I just wanted to give my honest opinion of Lee Hecht Harrison. That's the company hired by HPE to assist former HPE employees in finding a new job after layoff or accepting an early retirement package.
LHH rewrote my resume but cut out a lot of important data so I had to go back and fix that. Just be aware that if you put something in your resume, a lot of recruiters and employers are going to expect expert knowledge. Over the course of my career, I have worked on many projects and acquired many skills but I haven't touched an oscilloscope or written a Unix shell script in over 20 years so it would be normal to be rusty in those areas.
LHH entered my resume into their database but I was contacted by only one recruiter for several low paying jobs that required relocation. I did not get one contact from any high tech company so it's clear that quality employers don't use LHH's database.
I didn't find the weekly meetings very helpful. The person holding the meetings seemed to be overwhelmed with too many participants. I did dramatically increase the number of LinkedIn contacts but it didn't really help me get a job. As some of you probably already know, employers are cherry picking right now because there are so many people out of work.
During my job search, I saw a lot of unrealistic job postings that wanted engineers who can design a circuit board, layout a circuit board, write the firmware for the circuit board, and write the software to test the circuit board. I just wanted the let those employers know, Jesus died on the cross a long time ago and he's the only one that I know who could walk on water.
I don't want to be too critical of LHH, these are unusual times and Covid-19 has really suppressed hiring at a lot of companies. I had at least 6 interviews canceled due to Covid.
My overall opinion of LHH is that HPE is wasting money on that resource. HPE should find another company to help former employees or just give that money (spent on LHH) to the poor soul that you just laid off.
9 replies (most recent on top)
Former HP yes Lhh is all smoke and mirrors a clown show in a circus of bull sh-t . Three rings of nothing . They should be shut down probably huge tax write of for corporations. Something ain’t right
I agree 100% . They have “very little to no value to their service for the laid off . They do your resume only if you have it already written out . They deal in volume so they get you in then get you out ( sans job) . They are a billing service based on head count . A call center if you will .They hand hold you to the realization that you’re on your own then let go .
I didn't have to deal with them but several friends said they put on a super positive show, 10% of their input was valuable but in the end nothing helped.
Couldn’t agree more. I have had two encounters with LHH - once when I was laid off by HPE and recently upon retiring from HPE. LHH is a lot of happy, smiley, pie-in-the-sky dreamers who have no clue about getting tech people jobs. They supply you with their so-called tools (worthless), but rarely offer leads for interviews. Reality escapes these folks. Not worth whatever HPE pays them. No help to me whatsoever!
I still chuckle about my time with HP/HPE. All in all I got WFR'd 3 times (got a payout every time). Let me have the free time to be able to develop the skills that are marketable outside of HPE. Still amazed that they are still around.
I really appreciated my time with LHH. Maybe I just had a great coach. They made me start sooner than I would have liked to, but otherwise I had a good experience.
Not useful. Just spend as little as you can with them.
Lee Hecht Harrison is a DISASTER. The best way for HPE to assist people with employment is to have a Competent CEO, Management team that can develop and implement a strategy and offer valueable products and services.
Years ago the Outplacement "Disaster" company was DRAKE BEAM and MORIN. This companies are like Lawyers folling the hearst.
As a Standard Operating procedure I have been effective at writing my own resume and doing my own job search which has been a surcess over the years.
These Outplacement companies (LHH, DBM) companies are staffed by ADMINs the do not have the capability of thought and will do just what you commented on earlier.
Its is total BS and maybe the HPE management team think by offering this service they are taking care of its EX Employees.......just plain ignorant.
You are the only person that know your capabilities.
No one else can write your resume.
i'm sorry you had this experience with LHH. The person I was lined up with was very helpful in prepping for interviews and strategies in applying to job boards, career sites, and LinkedIn.
The person who 're-wrote' my resume gave very solid advice and tips. After I incorporated the input, I actually received many 'wow, you have a great resume with valuable and relevant info' comments. They also helped update/alter my LinkedIn profile with solid advice. I agree, the recruiter DB seemed worthless. All in all, I believe the assistance I received was worthwhile and put me in a better place today for my job hunt. I wish your experience was better, maybe it was the individual you were assigned.