Smith Hampton & Devlin, LLC

The people here have always been friendly. I have head tales of mischief but never encountered it myself. I will use again.

Glad to know they didn’t go out of business as Jocelyn had told me they were about to last time I contacted them. If that’s the case.
I worked with them only briefly but Jocelyn is a very kind and professional person who does whatever she can to help. I liked her.

I had a skype interview with this firm a year ago and I was hoping it was going to go well and get a job. I told them what I wanted in a job. (I’m really good at back office like filing, scanning, copying, etc.) It’s been a year and no response ever. I’m also with AppleOne and get a few calls from them telling me about job interviews and that they are still looking for jobs for me. At least AppleOne communicates with me! Not happy with this company.

I initially contacted SM&D seeking job placement. I sent my resume over with a brief email of intro on December 12. I received a polite reply on the 14^th. I asked for resume feedback and next steps on the 18^th, but never heard a peep. Yesterday I posed a lousy review on Unilocal and Jocelyn called me today.
Post phone call, I’m convinced Jocelyn’s a caring and centered person. We’ll see if that translates to a job placement for me, which is the reason I contacted her 6 weeks ago.

Are these people even still in business?
I was looking forward to working with a small, locally based temp agency, rather than an impersonal branch of a huge corporation. Well, at least huge corporations send boilerplate acknowledgement when you’ve sent them a resume.
No response to emails, and a recording when you call their phone. Imagine if you’re trying to get your paycheck or W-​2! Maybe it’s a blessing I didn’t get to the placement stage with this agency.
UPDATE:
Jocelyn Hampton responded to this review within minutes, inviting me to call her on her cell phone to discuss things.
A few points to consider:
* some Unilocal reviewers objected to receiving auto-​response emails to their resumes, so that’s been disabled
* on the Smith Hampton & Devlin «Contact Us» page, there’s her cell phone number listed for you to call. I misunderstood the phrase «if urgent» to mean something like «last resort» or «emergency” – no, consider your matter important enough to use it.
* smaller boutique agencies like this one seldom staff the casual/​day labor temporary assignments you’ll find at the big corporations. It’s more accurate to think of SH & D as a career placement service.

Jocelyn is amazing to work with. I was quickly placed in a temporary position and I enjoyed my assignment.
But I feel like her services extend beyond the usual job placement agency services of just testing and placements. She is like a career coach. When I initially met with Jocelyn I was a mess, trying to figure out my next move after having a job offer rescinded due to the economy. Jocelyn sat down with me to help me develop a game plan. Ultimately, I ended up relocating to Los Angeles because my fiancé got an awesome job and Jocelyn followed up to check in on me and offered a recommendation. She truly cares! I don’t think I have ever had that with any other agency.
If you are looking for a position, full-​time or part-​time, in the Bay area, I urge you to submit your resume. Jocelyn understands the market and will work to quickly find you a job or entry into your next career.
Good Luck

I’ve never had such personalized service from an agency. From the first day I went in I was encouraged and always felt taken care of. After a permanent placement didn’t work out (it had nothing to do with Smith, Hampton & Devlin), I received a lot support from Jocelyn, which helped me to bounce back and not get down on myself. Jocelyn continues to be there with resume help and moral support in addition to helping me find just the right position. She’s honest and has given me some very good advice. I’d recommend Smith, Hampton & Devlin to anybody.

5 Stars! Very personal service. I’ve been in the East Bay for a couple years now, enough time to encourage friends to more here too. One of my friends found a job through Jocelyn at Smith, Hampton & Devlin, then my little sister, then me! Send a resume and ask for Jocelyn’s help. Just talking to her gave me some simple, good pointers.
–Good luck on the hunt everybody

I can’t thank Smith Hampton & Devlin enough for all their help in placing me in a temp job! After I lost my job a few months ago I wasn’t sure where to turn. I was sending out resume after resume and I was receiving no calls to interview. My confidence had reached an all-​time low I wanted to give up!
Then a friend of mine recommended this staffing agency to me and I forwarded my resume along to them. It wasn’t long before Jocelyn contacted me to come in for an interview.
I have to say I have never been treated so kindly by a staffing agency. I was greeted by a smiling, pleasant and courteous admin who took all of my application materials and offered me refreshments while I waited to be interviewed.
Jocelyn met with me soon after and was absolutely amazing! She critiqued my resume in the most friendly and helpful manner and offered invaluable advice on how to make myself more marketable to a good company. She honed in on my strengths but did not fail to point out the weak spots that could be hurting my chances at securing a position.
One of my weaknesses is that I did not have updated software skills and needed to brush up a bit. Instead of telling me that she didn’t think she could help me, she instead set me up at a desk in the office and had me train in those specific programs that very day!
After passing the skills tests in all areas and some excellent interview coaching from Jocelyn I had my confidence back and was ready to reenter the workforce! I was placed in a temp assignment quickly and it was a perfect fit!
Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!

