The Daily Recruiter

By Lorraine Russo

http://undergroundjobnetwork.com

Believe it or not, there was actually a time when companies felt bad about cutting their employees loose. I know you might find this unimaginable now, but there really was a time when draconian, across-the-board layoffs were truly difficult decisions for some companies.

While scary, my first experience with being “displaced” was, in the end, a highly-positive one and opened dozens of doors for me. You see, this job loss resulted in my first and only exposure to outplacement counseling, and it changed the way that I would search for – and get – just about any job I applied for.

How did I do that? I’m going to give you little background on this, so please bear with me as I lay the groundwork for why outplacement counseling is so important.

In the mid-1980s, I worked for Mercantile Stores, a national retailer headquartered in New York City. I had my first professional job there as a technical writer, and was a loyal and happy employee for nearly seven years. One of the neat things about this company was that it literally started as a small dry goods store in the 1800s and evolved into a national department store chain (similar to a Macy’s type of department store). As they grew, they retained (and insisted upon) a “mom and pop” culture and treated their employees with dignity and respect.

During my time at Mercantile, I saw my beloved IT group grow from a handful to nearly 100 people, mostly located in New York and Ohio; eventually, the company decided to move the entire company to Ohio. While it made sense to them from an economic standpoint, the decision was made all the more wrenching because people who had been with them for a dozen years or more, those who elected not to make the move out of New York, would soon be looking for work.

While the job market back then was fairly healthy, many of these folks had never written a resume and had no clue as to how to look for a job. If you can believe it, some had never even interviewed, as they were referred by friends or family and were hired without much vetting. Needless to say, they were nervous about their ability to find new jobs.

Staying true to their core values was important to Mercantile, so they offered those of us “left behind” a separation package that included a very generous stay bonus PLUS company-paid outplacement counseling with what is now the de facto leader in this service: Challenger Gray Christmas. Today, unless you are a high-level executive with a golden parachute, you can forget about ever stepping foot in one of their offices. In fact, they make that very clear on their website, where they say: In order to enter one of our outplacement programs, we require sponsorship by an employee’s company.

Ouch!

For those of you unfamiliar with outplacement counseling, it is a masterful collection of insightful training on resume writing, interviewing, networking, and job search techniques, which make all the difference in a career transition. Outplacement counseling gave me the tools that most job seekers today simply do not have, such as how to interview, how to prepare and respond to interview questions, how to write a resume, where to find jobs, etc.

Since going through outplacement counseling, I have NEVER walked away from an interview without a job offer. Literally. This 2-week, hands-on training was THE BEST parting gift that Mercantile could have given to its employees.

By now I’m sure you’re wondering why I’m telling you all this. Here’s why:

Until now, outplacement counseling was something not attainable by individuals and, as noted on CGC’s website, you’re not welcome if your employer doesn’t pay for their services. So unless your company is willing to shell out roughly 10-15% of your salary to an outplacement firm, you’ll never have the opportunity to learn what I did. To my surprise, I stumbled upon The Navigator Institute, an organization that offers these same valuable services to individuals—and it’s surprisingly affordable.

When I spoke Joan Ziegler, The Navigator Institute’s Director of Business Development, about their services, she told me how they have developed a comprehensive outplacement package for individuals. This service mirrors the same training and coaching I received from Challenger Gray Christmas. My first thought was “How can you expect unemployed people to shell out thousands of dollars for this? I know it’s great training but, c’mon, no one has this kind of money!”

Imagine my surprise when she suggested I log into their site, walk through the demo, and see what they have to offer. Here’s what I found out: The program is comprehensive with nine career modules, ranging from dealing with change, to resume writing, to networking and onboarding. Every user gets four weeks access AND:

• Nine interactive online modules that show you how to effectively navigate your job search.
• A (very cool) online custom resume builder, which will help get you an interview and prep you for interviews.
• Practice interview questions, networking and negotiation scripts, job board links, and many more resources to help you land a job.
• A proprietary 320-question survey to help identify the career path that is right for you.
• Four one-on-one career coaching sessions of up to 30 minutes (these are with former HR execs who know how to get a job).

Do you have to be unemployed to use this training?

No.

Available 24/7, the Navigator Institute helps any job seeker be better prepared to compete for jobs in a super tight labor market—regardless of employment status. (In fact, the company’s President, Matt Durfee, is a former corporate HR executive whose own jobs have gone away nine times—so he knows what he’s talking about! He’s worked for Pepsi-Cola, Nestle, Frito-Lay International, Hard Rock Cafe, Bank One, Cendant, and Centex Homes.)

Ok, so now you’re wondering what all this will cost. Normally, The Navigator Instutue charges $479, but Joan has agreed to lower it to $399 for readers here. What’s really great about all this is if you consider that The Ladders charges nearly $800 (!) just to help you write a resume (and a poor one at that), it’s a pretty good deal.

So if you’re interested in learning how the big dogs get help when they’re looking for work, click here to find out if you think this will benefit you. You need to use the promo code UNDERGROUND to get this price.

One thing I can tell you is that the way you look for jobs and how you approach interviewing will never be the same.

Outplacement counseling is a life-long gift that keeps on giving.

Article courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap, a content exchange service sponsored by CollegeRecruiter.com, a leading site for college students looking for internships and recent graduates searching for entry level jobs and other career opportunities.