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Consumer Reports


When job services are a disservice

http://www.jewishworldreview.com | (KRT) Sean North is not a gambling man. But when he plopped down $1,500 last year to blast 500 copies of his resume over the Internet in search for an IT job, he essentially rolled the dice.

The online service he hired to redo his resume told him he would get at least two to three quality callbacks from employers. "I did not get one quality call," North wrote in his complaint to the Better Business Bureau. "The calls I received were calls requesting salespeople. The resume did not at all state that I wanted a sales position. I want a refund."

He never got his money back. But North, like other job seekers who have bet on fly-by-night employment services and lost, was reminded that, in the job search, there are no guarantees.

It was an expensive lesson. But in desperate times, job seekers are more apt to believe the hype and to succumb to hard sales pitches, paying hundreds and even thousands of dollars for employment services and consultants claiming to have the inside track on the job market.

The Internet is full of them - resume-blasting services that can literally send thousands of copies of your resume to various employer Web sites, "hidden job market" search firms and "exclusive" networking groups. Some advertise through spam mail, newspapers or fliers posted on college campuses. Fees can range from $250 for a professional resume to $30,000 for an executive search.

"The knock on these advanced-fee firms is they are run by very slick salespeople. They play off people's fears," said Tony Lee, editor-in-chief of CareerJournal.com.

In some cases, the people who run these outfits have little or no experience in the employment arena, such as a human resources background. Some even pretend to be selective about their clientele.

"They turn the tables so you try to convince them that you're worthy of their help," Lee said.

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Some operations are run like traveling carnivals. They set up an office, make their money, then close in a few months and relocate under a new name, Lee added.

Melissa Merz, spokeswoman for Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan's office, which investigates complaints against career-related services, said they get complaints "on a consistent, if not on an overwhelming, basis." Most say they did not get what was promised.

"We've seen complaints where people said they would be placed in managerial positions and wound up being trained as a salesclerk," Merz said.

But by no means are all fee-for-service enterprises bad. In fact, quality ones can help job seekers become more effective in their searches, and provide credible job leads and useful career advice. Job seekers have to decide how much they are able and willing to spend.

"My sense is that the vast majority are legitimate and a worthy investment in one's career," said Peter Weddle, author of "Weddle's Guide to Employment Web Sites 2003" (Weddles, $27.95). "But there are some slick operators. They make very strong appeals on their ability to get candidates a job. Nobody can get you a job. They don't have anymore contacts than anyone else can obtain on their own."

But even legitimate firms are out to make money and sometimes use the art of persuasion to get job seekers to sign up for more services than they initially wanted - or even need. For instance, North wanted a better resume, but the service would only take customers who agreed to blast a minimum of 500 copies at a cost of $2.50 apiece, he said.

"It was a pretty good resume. But they really wanted to press the issue of mailing out a lot of (them)," said North, 35, of suburban Detroit. "They tried to get me to send out a couple thousand."

Most employment experts agree that resume-blasting is ineffective. A lot of companies now use spam filters to block unwanted resumes. Recruiters view those that get through as the electronic equivalent of crab grass.

Ed Jones, 45, of Orinda, Calif., spent nearly $4,000 about four years ago to have his resume blasted to key decision-makers at telecommunications companies in the Washington area.

"The company reported that they had an inside track to these people, and they did not. I actually got a letter back saying, `Who are you and why should I care?' " said Jones, a self-employed management and IT consultant.

Jones still does not mind paying for career-related services. On occasion, he will hire a professional coach for about $200 to $300 a month. But he no longer buys into quick fixes.

"It doesn't pay to try to shortcut the process," he said. "You have to take ownership. Most (resume-blasting) companies are really doing things you can do yourself."

Many job seekers take advantage of employment services that are free or available for a nominal fee through churches, community groups, non-profits, state agencies or private organizations.

At the non-profit Career Resource Center in Lake Forest, members get a full range of services for $40, including career counseling, a computer lab and job listings, as well as guest speakers and special programs, said Jan Leahy, executive director. The fee is good for one job search.

"I think initially most people try to do this on their own and after several months, they find that they need to make a connection," Leahy said.

Wendi Ramsay, 43, a certified public accountant who was laid off in February of 2002, spent $600 last year to join two executive networking groups. But she recently found a job as chief financial officer for a startup medical device company through the Healthcare Forum, a free group. The group's founder, Karl Randall, knows the president of the company and recommended Ramsey, who now works from her home in Green Oaks, Ill.

Another member of the forum, Fred Oskin, 61, of Skokie, Ill., a health-care executive who was laid off in January, uses the gamut of job-related services available. He regularly attends nine other networking groups. Some are free; for others, he pays membership dues between $25 and $100.

And, as part of his severance, Oskin's former employer is paying $9,000 for him to receive career counseling through an outplacement firm. He likes his career counselor, but "if my company hadn't offered this, I wouldn't have gone, and I don't think I would have missed it," he said.

Oskin recently landed a temporary job for six months as an investigator for the Department of Public Aid through a contact he made at the Career Resource Center. To date, it's the best $40 he's ever spent, he said.

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