Bayside Solutions

I’ve had nothing but horrible interactions with this agency. I was contacted by one of their recruiters who left in the middle of my application and interview process. Then the recruiter taking over my profile never kept me updated appropriately and didn’t return my calls or emails. waste of time. And they are the lowest paying agency around.

I had 3 agencies call me with roughly the same job descriptions and promises of long term contracts at major pharmaceutical companies. Bayside (Hannah) was the only person to provide an actual explicit job description from the employer and the name of the hiring manager. She set up a phone interview for Monday, I flew up for a face-​to-​face interview on Thursday and was offered the position by Friday morning. Too bad for the other two agencies. I’m very happy in this position.

I ended up here because I got a cold call and was able to trace the number to this page.
I don’t usually answer calls from numbers that I don’t recognize* but I have a couple of contacts in Pleasanton, so I picked up the phone and waited for a familiar voice. The recruiter on the other end didn’t say anything either, and after a little while whoever it was hung up. (For the record, the professional thing to do is introduce yourself and explain why you are cold-​calling this stranger.) I was a little surprised to get such a call from a local number, usually this kind of spam originates from places where the cost of doing business is very cheap.
For those of you not familiar with the recruiting business, it is a lot like any other kind of sales. The barrier to entry is very low, and it’s widespread practice to hire lots of inexperienced people in batches and fire the ones who don’t perform «well enough» (generally the bottom half). They make hundreds of calls per week and are under intense pressure to make their numbers (usually they get a commission, not a salary). Talented/​skilled recruiters who survive this process build their own networks and move on after a year or two. They do not work for this kind of employer.
Anyhow, moral of the story is: don’t expect get much in the way of help (or even to be remembered) by someone working under these conditions. You CAN get someone good, after all they make their commission when they make a placement and everyone — even the great ones — has to start somewhere. But it tends to be the exception rather than the rule.
Also, when considering an agency, it is often useful to read their glassdoor reviews. Here is Bayside’s:
Just noticed someone here mentioned they ask for references before bringing you in. This is a huge red flag.
References (I mean personal references, not HR, they get paid to do this) are fragile and precious. People stop responding after the 2^nd or 3^rd request, so personal references should only be called once you’re past the interviews and at the hiring decision. All professional recruiters understand and respect this. An agency that wants your reference information is not asking so they can get you a job. They’re asking to get more numbers for their cold call list and to exploit your reputation/​relationships in order to help make their sales quota. In other words, they are using you and possibly wrecking your reputation. RUN AWAY.
*NEVER give your real number to DICE/​Monster/​etc, I made this mistake 4 years ago and while the spam calls have mostly tapered off, I still get a couple every week.

There are some reasons why Bayside is a reputable company, which some of the reviews on here may lead you to believe. It’s very rare that they establish good rapport with someone, and when they do they ask for a positive review. There are more reasons NOT to work with them whether you are a candidate or a client.
First, their internal turnover is exceptionally high because they have a volatile culture and poor management. Any recruiter there probably has 6 months to 1 year of experience max!
If you’re a candidate– the recruiter will tell you that you have to meet with them. It’s more likely than not that they don’t know what you do and won’t be able to place you because they don’t have any experience or training. You’re probably wasting your time meeting the recruiter you’re working with. Also, they will ask for your references. They will call your former managers and try to sell their staffing services to them– very little of the conversation will be a reference for you (the candidate), so don’t give ‘em up.
If you’re a client and you’re receiving resumes of candidates that don’t match what you’re looking for or asking for it’s probably because the «Account Executive» you’re working with has a junior recruiter working on your position. Someone with less than 6 months of experience is working on your behalf and essentially wasting your time. Ask your AE how many years of experience the recruiter assigned to your requisition has and see if they answer you honestly! Look that person up on LinkedIn and see how long they’ve been with Bayside for.
Also– from a client standpoint– Bayside is not large enough to self– insure so if you’re hiring contractors through them you’re probably paying extremely high insurance premiums and would save some money by taking the employee on yourself. They’re not self– insured like Aerotek so they have a hard time competing with price.
Overall, whether you’re a client or a candidate this place is probably a waste of time for you. Until they get their shit together enough to retain employees that are good recruiters their services are probably not worth what you pay them. Look to a larger, more reputable firm for hiring or employment help.

These clowns have the gaul to tout themselves as employment agency. They hire morons from the display counters from Macy’s or waiters how have only worked for 4 or 6 months. then try to pass them off as «recruiting» experts just because they can behave rude, snobbish and unprofessional. The both times I was contacted by their representatives a Sara Patrick and a Roger Bolton, neither of these clowns had any idea of what it really take to perform the jobs i was interviewing for, nor even took the time to really review a resume before they called and opened their mouths and demonstrated how ignorant they are; and had no clue of what true professionalism is. I strongly recommend both employers and contractors alike steer clear of this agency if you are serious about finding quality people to provide solutions to your staffing needs.