Update 05/​18/​2013. It’s been nearly 10 years and SHD still has my back. It’s great to know that I not only have a an agency that has my back but one that continues to to support and guide my career outside of any (for them) income generating activity. Thanks for your generous support and networking prowess!

This is their automated response (2^nd time in six months) that I received within nano seconds of submitting my resume and cover letter via their website:
From:
Subject: RESPONSE TO YOUR INQUIRY.
Dear Job Seeker,
We wish to sincerely thank you for your interest in our staffing service. However, we feel it is our duty and strong obligation to inform our valued candidates that the downturn in our economy has impacted our industry.
We have seen a decline in the number of jobs and a significant slowdown in the actual hiring of our candidates. The good news is that recessions come and go and we have GREAT HOPES FOR 2013!
We are happy to keep your resume in our database and contact you if our client company selects your background and skill set. Please keep your spirits up during this difficult time — we are committed to our best to serve you.
Our best to you and yours,
Smith Hampton & Devlin, LLC
Totally unprofessional… There is no place for ZERO stars…

I moved out to the Bay Area about a month ago and got a meeting with Smith Hampton & Devlin soon after. My goal was to find a full-​time job that paid a decent amount and, perhaps more important, gave me a good amount of experience in my field of choice (economics in my case).
When I interviewed with them I was immediately impressed with both the professionalism of their staff as well as the individual care they gave me when I came in. Their office is clean and business-​focused, yet casual. I felt as though I could get a great job through Smith Hampton & Devlin partly because I wanted to work AT Smith Hampton & Devlin, which meant a lot. They performed some competency tests (for typing and the MS Office Suite mainly) and gave me a lot of great feedback on how to get a job on my own while also assuring me they were going to do everything in their power to get me a position. I felt confident leaving the meeting, which was awesome.
I’ll admit, I never actually got to use these guys’ services. I lucked out and got a fantastic job with a company before Brandon and his crew were able to place me in a job that they found. That said they were able to offer me a temp-​to-​hire position just days after I got my full-​time job offer and I would’ve taken it in a heartbeat. I would absolutely recommend using these guys as a service to get a full-​time position.

Well, after reading several reviews for this staffing agency, I had a pretty good feeling and decided to send over my cover letter and resume. I was quite shocked to receive an immediate auto reply with a form letter that said something along the lines of «Hey, just so you know, we receive about 600 resumes a week and the economy is really bad right now so, keep your fingers crossed. We’ll ride this out together».
Really? That’s probably the worst first impression I’ve ever gotten from a staffing agency (and I’ve used several over the years). It makes me wonder what their attitude is going to be like when trying to place me.
I’m hoping that this is just something that they do to prepare you for the possibility that they may not be able to place you, and that they actually intend to look at the resume that I worked so hard to put together. If I get some type of response, I’ll certainly change my stars.

I had a pretty good experience with Smith, Hampton, and Devlin last week when I was called in for a preliminary meeting/​interview. The office looked professional and Brandon and Kaitlin were more than accommodating to me during my time there. Brandon helped ensure that it was a serious, yet casual, meeting which I assumed was to get a better feel of the type of candidate I am. After going through a couple of tests which I passed easily, I was told that I would be a prime candidate and then I was able to speak to Jocelyn over Skype. She treated me with the upmost respect and allowed me to explain my objective and my past experience to her easily.
So far everything turned out well. I haven’t heard back from them yet regarding a write-​up I did for them, so hopefully I will soon. Its still too early to tell and really close to the holidays, but I am a little nervous as to not hear back from them yet because I have been employed with another temp agency in the past who has provided me with only one temp position and I feel like I’m passed over on despite what I feel was an exemplary performance on my part in that one position.
So here’s to crossing my fingers that I’ll receive a placement soon from SHD which will definitely raise my positive feelings towards them.

