US Investigations Services Investigator Interview Questions & Reviews

2.0 Easy Interview

Overall Negative Experience

Received and Declined Offer

Reason for Declining

I was contacted a few weeks after the one-on-one interview by the same recruiter and was e-mailed a contract. I had several areas of disagreement. The contract was "at-will," offered (sort of) relocation expenses, allowed for investment with matching, allowed for opt-in on medical and dental care, and had an option for life insurance. As I am currently a vet with greater than 50% VA disability rating and married to an active duty officer who will be retiring soon, several of the compensation offerings would be a superfluous expense on the part of USIS. Also, the salary was barely over $34,000, which was less than what the application site had posted.

I counter-offered for $50,000 in salary (which is about 1/3 of my current earning potential but I was willing to take this drastic cut in pay for my family). I also included "for-cause" employment, an increase in the matching percentage for the retirement fund (from 6% to 10%), and requested 50% of cost savings (ONLY for the first year!) from not utilizing several of their programs be put in a trust fund for "joint use with USIS for other occupation expenses" and the other 50% be a bonus. Finally, I requested $1,000 in a one-time clothing allowance.

The same recruiter e-mailed that the counter-offer was not acceptable and the offer was to be as originally stated or not at all. I then replied to her e-mail with several exceptions I had to her statements and her handling of this negotiation in general. I included the senior USIS recruiter and the USIS director of human relations (both of which I had to retrieve from two separate internet sites!).

I received an e-mail from the senior USIS recruiter (courtesy copied to the recruiter and the USIS director of human relations) that stated that the basic contract is "the only contract that has been approved by the USIS legal department."

My final correspondence with them was to state (via e-mail) that "it [was] obvious that my contract rejection by counter offer was not going to be accepted and that further discussions and/or negotiations based on both the original contract and my counter-offer would not be productive, I respectfully reject [their] offer of employment and [wished them] well in their future hirings."

All-in-all, I found the entire process demeaning and distant. It appears to me that USIS is trying to do "business on the cheap" by hiring the lowest skilled individuals for the lowest salary and providing them minimal training. As a result, they are getting a significant rate of resignations, especially within the first 1-2 years of employment (as stated to me by the USIS interviewer). Additionally, their promotion and pay increase process is a closely guarded secret but is mainly based on quotas and the "personal impressions and recommendations" of the district manager.

Helpful Interview?  

Yes | No

Inappropriate?