Career experts do not think you need to sign up for expensive job-search firms offering “personal marketing” in order to get good career advice, says a Forbes article.
Career counseling, coaching, resume writing and many other targeted career-related services can be useful, they say, but not ones that promise the unemployed a complete “soup-to-nuts” strategy.
First, what’s a job search firm? It’s a company like ITS in Denver that promises a soup-to-nuts job-searching strategy for the unemployed. A couple of ITS’ selling points: The company puts together a “custom marketing plan” for each job seeker. It also boasts “revolutionary new software” that helps find job listings quickly.
ITS was the subject of an Aug. 17, 2009, front-page expose in the New York Times that focused on a disgruntled client who said he’d forked over $8,250 and never landed a job. The client, Kerry Fischman, 58, said that ITS misrepresented its services and exaggerated its capabilities.
Experts believe networking — in person and online through professional social networks — is the way to go, along with job boards and personalized help from career counselors.
The New York Times article cited by Forbes also talks about another questionable company, Benchmark Professional Careers in Chicago, that had complaints from clients, as well as the following:
“Many employment services provide valuable help, but others misrepresent themselves and their services in an attempt to take your money,” said the Illinois attorney general, Lisa Madigan, who succeeded several years ago in having one career counseling company, Bernard Haldane Associates, banned from doing business in the state. “To find legitimate agencies for your needs, it’s critical to do your homework first.”
Over the years, several state attorneys general have filed lawsuits after consumers said they had been misled. In the mid-1980s, the New Jersey attorney general’s office sued several career counseling companies founded by Robert J. Gerberg Sr., whose son, Robert J. Gerberg Jr., now runs ITS.
Career Advice:
- The Challenges of Right-Brained Job Seekers
- I Attended a Networking Event. Now What?
- Job References: How to Format and Present Them
Very often it turns out that those companies which spend so much time on ads are a real nothing. Besides people should also be more careful when giving so much money to people who do not provide any guarantees. And very often you have to do quite lot of things yourself when searching for a job instead of somebdy else doing all the job!
Thanks for giving such an informative blog It is really very helpful for the unemployed. Great work….