Should I pay a professional to help me find work, or is career marketing a racket?

Q: Out of work for a year, I'm now considering hiring help, but it's very expensive ($4,000 to $10,000). I'd appreciate your clarification of the services offered by outplacement, career counseling and career marketing firms, and your advice about how to select a good one.

NICK'S REPLY: There are some legitimate firms in the career business, but many are nothing but a racket. Check them out carefully before spending a dime.

Companies hire outplacement firms to help downsized employees find new jobs. Their services are usually simple, cookie-cutter methods that are also found for free in books at your local library. In essence, counseling often boils down to giving you a daily nudge to "keep at it."

Career counseling is the consumer version of outplacement. That is, you pay for it yourself. Career marketing firms often suggest they will find you a job by using special methods that you'll have access to after you pay a huge amount of money. They leaven their product with lots of marketing lingo. (For example, "Your career is a product, and your resume is a marketing brochure that sells your skills.")

Of course, there are some good career counselors and coaches. You'll know them because they are proud of their reputations and will gladly provide references. The questionable ones won't give you names or phone numbers of past clients, claiming these are confidential. That's bunk. However, they will imply they have powerful "insider contacts" to share once you pay up. That's also usually bunk.

Ask any firm whether it charges big bucks up front, or by the session. Legit firms let you pay as you go, so you can judge their quality. The big-buck firms also play games with their guarantees. Do you get your money back if you're not happy? Nope. Instead, you'll get all the additional counseling you can swallow at no additional cost. You can figure out what that means for yourself.

My advice: Visit the career section of your local library. Talk to the reference librarian about special resources, join a local job-hunting group at the Y, and find good, free online resources such as www.rileyguide.com and www.jibberjobber.com.

THE HEADHUNTER TIP:

Good networking is work.

Everyone wants good tips about networking. First, I'd like to debunk some bad tips.

Good networking is not about going to meetings, being on lists and being seen. Woody Allen was wrong: Showing up is not 90 percent of success. While those things might work, they easily become rote and thoughtless behaviors.

Good networking is about participating and contributing. You must create something new under the sun. Offer a good idea. Help make something work better. Contribute to the success of another person or group. Put some skin in the game. Take a risk where others can see you. Consistently be part of a solution.

That takes thought, work and time. You can't just show up at a meeting, pay your dues and expect to be noticed by people who need you. Good networking is an investment. You must do good works again and again without expecting a return.

Copyright 2009. Distributed by Universal Press Syndicate

Nick Corcodilos is author of "Ask The Headhunter: Reinventing the Interview to Win the Job" and the host of www.asktheheadhunter.com. He can be reached by e-mail at seattle@asktheheadhunter.com or at North Bridge Group, P.O. Box 600, Lebanon, NJ 08833. Sorry, no personal replies.