Career Group

When I first moved to NY, I temped through Career Group consistently through the very competent Jill Creighton. Five years later, I reached out to them again and began working with Katie Friedan to continue temping and eventually find permanent work. Katie was a joy to work with — very kind and in-​the-​know, it really felt like she had my best interest at heart. Katie consistently sent me job opportunities and helped me prep for interviews. I met with other recruiters who told me my salary goals were unrealistic — Career Group helped me land a sweet position making more than I expected. This agency has incredible relationships with businesses in the city, and they didn’t give up on me after I had interviewed a few times with no success.

I worked with Katie Friedan at Career Group and had the best experience I could ask for. Katie went above and beyond– always checking in on me, always sending me new opportunities, and ultimately helped me find my current position! She is the sweetest girl and really puts her heart into what she does!

I’ve worked with over five different employment agencies throughout Manhattan, and Career Group was by FAR the most effective, supportive, and diligent in helping me find the job I was searching for. To anyone looking to land their dream job: I highly recommend getting in contact with Katie Frieden. She is an absolute miracle worker.
I first met with Katie during a lunch break while working for a previous employer. I expressed to her my desire to find a new, more fitting position. While I was nervous about initiating the job hunt while still employed full-​time, Katie immediately put my worries to rest. Unlike recruiters I have met with in the past, Katie conveyed a sincere, selfless desire to help. She took the time to discuss and fully understand what I was looking for and offered valuable insight and suggestions right off the bat.
She quickly sought out opportunities that matched my interests and skills and set up a number of desirable interviews that same week. She was respectful of my very hectic schedule, and was reliably available to respond to any questions or concerns.
Katie coached me on how to appeal to each individual interviewer and even provided me with post-​interview feedback. With Katie as my mentor, I walked into every interview with a sense of confidence and preparedness (something I had lacked in the past).
While the process can be exhausting at times, her persistence and diligence kept me motivated to give it my all. Katie was by my side every step of the way and cheered me on throughout. It’s a remarkable feeling to have someone you trust helping you throughout such a pivotal time.
To say the least, Katie exceeded my expectations and produced amazing results. I HIGHLY recommend her to anyone ready to take the next step.

Katie Friedan was my recruiter and she helped me land a great job! She is one of the only recruiters I know who sent me more job specs than any other. I was so grateful and hopeful b/​c she was proactive and kept sending me on interviews. She was amazing to work with and always kept in touch when I needed her. Thanks Katie!!!

Career Group is the best temp agency, don’t waste your time with others! From the moment I walked into their offices, everyone was extremely friendly, enthusiastic and ready to find me a job! They work with top companies in New York and always make sure they understand your needs to find assignments that will work for you.
Working with Amanda Dorado has been a great experience. She works to find assignments incredibly quickly and communicates updates in real-​time. With Amanda, I have found amazing assignments that have been great fits. I have recommended Amanda and Career Group to friends and colleagues looking for new positions or opportunities.

I signed up with several of the top recruiting firms in NYC and Career Group was with out a doubt the best. They are friendly and very thorough in finding out what exactly you’re looking for and they won’t waste your time sending you on interviews that aren’t a good fit. As soon as you finish your interview they begin actively trying to match you with a job.
Amanda Dorado was my point of contact and she is amazing! Incredibly kind and helpful, she matched me with a long term temp position where I ended up getting hired full time! Because I was switching to a new industry, some of the other agencies were negative about my prospects and were almost discouraging. That was never the case with Career Group.
I was talking to my supervisor the other day and she said Career Group is the only company she’ll use because «they’re the only ones who actually vet their people».
If you’re ready to get to work, go to Career Group first!

