Questions to Ask a Retained Job Search Firm

[Wednesday, July 08, 2009 | View Comments ]

Are you considering hiring a job search firm? Here are some questions you must ask before you sign up for service. We share the results of our investigation in the form of 8 key questions that you must know from a retained firm before you sign on the dotted line.

My younger brother often states that the only thing worse than having a job is not having one. Most of us work all of our lives. Without work, we can’t maintain our lifestyle. Everything we own is at risk of being lost once we lose our job. Working all the time makes us ill-prepared for the situation of not having a job.

After significant time in a job search, our emotions flood the mind, forcing logic out and desperation in. At some point, we decide to improve our odds in getting work by hiring some experts. It’s not a bad idea but should be approached with care. If you’re unemployed and considering hiring a job search firm to help you get back in the game, here’s a few questions we gathered from a little undercover work with various firms that perform retained job searches. These are questions you should ask them before you share any of your hard earned money.

As you might suspect, the answers to these questions are not provided to you upfront in their sales pitch. We even found that even after some clients were inside a program, they still did not have answers to these questions. Getting the answers to these questions upfront will allow you to accurately assess the services you will be receiving and whether you’ll get a good return on your investment. Take these questions with you to your first meeting and get their answers.

Let’s get to the questions.

Question 1. Who actually does the job search? Yes, this seems a little basic but remember that many of us are emotional and place a lot of hope and trust in the company they are looking to hire. This can have a blinding effect. One good sales pitch could relieve you of some serious cash. Most companies DON'T perform the job search. That is, they coach you on how you should perform the search. If a company doesn't do the search, how good do you think they are at finding jobs? Ask them about their success rate. If they make up some excuse about why they can’t track it, beware.

Question 2. Do you create my resume and other necessary letters, such as introduction and thank you letters? Again, a basic question but this gets to heart of what this company plans on really doing. The resume is a key part of the job search. The company you hire should be fluent in creating these documents. Unfortunately, most companies show YOU how to create your resume, cover letters, thank you letters, etc. They may provide examples of what they should look like. Make sure you understand exactly what they do. Learning the process is nice but you don’t plan on becoming an expert at job searching. That’s why you are hiring someone else to do it.

Question 3. Do you have a database of companies and contacts that you use in the search? You would like to see them provide you a list of companies and individuals they will be contacting. This way, you can contact them at a later date should they not have an opening immediately. Most companies don't have a database of contacts they share with you. Most just advise you on how to find your own contacts. If they don't have a lot, how do they know how to make them? This puts the work back on you.

Question 4. Do you provide interview training? Most companies do provide some interview coaching. This is important, especially if you haven’t searched for a job in years. BUT, most don't provide you significant info on the company you are interviewing with or the individuals you will be talking to. This leaves you with more work to do. You need to know detailed info about the company, the job, the people you’ll be talking to and the topics you’ll be discussing with them.

Question 5. Do you send out my resume, intro letters, thank you letters, etc? Most companies make you send out your resumes, letters, etc. If they don’t, this will be an additional cost to you.

Question 6. Do you provide a trial period at a reduced cost? Most companies make you sign a contract at the start, without giving you a trial period to see if you would like their service. So, once you buy in, you're in and there's not much hope for getting out. Try to avoid paying all the money up front until you’ve checked out their service. If they ask for all the money up front, you better know exactly what they’ll be doing for you.

Question 7. Do you provide job offer negotiation training? Most companies do very little to help you negotiate or evaluate a job offer. You'd think a company that helps people find jobs would be effective in getting a job. This is a skill that takes practice and must be done to keep pace with current trends; that is, what companies are currently offering in terms of compensation (direct and indirect).

Question 8. Do you provide career planning support? The job is just part of your career. It’s not the whole thing. Most companies don't help you build a career plan or strategy once you've found a new position. Once you get a job, they'll say "call me if you need anything." Many people want more than just a new job, they want a place where they can be more successful. But how do you become more successful in a new company? The company you hire should help you determine that.

These core questions will get you to the heart of the service the retained search firm will be providing you. Since the cost of some programs can be quite high, this information is critical in determining the value you’ll get for your money. Many such firms put a lot of effort into helping you perform a lot of self-assessments. There is some value to this. However, the complicated part of this is that it is quite difficult to match this up with the culture of a potential organization. If you’ve already had a job for years, you have an idea of what skills and characteristics the job takes. What you need to know is how well does your character match the character (or culture) of the organization you are looking to join. Look for a search firm that is prepared to help adjust their offerings to match the specific needs of your search. A firm with a ‘canned’ program that isn’t flexible may not be able to meet your needs. Clearly define what you need. Then, ask the right questions to find out what the search firms offer. Good luck in your search!

Author:

Todd Rhoad is Director at BT Consulting, a career consulting firm in Altanta, and can be reached at todd.rhoad@blitzteamconsulting.com.

