothing but glowing things to say about Clarity. I would give it a sixth star if that were an option.
In August 2013, I was laid off from a dead-​end position at a start-​up. Please don’t feel bad for me. Within days of getting the pink slip, Julie from Clarity had me working again at a career-​resuscitating contract job which led to more temp work and ultimately my current job that I am passionate about at a Big 4 accounting firm. If this sounds like an exaggeration, it truly is not. Julie actually placed me a couple of hours after we met!
In addition to be a skilled recruiter, I am still blown away by how she decided I should work near my sister after I mentioned in passing that I would be eating lunch with her later that day. Julie never sent me to work anywhere that wasn’t within a few blocks radius of my sister’s office. This was completely unnecessary but also changed my life for the better. My sister and I are the closest we have ever been now that we are able to eat lunch together all the time.
It is my understanding that Julie has moved on to another career opportunity where she will surely excel. While I primarily worked with her, I also spoke with Jessica while Julie was on vacation and in regards to some of my short-​term temp gigs, and worked directly with her at one major corporate event. She was similarly personable and intelligent (and stylish!)
To me, Clarity offered more than temp assignments, contract jobs, and placement in permanent positions. It really changed my life. Come to their modern offices dressed in a well-​tailored suit, looking your most professional, and with a strong resume and a positive attitude, and perhaps you will have the same superlative experience.

Crummy place. My recruiter is a sweet girl who I just found out is leaving this agency. I wonder why … lol. I don’t think it has anything to do with my recruiter specifically but more with this agency as a whole. Even though I have more than two years of experience in a position where I hold a lot of responsibilities, they never seem to have any positions available. Waste of time. Manhattan is full of agencies better than this one.

I went to Clarity after being laid-​off from my job. I did an initial interview with them and was looking forward to some of the opportunities they presented me. I talked with TWO recruiters during this initial meeting. I have not heard a word from them since. I sent a follow-​up email a few days after the meeting and they didn’t even email me back. Complete waste of everyones time. Also very unprofessional. I would never recommend them to anyone.

So, despite filling out an application, submitting my resume twice, and a phone interview, today I traveled into the city from New Jersey for a five minute interview that was an absolute waste of my time. It was a complete rehash of my phone interview with no knowledge of anything I had presented prior. I saw the mixed reviews here and was uncertain. Hoping something pans out.

Useless.

Waste of time. They don’t care about you. recruiter is late to see you. waited 15 mins. then the whole interview process took about 10 mins top with two people. No positions was given. Stop wasting people time. Do you guys know how hard is it to be looking for a job!!! Don’t call people in just to see their appearance. Have a role for them before you call!!!
side note: no wonder why the office was empty.

They’re not that helpful and most of all not as sincere as you would hope from a staffing agency. I’ve worked with companies that up front tell me what they can and cannot do and I accept that. But more so I felt the insincerity when I call to check.
it went something like this.
Me: «Hi, I’m calling to follow up on any positions that meet my qualifications»
Recruiter: «whats your name?»
Me: «Mark (name is changed) M-​A-​R-​K»
Recruiter: «Oh, we don’t have anything at the time that meets your qualifications. Did you submit your resume?
Me:“Yes, a while ago»
Recruiter: «resubmit your resume and we will contact you if we find anything»
I’m like WTF, how could you say that you don’t have something that meets my qualifications if you haven’t even looked at my resume. They’re the worst, be ware.

Don’t waste your time.
Sadly, I did and all it got me was a lousy experience.

I had a good experience with Clarity. I moved to New York in May and was referred to Clarity by a friend I had just met. A couple days later, I was placed in a job that suited me that became full time after three months.
For reviewers here who say that no companies use temp agencies to find full-​time people, yada yada yada bad economy … You are wrong. Where I am now uses temp agencies frequently. The temps who stick around and prove themselves end up going full-​time.
My only complaint is that they seemed to want to be in control of me going full-​time. I thought they were going to advocate for me, because that’s what I was told, but really I had to take the initiative and apply for a position myself.

I felt the need to speak up because I’m surprised Clarity got so many negative reviews. I wouldn’t be shocked if some of these 1-​star reviews were from competitors.
A few things that need to be clarified:
–If an agency pays you $ 13/​hour, but is getting $ 40/​hr from AOL, that’s not a lie. It’s the business model. Every temp agency in the world does this. It’s how they make their money. The markup is pretty high but hey, their offices are in Manhattan. Not exactly cheap rent.
–As an employer who actually uses Clarity to staff temps and perm placements I can personally attest to the amount of times my boss asks me to «put out feelers» for a position, the agency sends me resumes and then we either don’t follow up or cancel the search altogether. It’s a waste of EVERYBODY’s time and it sucks. But it’s not necessarily the agency’s fault.
–Whenever I call for a temp on short notice (sometimes I call for a temp to be in my office answering phones within the HOUR!) they always have a bright and friendly person here immediately.
–I’ve had the added pleasure of being permanently placed with them within two weeks of sending in my resume so I may be biased. :)
Sorry you guys arent having luck. The job market is tough as nails and I’m thinking this may have to do with some of your negative experiences.

