[jsfg_cinti] CareerJournal article was sent to you from Edwin Clements

A CareerJournal article was sent to you from Edwin Clements with
comments: 
Valuable article about companies that want to charge an enormous amount
of money up front to supposedly help you find a job.

  _____  


CareerJournal <http://www.careerjournal.com> 


http://www.careerjournal.com/jobhunting/strategies/20050513-capell.html

        Careers Q&A: Should I Pay
$6,000 Upfront for Career Aid?          
          
By Perri Capell         
Question: I recently had an interview with a career-services firm that
wants me to pay $6,000 up front. I can't find much information about
this firm, and it won't provide references. How I can do further
research on this firm?

-- Bud, Washington, D.C.

Bud: I'm glad you asked me this question before you paid the fee. I
often receive letters from job hunters who have paid large sums of money
upfront to career-services firms but after a month or two of counseling,
still have not received what they were expecting. These readers are
unhappy with the services and write to me asking how they can get their
money back. Unfortunately, some never do.

People often are at their most vulnerable when they are unemployed and
scared they won't find new work. They are particularly susceptible to
the pitches of some career-services or career-marketing firms that
promise to help connect them with the "hidden" job market or
opportunities that haven't yet been advertised. The catch is that job
seekers must pay large sums of money up front and sign multi-page
agreements before they receive any assistance.

Some of these companies have earned a bad reputation in the U.S. in
recent decades for not providing customers with what they were promised
and not returning customers' payments. After complaints mounted,
law-enforcement officials in certain states required several firms to
give refunds, cease operations or change some of their more deceptive
sales practices. Some companies, however, have been known to simply shut
down and reopen under new names in new locations.

You are right to ask for references. But as you found, prospective
clients who want to talk to past customers may be told that names and
phone numbers of former customers can't be disclosed due to
client-confidentiality restrictions. The sales person might then produce
a binder of testimonial letters written by satisfied customers for
prospects like you to review. These letters typically are solicited
during the first month or so of new clients receiving assistance from a
career counselor, when they are most upbeat and satisfied. 

If you decide to sign on with such a firm, it's likely that you will
receive career assistance, probably from a qualified and
well-intentioned career counselor who will meet with you, help you to
revise your resume, test your suitability for various careers, offer
interview instruction and so on. However, many career-marketing firms
maintain an "iron curtain" between their sales and career-counseling
staff, so the career counselors typically don't know what clients have
been promised during the high-pressure sales pitches. Any career
counselor worth his or her salt will tell you that no one can connect
you with the "hidden job market." Career advisers can help you improve
your job-search technique and materials, but the only person who can
find out about openings and talk with hiring managers effectively is
you. 

Many clients who realize this hard truth -- that they won't receive the
"connections" they were promised -- ask for their money back. They then
learn that because of some fine print or technicality in the contract
that they didn't bother to read, they won't get a refund. 

Keep trying to learn more about this company before paying the $6,000
fee. A good place to start is your local Better Business Bureau; ask if
it has received any complaints about the company. Next, contact your
state Attorney General's office and ask the same thing. If the company
has operated in your area for a while under its present name, something
may turn up. 

Also use the name of the company to search for information via Google,
Yahoo or another Internet-search engine. A helpful resource linking to
articles and sites about career-marketing firms and practices is
www.rileyguide.com/scams.html <http://www.rileyguide.com/scams.html> . 

Margaret Riley, who has run The Riley Guide, a site providing free
career and employment information, since 1994, notes the four telltale
signs that you may be dealing with a disreputable career-marketing firm:

        
1.      It claims to have access to the hidden job market.
2.      It offers only one package of services and charges only one
price.
3.      It needs your decision -- and your payment -- right now.
4.      The career-marketing company contacted you after finding your
resume online.

For the most part, you can duplicate at far less cost most of the
services that a career-marketing firm might offer. There are plenty of
free and low-cost resources available to help job seekers on the
Internet, through state work-force assistance or local church and
community programs. If you need counseling assistance, seek a referral
to a professional who charges by the hour and who will supply names and
phone numbers of satisfied customers for you to check. 

-- Ms. Capell is a senior correspondent for CareerJournal.com. Have a
question about job hunting or career management? Write to
frances.capell@xxxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:frances.capell@xxxxxxxxxxxx>  with
your first name and the city where you're located, which we'll show if
we answer and post your question.

-- May 13, 2005





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