Jerry Welsh ⋅ Middleville, MI Master Military Transition Advisor/HPS GPO ⋅ 30 years experience

My son in law is a VP for a large one. Make sure you do your research going into the interview. It shows you are interested but also makes sure they are solid. If you find in your research they are too new or have questionable postings on Glassdoor-think twice. Focus your questions on where is the division going, the department, the position; what are the expectations, how are they measured, is there requests for long term re-location(longer times i.e. 6-9 months). Try and steer clear of salary, benefit questions in the interview. If you are allowed some time with HR prior to interview, ok to ask there. Under the Affordable Healthcare Act, PEO's were given some exceptions-make sure the benefit packages do not have big gaps. While many thought the AHA was just healthcare, no no quite, it has laws that take place every year for the next 15 years unless congress retracts of passes an act to stop it. My son in law states the PEO's are great places for young professionals looking for a variety of experiences not bothered by here one day there the next as where you are contracted out to, the next age group are those that are empty nesters and have been employed for some time during that period when stability was important. It is not working for the companies are risky, sometimes they carry more risk if the company loses a large contract and you are part of that team, with no fill any other place. But many have more openings than people. Do your home work-the market is growing.

Michael Kraft ⋅ Eureka, CA Sequoia Personnel Services ⋅ 25 years experience

Hello, MIchael.

The company I work for, a staffing agency, was acquired by Cardinal Services, an Oregon-based PEO, 2.5 years ago. I have some insight, but am still fairly new to this myself. In our case, our benefits team needs to understand benefits well, including the different nuances in laws in multiple states. We work with pretty robust bespoke computer tools to manage the very different benefits packages our customers have. Other companies may choose to flex less to the wants and current practices of companies considering engaging a PEO. Smarts, technical ability, work ethic and customer service are the key attributes for someone working for a PEO.

There is a national organization that may give you good background: https://napeo.org/.

I hope that helps. Thank you for your service.

Michael

ACP AdvisorNet Staff ⋅ New York, NY ⋅ 10 years experience

Hi Michael,

Thank you so much for your service! I would recommend looking at our Community tab. On that page, you can look for Human Resources professionals in your area ( you can also filter by company!). You can then send them a direct message to ask them for advice. If you have any issues using this feature, please feel free to contact me at 212-752-0700 for a tour of our website.

Best,

Yasmina

Michael Davis ⋅ Princeton, WV U.S. Army, Staff Sergeant ⋅ 8 years served

Thanks to you all for your advice. I just left and can't help but feel like I completely owned the interview. I think they were very impressed.

They have been in operation since 2005, with roughly 300 clients, and around 5000 employees under management, in 17 states. It seems like they are a healthy company. That was actually one of my concerns when they first contacted me, their long term outlook. I'm not sure if that amount of time would classify them as stable or not though. I'm just not very familiar with the business type.

I'm anxious to hear from them, and to see what sort of offer they might extend. I don't want to get my hopes up, and jinx it, but I don't think it could have gone any better. Thanks again for your help. If you have any further insight you wish to share, I'd be very grateful.