Posted by When looking for a job, you may consider hiring a professional to assist you with your search. Recruiters and headhunters may seem like an attractive option for several reasons. In a recruitment setting, discussion about compensation can happen immediately, as opposed to the typical job interview process in which salary negotiation is often done at the very last stage.
Recruiters and headhunters may be well-connected in your industry or can be your personal advocate to increase your chances of finding a good job. However, these types of job search professionals work free of charge for you, the individual candidate. In this article, we discuss the different options available to get professional job search help, including both free and paid services.
Why paying someone to find you a job
As a candidate, you can pay professionals to assist with your job search. That said, recruiters and headhunters will place you for free if you are a good fit for a position. That’s because recruitment firms and headhunting agencies work on behalf of companies, not individual clients.
Now that you know you can work with a recruiter for free, there are still paid options that you can invest in to make parts of your job search go more smoothly. These include services like resume writing and interview coaching.
Types of professionals who can find you a job
The following types of professionals can assist you with all or part of your job search:
- Headhunters and recruiters
- Resume writers
- Career coaches
1. Headhunters and recruiters
Headhunting and recruitment agencies are staffed with professionals who work on behalf of companies to find and place individuals who match open positions. They are paid by the company they work for and not by the job candidates that they place. This helps recruiters find the best candidates for a role because they can remain totally objective. That’s good for you because it means you can work with a recruiter or headhunter for free.
2. Resume writers
To get noticed by recruitment professionals, it’s important to have a resume that stands out. Hiring someone to write and edit your resume can be a good step to finding the best job for your skills. Price, turnaround time, resume aesthetics and customer service levels are all things you should investigate before choosing the right resume writer for your needs. Prices vary, ranging from hundreds to thousands of dollars.
3. Career coaches
Career coaches can be hired for a fee to help you either excel in your current career or move your career path into a totally new direction. They offer insight and guidance into many aspects of the job search and career transition process, including resume updating, interviewing skills, setting goals and more. When you approach your job search with different strategies from a career coach, you are more likely to succeed.
Why should you pay someone to assist with your job search?
Here are a few important reasons that a professional partnership with a resume writer or career coach can be beneficial to your job search:
1. Market yourself better
As a candidate, you are always trying to market yourself to employers. When you hire someone to help you with your resume or job search strategy, you learn how to present yourself favorably.
2. Access resources
A career coach can help you access job search resources in your industry, location or other search parameters that are important to getting the right job.
3. Learn new skills
When you work with coaches, you learn to develop several skills, such as goal-setting, researching and interviewing, that can help you long after you find a job. For example, learning how to properly do an interview offers transferable skills that you can take with you throughout your career as you grow into new and better jobs.
4. Find your personal brand
Partnering with coaches and resume writers can help you establish a personal brand that makes you stand out to employers through your resume, interviews and social media presence.
How to hire fee-based providers to help with your job search
Follow these steps to hire someone who can assist with your job search:
1. Decide what fee-based services you need
First, decide what paid services you need. If you need to get interviews, focus on resume writing. If you get interviews easily, perhaps a career coach can help you master the interview process. Understanding where you could use help is a good first step to getting the right paid assistance for your job search.
2. Do your research
When you start looking for someone to assist with your job search, do research online or ask for referrals from industry associations. Look for job search professionals who work in your geographic area or digitally, or within your specific industry or occupation. Find the best professional service providers by tailoring your research to your career needs and goals.
3. Ask your network
A good place to originate leads for professionals who can help with your job search is within your own network. Reach out to personal and professional contacts and see if they’ve used anyone in the past they can recommend. Review each of the recommendations you receive to make sure they offer services that make sense for your career level, industry and location.
4. Contact your shortlist
Once you’ve done the research and solicited recommendations from within your network, contact your shortlist of top choices. Let them know what you are looking for and collect proposals and information that will assist you in making a good hiring decision.
5. Make a hiring decision
Finally, with the information you collected, you are prepared to make a hiring decision. Do this by evaluating your budget and prioritizing what’s most important to your job search.
Tips for choosing job search professionals
Here are some tips for choosing job search professionals, whether their service is free or by fee:
1. Update your resume and social media
Before you start trying to partner with a professional service provider, make sure your social media presence and resume reflect your updated skills and interests. They should be professional and ready to be viewed.
2. Pay attention to qualifications
Make sure you are hiring resume writers and career coaches with professional qualifications to support their services. You can do this by preparing questions like “Can you provide me with examples of your expertise at writing resumes for people in my industry?” or “What career coaching certifications do you have?”