Hiring managers may be interested to learn that Jobspring Partners and Workbridge Associates, two staffing firms that specialize in the placement of software developers, are actually the same company, Stride and Associates.
The LA office of Workbridge is operating out of what used to be Remington International. They are still using the Remington phone number. I remember specifically storing this number because when I was working as a department head they called me non-stop and I wanted to screen calls their calls.
According to the Stride and Associates website, their two current brands are scions of five other companies: Atlantis Partners, The Boylston Group, MacArthur Associates, Napier Partners, or Remington International.
In LA Boylston and Remington were in the same building. So now Workbridge (Remington) is on the tenth floor and Jobspring (Boylston) is on the second floor of the KB Homes building just south of Westwood. Their offices share an eerie feel. There’s a waiting room with a spot for a receptionist, but there’s never a receptionist. The staff both have that hungry look in their eyes. Both offices have one large common area with rows of desks, computers and phones. They’re boiler rooms.
To top it all off, they don’t validate for parking.
Why do business under different names?
If I had to wager a guess, I would imagine that it has something to do with poor reputation. Maybe years of cold-calling hiring managers has maligned the names of these companies and the only way to turn it around is to DBA someone else. The landscape of American business is littered with examples of this type of market maneuvering: Blackwater became Xe; Philip Morris is now Altria; Standard Oil of New Jersey became Exxon. Actually, Exxon is due for another name change.
Interestingly, when you type in “Stride and Associates” into Google the second query it suggests is “stride and associates scam.” Unforunately, it looks like the ones getting scammed are the staffers themselves.
Still trying to figure out how TechieGold.com fits in to the mix.
QuantumTom 
In New York City, they are on the same floor but pretend they are different companies. they are definitely a boiler room. is it me or most the recruiters seem very smarmy?
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Here in chicago I called the jobspring number and they answered as workbridge. I said wrong number, called back and they answered as jobspring. Thus kinda thing doesn’t give me warm & fuzzy feeling – i’m supposed to trust them to represent me in front of potential employers when they can’t even keep their name straight?
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This is crazy! I’ve run in to both of these brands before but had no idea they were actually the same company. This summer I’m starting my own tech recruiting firm in Chicago to try and offer a better option. Recruiting “small” allows you to stay human about it and align your own interests with your real clients — the candidates you work with! http://www.re-factor.co/
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I love the Internet. Someone always knows what’s actually happening. Got a call from Workbridge, called them back… and hey, the audio “space” on the other side sounded familiar. Now I know why. Yeah, these guys are worthless, just like their predecessors. Nice tip – thanks.
BTW, when I’ve done hiring, I’ve been called by them, and they’re really unpleasant to get rid of that way, too.
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Sometimes I feel like it’s similar to planting seeds. You just have to be patient and wait for the saplings to sprout.
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They’re ba-aack… This poltergeist of recruiters called me today with a great candidate after they were told by a colleague that someone that person knew had interviewed with me recently. It took me a while to remember why the word “jobspring” made me shudder…there was a jobspring/workbridge recruiter some time ago who sent me a candidate with a fabricated resume…when I tried to confirm his previous employer, he answered the phone himself…without saying who I was, I asked for their website…he said, “It’s under construction.” When I told jobspring/workbridge that the gentleman’s last company didn’t exist and that its address was an apartment above a Chinese laundry in the Sunset District of San Francisco, they argued with me.
Suffice it to say, I think I can safely ignore this recruiter going forward. Thanks to google I found this page and I can go about looking for valid talent elsewhere.
Anyway, thought I’d share…cheers!
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I went in for an interview at their LA Workbridge Associates branch and they had me interview with 6 different people, with each person asking me the same exact questions the previous person just asked me…. I hate it when people waste my time. Only one of them asked me if I was looking for full-time or contract positions. I wanted full-time, but a few of them sent me info on contract positions. That was only after I told them to just email me, because they would call me while I was at work, so of course I’m not going to answer the call. They leave messages asking me to call them back instead of just telling me what the opportunities were. I finally had enough of the back and forth and told them I didn’t want their help any more. Still, they kept contacting me through phone and email. The first two times, I asked them to take me of their list and remove any records of me in their database, but to no avail. I still get messages from them. I even had one moron question my salary requirements.
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The reality is that they are a bunch of inexperienced, but very dedicated, and fairly efficient recruiters. They capitalize on business by splitting groups into smaller firms, like Workbridge, or whatnot, but as a hiring company or a candidate looking for a job, you should be happy from the result.
They do indeed burn a lot of bridges, due to hiring entry level people in masses, but it’s just a part of the industry. All recruiting firms piss people off (all sales/marketing, etc. firms do).
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