I worked with Katie Frieden at Career Group and have nothing but amazing things to say about my experience. Katie made what would normally be a very stressful and difficult job hunting process easy, smooth, and a pleasure. At the end of my process with Career Group, I had a job offer at a fabulous company and had several other companies interested in me. Katie introduced me to companies that I could only dream of before, with top salary ranges and great vibes and environments. Katie and her team at Career Group prepped me extensively before every interview (they even took time out to speak with me on weekends) and kept me continuously updated with how the process was going every step of the way. Basically, without Katie Frieden, I would have been lost and probably unemployed at this point! Katie is absolutely fabulous at what she does– she is intelligent, hardworking, dynamic, intuitive, detail-​oriented, and brilliant. Thank you Katie and Career Group. I owe you everything!

Career Group is fantastic. I had just moved to New York, was applying for things on Monster, and they reached out to me. After a brief but personal and professional interview, I was receiving job offers and being sent on interviews right away. Jill Crieghton was my personal point of contact, and I cannot say enough nice things about her. Professional, considerate, and thorough, Jill held my hand through this whole process (she gave me tips before interveiws, checked in after they were done, and followed up after I got a position) and eventually helped me find an incredible job and a great company.

I don’t know whose photo that is… but this is the BEST agency in all of New York. Molly Belcher was exceptional. I cannot say enough about Molly and Carrie Van Leeuwin. They work with all of the top companies in New York and give you personal attention. I wouldn’t even sign up with any other agency, I would stick with Molly and she will work hard for you. She listened to me and only sent me jobs that were a good fit for me. If I was an employer, I would hire this group. They screened me very carefully and tested me. The cannot get you the job, you have to do that on your own. But they can submit your resume to the top companies in New York, see if the company is interested, and if they are, it’s up to you to go sell yourself and your skills. I see far too many headhunters being blamed when an employer just isn’t interested or a candidate isn’t qualified.

My experience working with Katie Frieden was nothing but fantastic when I was recently laid off. I found their ad on an online forum and literally 10 minutes of me hitting send with my cover letter and resume, I got a call from Katie asking me to come in to meet. She was professional, thorough, thoughtful and realistic with all of her questions about my search, my past job history, my skillset, and what she felt she could do for me as to getting me my next amazing role. She was very conscious and sensitive to my wants both monetarily and to the type of work environment I wanted for my next role.
I feel most recuiters and their firms promise too much or don’t quite know how to pitch a perspective candidate to the company looking to fill a position and deliver next to nothing on their promises. I did not feel that way at all working with Katie and all of her other recruiter cohorts within Career group. They were very clear in communicating their process, they took my feedback on certain job postings that they would send me not critically but constructively so they were never taken as a personal thing if I ended up passing on an interview opportunity, they were solid at making sure I was well prepared before steeping foot into any interview and was very positively encouraging and motivating.
Katie sent me 3 – 4 positions that fit my skills and working expertise literally every 2 – 3 days. I went on several interviews in a span of 3 weeks and ended up landed a great job with a fantastic company in midtown. Throughout the process Katie and her cohorts kept in touch and helped facilitate thank you notes and next steps in the interview process for each firm. I felt completely comfortable and confident during the entire process that Katie and her team would help me find a great job.

I moved to New York without a job, probably not my best idea BUT it all worked out. I immediately was contacted by Carrie Van Leeuwen to come in for a meeting with Molly Belcher. The office was very professional and well run. I worked with other agencies as well but this one was by far my favorite. I met with Molly and she asked me about what types of jobs I was looking for and when I was available to interview (IMMEDIATELY, if not sooner!). I went on multiple interviews but I loved the first place I interviewed. Thankfully a few weeks after my initial interview, I got the best phone call anyone without a job could want, they wanted to hire me. I’ve been at this job for over 3 months and all is great! I would definitely recommend Molly at Career Group!

I definitely recommend this agency and Amanda D., who is the Account Executive I worked directly with throughout the process.
I replied to a Craigslist ad that was very upfront about being an agency. This wasn’t a generic job posting to fish for candidates. This was a well-​informed posting about what Career Group does and the types of positions they place. I really appreciated this approach and contacted them on Week Two of my job search.
Katie F. contacted me directly via email and we scheduled an in-​person interview. When I arrived, I had to fill out their application form which took about 10 minutes. Amanda ended up being the person I met with, and she went over my resume, asked me about my experience and goals. She helped me determine the strengths I should play up for the type of position I was seeking. Throughout the whole process she kept in mind what my preferences were.
She immediately forwarded opportunities to me and I told her which one I was interested in. I got an interview with a wonderful company for a position right up my alley. While interviewing with that company, I was offered a job outside of Career Group. I let Amanda know, and she helped to speed up the interview process. She has been a great communicator, and an asset to my search. She is really like a matchmaker, and wants to make sure you are a good fit for the company, and the company is a good fit for you.