Allison Goglovac is awesome! I’ve known her since early this year! She has always been super friendly & hardworking to find job opportunities that match with my BioTech background. Allison recently placed me in a Mt View company, wherein I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. I’ve been here for almost a week, happy & appreciate my personal, professional relationship. I would work with Bayside now & then & in the future. Kudos to Allison!

In all honesty, I’m quite surprised to see such a low rating for Bayside Solutions as a company. I myself was employed by them for nearly a year, and I have had quite a positive experience. After graduating from college, I set about trying to find work in the biotech field. Little did I know, my months of experience in undergraduate labs did not necessarily translate to marketable skills for powerhouses like Pfizer and Genentech. My job search took a turn for the positive when I was contacted by Hannah Mitchell, one of the clinical recruiters at Bayside. First off, I was very impressed that she had found my resume online and had sought me out. Throughout my first interactions with her up until the point when I was employed, she remained in close contact, keeping me apprised of the job search. I can’t say that I’ve found better service, regardless of my inexperience in the recruiting industry.
Fast forward several months, and I’m looking to move into a different area within Genentech, seeking a position that would challenge and expand my skills. I contacted Hannah again, and she was amazing at connecting me to another position as a technical writer. She truly was a pleasure to work with, and I can’t imagine how some of these other reviews below portray her in a negative light.
In summary, my experience was exemplary, and I would highly recommend Bayside Solutions, and particularly Hannah Mitchell. The truth of it is that the job search is what you make of it, and if you have the right team working behind you, success is just a few footsteps away.

Howdy All,
I’m not sure if we are talking about the same people at Bayside Solutions that I’ve worked with, especially Hannah.
I’ve worked with her for the past year finding a position that suit my skills and experience in QA for biotech. I took a couple of short term contract in the intern.
It took more than one try to find a fit but, but she stuck with it. Hannah even called me back during her vacation to let me know what was going on after an interview. She followed up with the client to make sure the thank you letter went to the right person. She kept on top of things when the background check was taking an inordinate amount of time.
Hannah has always been upfront about the job pay and description. Some companies are worth getting you foot in the door even if it’s at the bottom. Just remember recruiters do not control the jobs offered, companies do.
As for the no makeup or nail polish, this is not an uncommon requirement for GMP. If you do not want that type of job, specify you preference for research.

I met with them a few years ago. I was not a fit for the position they offered. I ended up finding something somewhere else and now that my contract ended I emailed my contact to see if they may have something and no answer. I was going to contact them again but I ended up on Unilocal and thought I would look up their reviews. Thanks everyone I won’t be calling them back.

I’m creating a Unilocal account just for you, Bayside Solutions.
First, my background: Fresh grad with a BS in Biology, a great GPA and lots of lab experience, seeking a lab position.
After leaving voicemails with Rachel and Bernard, I finally got a call back from Haley. I was so excited! Before our interview, she said she had a great job that sounded perfect for me, and asked if she could submit my information. Yippee! However, when she sent me the details, I realized that this was the same awful, 12-​hour graveyard shift pharmaceutical manufacturing job that had been offered to me by Aerotek. AND they were going to pay me $ 3 – 5 LESS per hour!
I told them what I wanted out of a job. That I was looking to apply to a PhD program and wanted experience working with a great team. This job description literally said they were looking for someone with a high school diploma who has NO interest in pursuing a career in research. No thanks.
After politely declining this offer, I met with Haley in person and she was totally nice (albeit very vague). I left the interview feeling great.
As per her request, I sent her a list of all the jobs I’d already applied to (33 total) so that she wouldn’t submit me twice to anything. She never replied to let me know she’d looked at the list. Okay…
The following week, I sent her some job numbers from their website, telling her I was interested in applying to them, but wanted to know if she’d already submitted me to any jobs first. Then I waited.
And waited… and waited…
Nothing. Not even the decency to reply to me at all after the initial interview. Huge waste of time. I spent two weeks not applying to anything because I was waiting on this person.
Please, future job-​seekers, heed my warning: You will be SO much better off applying to jobs yourself on Craigslist.
UPDATE:
Wow, what a horrible experience.
Shortly after posting this, I got a call from Jeff, an account executive at Bayside. He said that he saw my review and he didn’t think it was a fair representation of Bayside. He said Haley had a family emergency, apologized profusely and offered to set me up with Hannah.
Hannah sent me another low-​level GMP position that I politely declined with the following email:
«After thinking it over, I don’t think the «no-​makeup-​or-​nail-​polish-​ever» position is for me! I hope you can understand. I’m not sure if that rules out all of the GMP positions. What are your thoughts? Also, I was looking at jobs _​_​_​_​through your website. Should I go ahead and apply to them? «
13 DAYS LATER (after I had already given up on them):
Hannah replied and told me that those positions were filled, and I didn’t have enough experience to be a Research Assistant, just a GMP factory worker. I told her that, in that case, I would continue the job search on my own, and to please remove me from their system.
She immediately replied, with this:
«Good luck finding employment, Rebecca. My feedback was nothing but honest and helpful. GMP experience is essential. and if you’re worried about your makeup and nails you may want to look outside Biopharma.»
How rude and unprofessional. Acting like I’m some kind of diva for not wanting to work in a factory. Not to mention presumptive, since I should be the one to decide if she was «helpful.» I don’t think you’re very helpful if it takes you 13 days to reply to a simple email.
Things I’ve learned about Bayside:
1. The fastest way to get in touch with someone is to write a bad review on Unilocal.
2. They DON’T care if you like the job; they just want you to take anything.
3. If you don’t cooperate, they suddenly become rude and insulting.
My original review stands – AVOID this company.

