We had an inquiry recently from a potential client who said that he wanted to hire someone who would do EVERYTHING for him and find him a new job. Of course my response to him was that no one, other than he himself, can actually land his next position and here’s precisely why.
While a top notch professional resume, bio and career coach can help you reach your career goals faster and with less stress, the bottom line is that once you have the tools and knowledge, finding a new position is primarily determined by your own motivation. As Zig Ziglar puts it, “your attitude, not your aptitude, will determine your altitude.”
This is paramount to understand when undertaking a job search because a successful transition requires a disruption to most peoples’ comfort zone. There is no magic bullet or secret technology that can just make it happen regardless of what some in the career services industry are selling.
You should be wary of any organization or individual claiming they will do the work for you. Often times organizations will say that they will place your resume in front of targeted decision makers from their network. This is when you should delve deeper and start asking questions. Find out if they personally know these decision makers, or if they’re just pulling executive names from a database to which they have access. Also, ask about how they will be delivering your resume. Will it involve a personal introduction or are they planning on distributing your resume en mass? We all know how well those bulk mailings, e-mailings or faxings work – NOT, especially at the executive level.
There is a group in the career industry who will represent you, legitimate recruiters will present you to a decision maker if they’re running a search for a position for which you’re well qualified. You can judge the authenticity of a recruiter by the way they’re paid. True recruiters will not charge the job candidate a fee for services because the company that the recruiter is working for will be footing the bill. But a recruiter is only interested in you if you’re a perfect fit for a position they’re trying to fill. To get the most exposure, you’ll need to work with several recruiters as well as on your own behalf.
As is often said, if it looks too good to be true, it probably is. Remember no one has more incentive to find you your next position than you do and while working with an expert in career transition can absolutely make you more effective in achieving that goal, you’re still going to have to do the leg work. As essayist John Burroughs said “For anything worth having one must pay the price; and the price is always work . . .”
~Linda