I began working with Career Group in March of this year. After having negative experiences with Soloman Page and People Finders I found Anya, Jill and Neil to be very responsive. They found me great assignments on the first day I signed up for the standby list. Like another reviewer noted I think you need to find the agency that works for you; every job isn’t fit every person nor is every recruiter. CGI has been a good fit for me and I would recommend them.

Wow! Career Group is by far the best NYC agency. I’ve had the pleasure of working with Anya, Neil, Julie, and Jill. They’re all exceptionally dependable and talented at what they do. They even have a standby list you can sign up for to work various daily assignments while they find you a steady job which is great to keep the cash flowing in. I’m so thankful. Career Group is excellent on all levels.

Big waste of my time. Molly Belcher contacted me after seeing my resume on Indeed. I was hesitant on meeting with a recruiter since I’ve never had much luck with one before. She sounded professional and like she had some good leads for me so I gave it a shot. I met with her and she told me about all these great positions I was a good fit for. She said she had about 5 in mind for me and told me a little about each company. Everything sounded GREAT. At the end of the meeting, she told me that she would be emailing me job descriptions and we’d take it from there. I never heard from her. I followed up with her a week later and she never contacted me back. Very disappointing experience and I’m not sure why she contacted me in the first place.

As far as Recruiting agencies go, Career Group is the leader of the pack. They place creative and financial jobs a-​like. I was worried to work with any other recruiters because of the bad experience I’ve had in the past with NYC agencies (Green Key and Glocap).
They actually listened to my needs and wants when I said NO FINANCE, which made it an amazing experience. Job searches can be a very stressful ordeal, but this one was actually quite fun! When I said no to a position that I did not feel was the right fit, there were no hard feelings and they kept searching for me! As of this week they placed me in a new job with a DREAM company.
I can honestly say I have never been happier and look forward to what the future holds at my new job and that is all thanks to Career Group. If you are looking for a recruiter to work with, ask for Molly B., she has the utmost professionalism and class of anyone I’ve worked with in the recruiting world. Her upbeat demeanor helps you stay positive when looking for the right fit!
I would 100% recommend Career Group to anyone.

I’ve never been to a temp agency before but I’ve answered a listing and it turned out to be Career Group’s. To be honest, I didn’t want to go to a temp because I wanted a full-​time but I was waiting on two offers so I figured, why not… It couldn’t hurt. So I wasn’t really dependent on Career Group finding me a job. But my god, it’s been 4 weeks and I’ve not heard a peep from them. They took my resume, asked me what I was looking for and introduced me around the office and that was it. No call backs. No interviews. NOTHING. So I can safely say Career Group has done absolutely nothing for me. But in terms of jobs, I had absolutely no trouble finding one on my own… But I can’t even count on career group being a good resource. Don’t be silly and waste your time going to this place.

The last thing you want when you’re looking for career advice is a company that is as painfully disorganized as Career Group.
I went in, had an interview, gave them my resume, and then waited. For four weeks. Then I get an email asking me to send them my resume. Didn’t I already do that? I’m looking for a job– I don’t have time to sit around only to learn that not only has Career Group not been effective in helping me get a job, but they didn’t even add my resume to the file.
But after that things did get better. I got called back in, and met with someone. 3 days later I got an interview. It wasn’t for a position I was crazy about, but it was still progress. So, it’s a pretty mixed bag with them. I’ll post any updates as they happen.