My recruiter is Janelle. I love her! She met up with me in San Jose for my interview, because the office in Pleasanton happened to be closed for remodeling. She is such a sweet personable Asian girl and I detect no BS from her at all when she tells me about recruiting. Very honest and down to earth. She writes a little blurb/​cover letter for every applicant when sending resumes out to the large biotech companies she serves (with your permission to send the resume, of course). I am keeping in touch with her and hopefully it will be a relationship that serves us well.

If I could give this joke of an agency lower than one star, believe me I would!
DO NOT… and I repeat… DO NOT waste your time and money going on an interview for a supposed position through this company and let me tell you why.
A few weeks ago I applied for a position and received a call back from one of their recruiters who went on to say how great of a fit for the position I was and then proceeded to schedule an interview with me. What should have tipped me off was that the recruiter did not really go into details with me about the position. Anyway, we scheduled a date and time for the interview. The day of the interview came and I decided to cancel because I am very leery of employment agencies. I have had some really negative experiences with agencies in terms of them wasting my time and money going to interview with them for particular positions and then all of a sudden they don’t have any jobs. So, I cancelled the interview and the recruiter told me that she could not submit me for the position because she needed to meet me first. I told her okay, then forget it. Mind you, I was going to have to travel from SF all the way to Pleasanton via BART. This is nearly $ 20 bucks in travel fees and almost an hour of my time.
A week or so goes by and I get an email from the same recruiter following up with me and I just ignore the email. A few days later the recruiter is calling me about another opportunity and this time it is urgent and they need someone to start in a few days. She also starts talking to me about the previous position that I had initially applied to. I ended up telling her about my experiences with employment agencies and why I was leery about traveling all the way out there and spending money. She assured me that she and Bayside Solutions really have those jobs and that she wouldn’t do that to someone and that she had heard of that happening before, blah blah blah. I figured that I would go ahead and schedule an interview after I was reassured by the recruiter that they were legit and not just candidate collecting.
I get to the interview early and wait for the recruiter to come meet with me. We go into an interview room and the first thing she says is, «Now, this is just a meet and greet session to get to know you.» I just sat there like, WTF? She presents me with a job description, but it was not for the new opportunity, but for the old one. The one she told me that she could not submit me for because he already had candidates interviewing and could not just submit me unless the client did not like any of those candidates. She never ever gave me details of this new opportunity that was supposed to start in a few days. In fact she told me that her account manager was still working out the details of the position. I was like, huh??? Here is was Monday and they wanted someone to start on Thursday and they still didn’t have the details of the position worked out? Really? The interview ended and the recruiter told me she would call me later that afternoon, which did not happen.
I get an email from the recruiter two days later telling me that the position was filled by another candidate on Monday and that it was an urgent need. How is that possible when I interviewed with the recruiter on Monday and she didn’t even have the details of the job? I ask her this and she says that she had a candidate interview with her on Friday and then the client on Monday and the client just went with the first candidate that interviewed. Really??? Then why schedule me for an interview for the position knowing that and then tell me in the interview that you don’t have all the details for the position and are waiting for the account manager to get back to you on it??? Makes no sense whatsoever!
Don’t bother with this agency, because all they are doing is candidate collecting and you will get a run around from them. Shame on them and the recruiter!

Absolutely HORRIBLE!
One of the recruiters, Rachel, who writes: «We Think Recruiting Is Personal,» on her LinkedIn page, does’t return emails nor does she return calls.
So tell me: what makes recruiting «personal» at Bayside Solutions?
AVOID; a grade of F!
Update on 2÷1÷13:
A manager called me today saying that I couldn’t apply for a position with one of their clients unless I go through Bayside.
What’s puzzling here is I haven’t signed ANY agreement with Bayside, let alone a Representation Agreement.
If I could give Bayside –5 stars, I would gladly do so.
Avoid at all costs!

I have been working through Bayside Solutions for almost 4 years now in the same position they landed for me since the beginning. Always had good service, fair treatment, fair increases, and would recommend them if you are looking for someone to represent you. I have been through a few different account reps here, but Mark S. as well as Bob K. have taken the best care of me overall.