Well, today is my second day on the job as a permanent employee with benefits and true to her word, Jocelyn Hampton upped my salary and I’m really very grateful for everything she’s done for me over the last four months. Including when my first temp assignment didn’t turn perm after 2 months, she got me another one in only 3 days! (And I’m loving it here!)
Thank you, Jocelyn and Smith Hampton Devlin!

I’ve had a good experience thus far with Smith Hampton & Devlin. The application process was easy, just email them a cover letter and resume. I sent in my application and Brandon got back to me the next day, asking me to come in for an interview. I was impressed with the quick response, since I had sent in applications to 3 other employment agencies and heard back diddly squat. Eventually, one of the other agencies did get back to me, but that’ll be a review for another day!
I met with Brandon and Jocelyn at their Oakland office. It is a boutique agency, so the office is small and intimate. They talked to me about what my job objectives were, and offered me tips and advice. They also had me take the standard tests — WPM typing test, Word, Excel, Outlook. I left the office feeling pretty good, and hoping for the best. I have had poor experience with other placement agencies in the past, so I won’t lie, I had low expectations.
But lo and behold, Brandon called me within a week to offer me a placement! I have been working the same temp position they placed me in for the past few weeks, and am grateful for the work. The job is not in the field that I am planning a career in, but it gives me income and allows me to pay the bills while I wait for bar results to come in. I’m thankful that Smith Hampton & Devlin worked hard to place me ASAP, because my funds were dwindling at an alarming rate. I needed a job quick, and they provided me with that. For this reason, I can recommend Smith Hampton & Devlin as a solid employment agency. They are supportive and good about keeping in contact with you, especially if you put in the effort to keep up good communication with them.
To state the obvious, it is a challenging economic time (duh!). I remember back in the day when you could basically walk into an employment agency and get an appointment to meet with an agent. Now, it seems like even getting an interview with an employment agency is a challenge. You spend a lot of time crafting a thoughtful application… and then you don’t even hear back. Sometimes, not even a form letter response. It is a frustrating process, that’s for dang sure. I am glad that I took the time to apply with Smith Hampton & Devlin and I am grateful that they actually got back to me, not to mention the fact that they got me a job.
My advice is to make sure your resume is professional (it seems obvious, but at least run spell check for god sake) and to take the time to write a cover letter to the agency that highlights your work experience and the job skills you have to offer a potential employer. This way the employment agency sees that you are serious about finding work and are a responsible individual that they would feel comfortable punting out into the work force. Just some friendly advice, feel free to take it or leave it! =)

I sent out resumes to about ten different temp/​employment agencies when I moved to SF, and I’m so glad SHD contacted me first! This is an excellent boutique-​style agency; their staff (Brandon in particular) is awesome and so nice and willing to find the right job for your specific set of skills. The office is quiet and comfortable, but getting there might be a bit of a commute for people living in SF (it’s located in Oakland — but Brandon mentioned that they would pay for your BART ticket for subsequent trips to the office!).
Although I got a full-​time, long-​term temp job with another agency the day after I interviewed with SHD, I will definitely contact them again if I become available.

First, I sent my resume over to this agency. NO form letter BOUNCEBACK response. Instant plus in my book.
Instead, I got an email from a recruiter that looked at my resume and wanted to set up an immediate interview.
After doing a little research, I found several great reviews about this «personalized» agency and received a phone call from the same recruiter to set it up with several dates and times.
On top of this already good experience, my laptop and printer went down today; so, here I am at the 11^th hour without my current Assessment test scores printed. I risked it and called the agency.
They’re allowing me to print them: In-​Office!
PHENOM! Here we go!
Thanks to S.H. & Devlin, confidence abounds!

I submitted an application to this employment agency about a month and a half ago and have not received a response whatsoever. Not even an email acknowledging my interest in their services. I must say I have not been able to witness the success that you other Unilocalers have experienced.
0 stars.

I went to Smith Hampton + Devlin about 18 months ago when I was looking to leave my current position. I met with one of the recruiters and then she introduced me to one of the owners. She wasn’t very pleasant and while I was interviewing with her took several phone calls and left me sort of hanging there. Even though I have great experience they never responded to my calls or subsequent messages. I don’t recommend them at all.
Oh — and three fake reviews in a row are dishonest. Probably from the people who work there. That’s why I decided to write this review.