I have to disagree with the negative reviews. I’ve been to several agencies, and none hold a candle to Career Group. Most bait and switch the salaries alone from what I’ve experienced, and give me the «I can’t wait to leave this place» feeling. That has not been the case with CGI. I’m selective and I’ve worked with for the best through this agency. I think it’s all a matter of your skills, experience, and how your present yourself. I’ve seen «crazy» show up in the agency — sneakers, grunge, you name it — and they were getting checks, which I’m sure was suitable to what they were applying for — whatever that is. I’m quite the opposite, so it’s definitely not about what you look like.
Sometimes an agency is just not for you. Some prefer you to lie to their face because they know you can do it well enough with a client to get a job. Unfortunately, that doesn’t keep you working. What do you want for yourself? What are your standards? And sometimes, unfortunately, some companies are simply not interested in you. It could be based on your resume only; some trash it because of the formatting. It may have nothing to do with the agency or the Account Manager.
Funny, the negative review I noticed was about my Account Manager, Jill C. Never had a problem with her. She’s honest and extremely helpful. I got work almost immediately AND I got options. And, as noted in the aforementioned, I’ve worked with the best. If I don’t like my assignment, and my standards are pretty high — to some, ridiculous, I’m gone — and she backs me up. I am constantly working, per my request. When I want time off, I take it. I’ve only been with them a year. I’ve had several requests for permanence and turned them down. You have to do what works for you — and do it with someone you connect with.
To the negative reviewers — it’s HARD getting a job in New York. It’s frustrating because you never know what they’re looking for. You just have to find the agency that is right for you. Do not think this ONE is it. The ONE, is the agency that calls you with something right up your alley. Hang in there. I was out of work for a long time, went to several agencies, interviews, etc. All hope is not lost. But, stay positive and keep it moving if things do not work out. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. And certainly don’t wait too long. Best of luck (my lucky charm is God).

I really really am so disgusted with this agency. If it was possible to give them 0 stars I would. They are not helpful and definitely NEVER return calls. I read many reviews from 2013 and thought, «hey maybe this won’t happen to me. Let me give it a try». In May 2013, I went in for my interview with a Jill C.-Senior Account Manager at Career Group. She seemed so pleasant and the interview seemed promising because she stated that they received office/​admin jobs often and would contact me in a week. She even introduced me to 2 young ladies that were a part of her team, in case she was not available.
Lies Lies Lies because a week later I received no call. So i waited 1 more week and then decided I would call. I ended up calling 3 different days, leaving a total of 3 messages with the young lady in the front desk Melissa I think, NEVER did I hear from her nor anyone at all. So at the end of June I decided to email her on a Friday and finally she responded. She was so cut dry and quite coldly, stating that there was nothing available and that she will keep me in mind if anything comes up. I know Jill did remember who I was because of the request to keep me in mind when any Bronx/​Yonkers jobs came up to let me know because I had a car and easily would drive in that area. She responded strictly and plainly by saying, «Nothing at moment but we will let you know asap. Thx!.»
So every Friday I sent her an email and it is now January 2014 and I still have gotten a «we have nothing available and we will keep you in mind» response. Bullshit. You mean to tell me since May 2013 you have not had any temp job even if it is data entry for $ 12 – 18 and hour. Really? That is a LIE… I do understand the jobs and economy is pretty bad but damm you cannot even get a 2 day job assignment or a 1 week assignment at all within that 8 – 9 months I have reached out to you. That is hard to believe and then I can never hear from you at all unless I reach out. Talk about helpful. NOTTTTTTTT…
Guys and it is not like I am an uneducated individual because I have 2 degrees (BS, MS) and did Office/​Admin work for 5 years and have done Teaching for 3yrs and have 6 months of Case Mgnt work. So lack of experience or education is definitely NOT the reason. They are just not helpful and I would never recommend them to anyone, even though they have a great website which states, «Our Temporary practice maintains a diversified pool of exceptional candidates at every level to call upon ²⁴⁄₇ for short or long term coverage». So not true…
So my advice to all… Do not waste your time… with this agency. Clearly they do not want bonuses for placing people in jobs.