I am not sure why all the negative reviews. Clarity was able to find me to job interview within one week. The first interview did not work out due to my schedule, however the second one was good. Andrea was able to find a job that suited my skills. I guess you cant satisfy everyone.

one word: AWFUL.
i submitted my resume (december 2010) and received an out-​of-​office email. (too bad Unilocal doesn’t have the ability to attach emails. hmmm… maybe that’s something Unilocal should look into?) that email stated that i was to call an individual if i needed immediate assistance. i called and left a message for that individual. did i receive a return call? nope. Jesus will probably call me before these folks do.
fast forward a few weeks in 2011. i call to speak with someone about the resume i sent in and to see about setting up an face-​to-​face appointment. they could not locate my resume («oh, we received a lot of resumes then. it was a hectic time.»). they told me to resubmit my information (to the same person, mind you, that NEVER returned my call). they implied that my skills set and background (proficient in several software packages, marketing) was not a fit for anything, nor did they have any opportunities as «it’s a slow time». picture me with my mouth hanging open like a carp.

this used to be a glowing 5-​star review of clarity — i should have tempered my enthusiasm until AFTER working at my site for a month.
RUN AWAY — AS FAST AS YOU POSSIBLY CAN!
in short, clarity demanded that i interview the day that they called me, i got hired, and started by the end of the week. so far so good, right?
except that clarity found me a job in one of the most messed-​up, dysfunctional offices i’ve ever had the horror to work in. from the beginning i was in touch with clarity and telling them that i was having issues with my placement and trying my best to resolve them. eventually it got so bad that clarity told me to «suck it up — we have a strong relationship with that placement site and you’re not going to jeopardize that». they even went so far as to tell me that i didn’t have the option of transferring sites — if i couldn’t make it work here, they were done with me.
there is an absolute lack of support for the temps at clarity, and its all about clarity maintaining and developing their relationships with the placement sites. in the three months i’ve been in this office i’ve seen 6 clarity temps get hired and then quit — i’m next and i can’t wait!

Received a call this morning from Ali Smith. After answering a few of her questions here is exactly the convo we had:
Ali: We have a few job openings, but your background isn’t a match.
Me: What does my background have to have to be a match?
Ali: Oh you’re perfect match, we just have no openings now.
WHAT?!
scam.

I used Clarity about 2 and ½ years ago to find temp-​to-​perm work when I was unhappy at my current job. They were extremely personable, nice, and professional. While the initial interview process was somewhat of a drag, they do focus on you and your achievements, assuring you that you are clearly talented and driven to succeed under their reign. One of the recruiters there was a good friend of my cousin’s– so the conversation was pleasant. I have no beef with her. As is normally the case, these recruiters, most of them high-​strung women, are all competing with one another in this very catty atmosphere, to close on the best candidate. One gets the impression, upon entering their offices, that this is a busy and budding office. The main recruiting office door remains closed– but behind it you can hear incessant chattering frenzy– SELL SELL SELL! (ever seen the movie BOILER ROOM when Giovanni Ribisi opens the door to the room full of noisy brokers?) Occasionally a recruiter will pop her head out with a smile.
They must be good (I thought)
Unfortunately, their needs tend to land less on the candidate and more on their bank accounts, which was evident after the first few weeks. I would get calls for potential jobs (they would get me extremely jazzed about a new company) and how perfect I was for the position, but when I went to follow up, they couldn’t provide any more information. I continued to follow up and there was nothing. They did however make a considerable effort to follow up on me for «daily/​last minute» work but really were just checking for my availability. And that never developed further.

I moved to NY and was in desperate need of some cash. I applied to another agency that I thought was going to work wonders, but didn’t (see my 2 star review).
I applied sometime in July and didnt hear back until the beggining of August. Came in for an interview and met with Katie and Allie, who were both extremely pleasant and professional. We talked about my needs, expectations, etc and they gave me a good idea of what I could expect from their cljents. They actually sent me out on assignment THAT SAME DAY.
About 1ce or 2ce a week I would get calls from Clarity for quick receptionist fill in jobs. They paid less then what I was used to and reception isn’t my ideal gig. But it was money in my pocket.
Clarity help place me at my current long term temp-​to-​hire and I’m extremely grateful. Their call couldnt have come at a better time!
I accidently ruined two of my paychecks and felt horrible about asking them to have the checks reissued, but Elizabeth, helped me out. It did take a couple of requests, but all and all I felt like the matter was efficiently resolved.
I do feel like the pay is not that great at some of their placements. I know a lot of that has to do with the employer, but I’m sure Clarity takes a generous cut as well.

I think they are terrible. They are liars and they never follow up.
Let’s face it — more and more companies are NOT using recruiting firms except for temp work. There are far better temp agencies in the city than Clarity.
With online job advertising, most recruiting firms will be extinct.

«I can see clearly now, the rain is gone
I can see all obstacles in my way
Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind
It’s gonna be a bright (bright), bright (bright)
Sun-​shiny day»
NOT!
Clarity is just a fancy name for another typical staffing agency, despite of having personable yet friendly recruiters and head hunters. After an hour and half long haul of standarized computerized exams of MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, math, grammar I was ready for an eternal nap. I don’t need a standarized computer exam to inform me that I can type 65 W.P.M. Whoa! I did not know I can type 65 W.P.M. as I was born just yesterday.
«Why do I bother
When you’re not the one for me
Is enough enough
I saw the sign and it opened up my eyes
I saw the sign
Life is demanding without understanding
I saw the sign and it opened up my eyes»
As Clarity is so not the one for me!

Stars will be adjusted based on my employment and $ potential at Clarity.
For the first time in my life, my self esteem was not crushed based on those standardized computer tests temp agencies make you take. Great news! I can spell! I only got three wrong and placed in the 90^th percentile. I can also type 65 wpm. I’m on my way to being a super secretary.
Clarity is filled with super nice recruiters. They don’t make you wait and if you need to reschedule they are very accomodating. The office is very clean and has tight security. One is only buzzed in by ringing the door bell. Short term temp work can range from $ 15−25/per hour and temp to perm and direct hire positions are also available.
One of the recruiters mentioned that if you go temp to perm, you usually go perm within 3 months. Sounds promising considering I once was a temp for a yr and a half. I might reconsider the whole temp to perm thing and I have Clarity to thank for that.