The ads frequently infer that with their experience and "know how" they can land you that top job you always dreamed about. Executive guidance firms tell you that they "will function as your own personal consultant" in dealing with employers. By the time you have listened to their sales pitch, it would not be too difficult to receive the impression that the executive guidance counsellor will "tuck you into bed at night, dress you in the morning, and hold your hand during the interview." Executive guidance firms frequently imply that their techniques never fail-They will help you find a job "... no matter how long it takes." They will also tell you that they do not accept just anyone! Ask them who they turned down!
Executive guidance firms will probably include in their several-thousand-dollar fee several hundred resumes. Resumes prepared by executive guidance firms tend to possess a common denominator of "sugar coating" that broadcasts to potential employers that the candidate used an executive guidance firm. Many of these resumes use such glowing testimonials that an employer might easily wonder "If this guy is so fantastic-why is he looking for a job?"
Psychological testing is another tool that guidance firms use in selling their package. Granted, there are many appropriate applications for psychological testing, but what is an engineer, who has been an engineer for twenty-five years, going to benefit from a battery of tests aimed at pinpointing what he is best suited for? In all probability, he is too old to become a fireman.
The executive guidance counselor will often claim that, "The best job opportunities within a company are not being advertised. To get a crack at the best opportunities within a company, you have to get to the top executive who is making the decision about that position before he announces it to everyone else."
There may be exceptions, but on the whole executive guidance firms charge several thousand dollars to individuals for simply giving them advice and showing them how to find a job on their own. They do not recruit for companies, nor do they place applicants in jobs. They serve in an advisory capacity to the individual job seeker.
You may be impressed by a particular executive guidance firm- and many of them are easy to be impressed by-on the surface that is. They usually have very plush accommodations, and the counsellors usually convey the impression of being the fatherly senior executive who has been through it all himself and possesses great wisdom (they frequently do-when it comes to coaxing you to sign their contracts). At least with the employment agency you have to receive a job offer before you become obligated under a contract.
With the executive guidance counsellor, you could wind up with no job offers, yet several thousand dollars poorer. At least use the same screening process which was suggested for employment agencies. You probably will not be able to avoid signing their contracts, as you frequently can with employment agencies, but at least demand good references from both the firm and the individual counsellor assigned to you. If they can produce several satisfied clients whom they have recently helped to obtain better jobs-then that guidance firm's efforts may be well worth the fee.
If they are unable to produce any meaningful references-and the only references which would be meaningful would be from individuals who have recently used their services-then politely tell them "no thanks" and head for a good library. . . .
Outplacement
Many executive guidance firms market a service to companies which is referred to as outplacement. Outplacement is used to help an employee who is being terminated.
At the moment of termination, the outplacement representative is right there to begin assisting the newly fired employee. The executive guidance counsellor puts his services to use right when the employee receives his initial trauma. The idea is to try and make a "painful situation" a little less "painful." The outplacement consultant provides support when the terminated employee really needs it-right in the beginning.
The terminated executive knows the outplacement consultant is being paid by the company to help him quickly find a job, and possibly reduce some of his severance or salary continuance pay. Many companies, when they fire an executive, will continue to pay the executive for a reasonable time until he finds a new position.
Some executives might not be comfortable at such a time working with a consultant who is being paid by the company. Even if he is not concerned that the guy giving him all this good advice is being paid by the company that has just "fired" him, an executive might prefer to use someone else for help, or just want to conduct his own job search campaign.
The specific modification that could best be suggested is that if companies are willing to spend several thousand dollars for outplacement, then after a couple of days they should give the fired executive the choice of either continuing with the outplace consultant-or receiving the money which the company would have spent with the outplacement firm. He could either spend it with another executive guidance firm of his own choosing, or conduct his own job search campaign and be that much money ahead.
Combination Executive Guidance and Placement Firms
There are some executive guidance firms that charge the applicant a fee (such as ten per cent of the lowest salary he would accept), and then proceed to try and place him.
If you are going to consider one of these firms, you absolutely must find out their true "batting average." If you are shooting for $35,000 and pay a firm $3,500 to line you up with an excellent job paying $38,000-then it might not have been such a bad deal. On the other hand, if you pay $3,500 and they then forget about you-you should feel quite "clean" for you have just been "taken to the cleaners."
The names of actually placed clients are a must. Also, obtain the names of the companies where clients were placed, and who they dealt with at those particular companies. If this type of executive guidance firm is on the "up and up", then they should be able to provide good references.
Many of these combination executive guidance-placement firms lead you to believe that they will try to negotiate your fee back from the company when they place you. They will also infer that most of the time they are successful in accomplishing this feat. If they are, and can prove it, then they could be an excellent source to use. If they cannot prove their results, but simply attempt to have you sign on the dotted line of their contract and pay your money-say "goodbye" and leave!
