Manpower

Manpower used to be the benchmark by which other employment agencies needed to reach. Not today. I am disappointed. I also have to agree with the other reviewers about the impersonal nature by which Manpower does business, and the caliber of people they have running their offices.

A key reason why Manpower exists is to recruit potential employees and match them with available positions. I have worked through other Manpower offices in other areas and was always treated with respect and the upmost care was given to assist me in finding a position that was a great match of my skills and talents with an employer’s needs.
This Chicago office lacks that ability. I am forced to use their web portal to apply for jobs and «hope» they contact me to go further. I have 25 years experience in related fields to which I have applied and a broad skill set that relates to many careers yet I don’t get any reply from anything I apply for. I have not been brought in for any evaluation of my skills or experiences nor have I been contacted for any position of which I have applied.
Calling the office to follow up, confirm or to ask any question is moot. You are placed into an automated system that refers the majority of calls to a central nationwide call center that is unable to speak to any business conducted at the offices. If you do reach your local office you are forced into their internal call system that pushes you to a message that suggests you call any of the national call center’s departments to handle any issues you may have. After you listen to all of that message you are then permitted to leave a message and hope that you receive a call back.
They don’t call back.
Positions I have applied for range from being very specific to my field to being base entry level positions that require no specific skills or talents. Even after weeks of getting no response from Manpower, I see those same positions still available; some even saying they are «must fill soon».
This office either cannot handle the amount of business it is doing or is poorly managed. I have also found that this office, when dealing with them 8 years ago, has a strong gender bias.
Avoid this office, maybe if they cannot fill their positions they will loose employers to other agencies that actually care about their business. After all, an employment agency does not make any money if they cannot fill positions.

Comparisons… when my husband and I first started dating we always seemed to compare IL to MN. He’s from IL, I’m from MN. For awhile they subsided, but now its time to dust off the old score card and I find myself siding a lot with IL.
I do have a point in a round about kind of way.
Received a call from Shawna the other day inquiring whether I was interested in employment. I always keep my options open. So we chatted about the opportunity and sadly it didn’t pan out for my needs.
I must say Shawna is very good at what she does, is very personable, fun to talk to and is terrific at follow through. She emailed me information for the MN branch.
Her colleague Echelle was equally as nice, professional and helpful.
These ladies were outgoing, unscripted and very helpful and just a pleasure to deal with.
MN– your branches and customer service have a lot to learn about customer service, follow through and professionalism. It sucks! Take a note from the ladies at this branch.
Score a few for: J, Chicago, IL and how outgoing and unstifled Chicagoans can be.
Disclaimer: I’m by no means categorizing everyone in IL or MN is like this, but in this case IL wins for a good experience and recommendation.