Are you considering hiring a job search firm? Here are some questions you must ask before you sign up for service. We share the results of our investigation in the form of 8 key questions that you must know from a retained firm before you sign on the dotted line.

My younger brother often states that the only thing worse than having a job is not having one. Most of us work all of our lives. Without work, we can’t maintain our lifestyle. Everything we own is at risk of being lost once we lose our job. Working all the time makes us ill-prepared for the situation of not having a job.

After significant time in a job search, our emotions flood the mind, forcing logic out and desperation in. At some point, we decide to improve our odds in getting work by hiring some experts. It’s not a bad idea but should be approached with care. If you’re unemployed and considering hiring a job search firm to help you get back in the game, here’s a few questions we gathered from a little undercover work with various firms that perform retained job searches. These are questions you should ask them before you share any of your hard earned money.

As you might suspect, the answers to these questions are not provided to you upfront in their sales pitch. We even found that even after some clients were inside a program, they still did not have answers to these questions. Getting the answers to these questions upfront will allow you to accurately assess the services you will be receiving and whether you’ll get a good return on your investment. Take these questions with you to your first meeting and get their answers.

Let’s get to the questions.

Question 1. Who actually does the job search? Yes, this seems a little basic but remember that many of us are emotional and place a lot of hope and trust in the company they are looking to hire. This can have a blinding effect. One good sales pitch could relieve you of some serious cash. Most companies DON'T perform the job search. That is, they coach you on how you should perform the search. If a company doesn't do the search, how good do you think they are at finding jobs? Ask them about their success rate. If they make up some excuse about why they can’t track it, beware.

Question 2. Do you create my resume and other necessary letters, such as introduction and thank you letters? Again, a basic question but this gets to heart of what this company plans on really doing. The resume is a key part of the job search. The company you hire should be fluent in creating these documents. Unfortunately, most companies show YOU how to create your resume, cover letters, thank you letters, etc. They may provide examples of what they should look like. Make sure you understand exactly what they do. Learning the process is nice but you don’t plan on becoming an expert at job searching. That’s why you are hiring someone else to do it.

Question 3. Do you have a database of companies and contacts that you use in the search? You would like to see them provide you a list of companies and individuals they will be contacting. This way, you can contact them at a later date should they not have an opening immediately. Most companies don't have a database of contacts they share with you. Most just advise you on how to find your own contacts. If they don't have a lot, how do they know how to make them? This puts the work back on you.

Question 4. Do you provide interview training? Most companies do provide some interview coaching. This is important, especially if you haven’t searched for a job in years. BUT, most don't provide you significant info on the company you are interviewing with or the individuals you will be talking to. This leaves you with more work to do. You need to know detailed info about the company, the job, the people you’ll be talking to and the topics you’ll be discussing with them.

Question 5. Do you send out my resume, intro letters, thank you letters, etc? Most companies make you send out your resumes, letters, etc. If they don’t, this will be an additional cost to you.

Question 6. Do you provide a trial period at a reduced cost? Most companies make you sign a contract at the start, without giving you a trial period to see if you would like their service. So, once you buy in, you're in and there's not much hope for getting out. Try to avoid paying all the money up front until you’ve checked out their service. If they ask for all the money up front, you better know exactly what they’ll be doing for you.

Question 7. Do you provide job offer negotiation training? Most companies do very little to help you negotiate or evaluate a job offer. You'd think a company that helps people find jobs would be effective in getting a job. This is a skill that takes practice and must be done to keep pace with current trends; that is, what companies are currently offering in terms of compensation (direct and indirect).

Question 8. Do you provide career planning support? The job is just part of your career. It’s not the whole thing. Most companies don't help you build a career plan or strategy once you've found a new position. Once you get a job, they'll say "call me if you need anything." Many people want more than just a new job, they want a place where they can be more successful. But how do you become more successful in a new company? The company you hire should help you determine that.

These core questions will get you to the heart of the service the retained search firm will be providing you. Since the cost of some programs can be quite high, this information is critical in determining the value you’ll get for your money. Many such firms put a lot of effort into helping you perform a lot of self-assessments. There is some value to this. However, the complicated part of this is that it is quite difficult to match this up with the culture of a potential organization. If you’ve already had a job for years, you have an idea of what skills and characteristics the job takes. What you need to know is how well does your character match the character (or culture) of the organization you are looking to join. Look for a search firm that is prepared to help adjust their offerings to match the specific needs of your search. A firm with a ‘canned’ program that isn’t flexible may not be able to meet your needs. Clearly define what you need. Then, ask the right questions to find out what the search firms offer. Good luck in your search!

Author:

Todd Rhoad is Director at BT Consulting, a career consulting firm in Altanta, and can be reached at todd.rhoad@blitzteamconsulting.com.

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