Smith Barney

[Anonymous <no_email@fake.address>]

Warning to everyone ---- Smith Barney is probably trying to get a lot of 
women to apply with no intention of hiring.  They are majorly trying to 
recruit women.  Through my experience, I feel they want to show that they 
are trying to recruit woman, but will say these women just don't 
qualify as the men do.  They are trying to feel a quota.



The day you announced your "Merchant of Shame" was the day I 
received a rather disturbing rejection letter from Smith Barney.
I was rejected from their Financial Training Program.  This 
rejection letter and their response for not hiring me was contridictory 
to what they originally told me.
Not to sound conceded, but I am very professional and successful and 
rejection is rarely a part of my worklife.

Before even hearing about the charges brought against them I became
suspicious.  I had a feeling I was not going to get the position for several 
reasons:  

1.   They were very vague and would not answer my questions directly about
their training program.  

2.   I was told before I tested with them that the tests were not very 
important and they would look at my total backround, but after the tests 
I was told these test were very important.

3.   When I met with the unprofessional female (she was just hired.  Her 
title was Contract Administrator) who gave me the test, she had coffee spilt 
all over my application that I gave her before I took the test on her desk. 
When I questioned her about it and offered a copy that I had on me to replace
it, she told me not to worry about it.  

4.   What also struck me as strange was the man who originally recruited me 
kept pressuring me to come up with names and phone numbers to give him. 
He asked if I knew others similar to me, who would be interested to become 
financial advisors.  I called back with a name and phone # of a male 
aquaintance of mine , who was interested.  My male friend never was called 
back.  It was obvious to me that he only wanted women.  I get the feeling 
he was trying to get other women to come in and get suckered into what 
I got suckered into.  This man never met me personally and would not 
see me when I came in to test.    Before coming in to test I told him on 
the phone that I wanted to make a career change and that I had no 
previous experience in Finance.  He told me I was perfect because they 
wanted other women from industries who could bring in clients from their 
past.  He said they were going to recruit 12 people.

4.   After I received the rejection, I called the woman who gave me the test 
(Contract Administrator was her title) and she said they went with someone 
with a finance backround.  Twelve possible openings suddenly turned into one. 
I told her they wasted my time (1 2/2 hours to fill out application, 3-4 hours 
of testing, a pointless disscussion, and traveling time) and that I was 
becoming suspicious to their motives.

I feel used in regards to this whole situation.  What upset me most is 
that I feel they never check my backround or test throughly.  Most 
finance companies tell you up front that it will take ten days to get back 
to you because they check your backround and score your test.  At Smith 
Barney they take a few minutes or hours.  The reason I say this that on the 
day I took the test the female Contract Administrator was leaving the next 
day to go on vacation for three days.  Well on the third day of her 
vacation I received the rejection.

I truly believe they had no intention of hiring me.  I was merely 
fufilling a quota to show their efforts to recruit women.  
THIS IS SHAMEFUL!!!!!!!!!!!!