Out with outplacement services
I am so mad I could bite a brick. I just had a conversation from someone laid off from a major Seattle bank. He mentioned the outplacement services provided him with advice and support. He wasn’t impressed with the support but he said they created a terrific resume for him. He felt he had his job search covered.
His resume is awful. It is formatted nicely and looks good but it uses empty words like, ‘responsible for’ and ‘worked with.’ The resume did not have an objective or summary. There were no accomplishments supported by metrics and it spent time describing him as a go getter and high energy leader with absolutely nothing to substantiate his claims.
There was nothing in his resume or cover letter to distinguish him from the hundreds of other Seattle technology executives looking for jobs. He has wasted five weeks working with the outplacement services and after all that time, he didn’t even have an elevator pitch. Because he felt let down by the coaching he got, he now feels job search coaches are useless.
People, please, don’t write off coaches after being disappointed using the services of an outplacement group. While some can provide decent services, don’t assume you are getting what you need. Vet the service just as you would vet a recruiter or other coach. For the most part, people who work for the services are not job search coaches, they are outplacement administrators offering ‘one size fits none’ solutions to your job search.
Career advice, INTERVIEW ADVICE, Job Search Tools, Networking, Recruiters, Resume Advice, Six Figure Jobs, Uncategorized, coaching
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Career advice, coaching, employment, executive jobs, outplacement
Themocracy
I strongly disagree with the total dismissal of outplacement companies. Just like any profession or industry there are terrific practitioners and companies and there are bad ones.
I am an experienced career coach who works on a contracted basis for one of the three largest outplacement companies and maintains my own private practice. I lecture nationally, have written two books (one on interviewing and one on networking)have developed a unique approach to job interviews (www.interviewbest.com)and have helped 100s of people land jobs. I am dedicated to my profession and dedicated to the people with whom I work. My co-coaches at the company to which I provide contracted services are of similar caliber.
Having said the above, I am aware of outplacement companies who provide very poor service and have terrible reputations. It is a case of buyer beware. If possible, a person should shop for an outplacement company just as they would shop for a financial counselor, psychotherapist, physical trainer, hairdresser etc etc. Also, if a person is assigned an outplacement company by their company following a layoff let the company know about the quality of the service. The company cares and will follow-up with the outplacement company.
The good outplacement companies compete almost entirely on quality and level of service. The care about quality and they care about the displaced workers to which they provide service.
Eric Kramer