Is the such a thing? My son is a recent college graduate looking for a job. The last time I went looking was 40+'years ago so I’m not much help. Are there any legitimate services that help job hunters?
My state sponsored something of the sort, the program I was involved in focused specifically on people with decades of job experience suddenly dumped back into the job market. Seemed to have a decent success rate.
I will also note that the program was free to state residents meeting the criteria (X number of months unemployed, etc.) They had similar services targeted to other job-seeking demographics, such as recent college grads seeking a job. Yeah, I’d say they were legitimate.
As for other agencies… you have to be careful. There are a LOT of scams out there seeking to suck money out of the unemployed.
I will note that I live in Indiana, so if your user name is an indication of your location you’ll have to seek if California is offering anything along the same lines as my state. Otherwise, sure, look into various agencies but be very, very, very wary.
And from government. I’m thinking the boom era in “retraining programs,” around 1985 in California, when the state threw endless money at trying to retrain the unemployed and job-disabled. The number of horrifically expensive, nearly useless programs and “schools” was appalling. (The one I encountered most directly was the plethora of six-month programs that taught people how to turn on a Mac and start PageMaker… then sent them out as certified “computer graphics” professionals. For about $12,000 a pop.)
Whatever exists in today’s world of that scam, it’s not just that they’re draining funds for more useful programs, it’s that they are probably wasting and misdirecting too many people seriously looking for jobs and careers. Wasting precious months and years, if nothing else.
I presumed any government-run program wouldn’t be very good/efficient. I also figured that one would have to be cautious with any such “advisors” in the private sector. I’m hoping there are legitimate people out there who can point recent grads in the right direction.
Not necessarily. Sort of “bulk vanilla,” yeah, so if you want or need individual focus and are outside mainstream job categories, they probably aren’t going to be a lot of help.
AFAIK, most industries have their own job boards and programs, and those are no cost to qualified and interested candidates.
But I’d be very, very wary of independents and third-party job counselors or “reverse headhunters” or the like unless they can show a solid sterling track record.
Where did your son go to college? Many colleges and universities have a career office that can help new graduates (as well as those whose graduation was decades ago) with the job search.
Lives in LA, but went to school in Arizona.
The university’s career center can probably help him even though he’s out of state.
I work for an NPO and we help people on state aid, like food stamps get back into the job field. That said, I have found of late we are horribly restricted by the state at what information and help we can provide people.
For instance, our recent memo state we’re not allowed to discuss their dress, speech, or hairstyle, other than to assure there clothes are clean and hair is washed.
This is become a pet peeve of mine, since we’re private and the state watches us to make sure we are not insulting anyone’s culture. Fair enough, but the bottom line is to get these people employed and in the real world, wearing appropriate clothing to a job interview is more than just making sure they’re clean.
So I am not sure state agencies would be the best, or even a private like I work for, that do a lot of business through the state.
What I strongly recommend is to make contacts, get into associations for your career. The thing is when people hear the phrase, “make contacts,” they assume it means you will get a job while being unqualified. But that isn’t so, what it means is when a job opens you normally have three to five or even more qualified candidates. So a contact will get you pushed to the top of those people. You still have to be qualified or knowing anyone is unlikely to help.
Also a person should spend six to eight hours per day looking. And get a job. It’s always, repeat always easier to get a job, when you have one, even if it’s a Starbucks or Target.
Often let’s say you’re a IT tech. Companies will prefer an internal transfer. So working at Target in the check out line, gets you an up on any IT jobs at Target, PROVIDED you are qualified.
Lastly look objectively at your search. If you’re getting interviews but not job, that tells you your resume is fine but your interviewing technique is not strong enough.
Remember the fact that you’re getting an interview means your skills are fine. People hire people that THEY like and think, “Gee this guy is OK and I wouldn’t mind spending 8 to ten hours around him every day.” And ask yourself, if you were hiring someone super qualified but was an “uber-jerk” would you do it? Probably not.
The bottom line is practice, and keep trying. It’s very discouraging to go on interview and not get them, also don’t forget to look outside of your area, if it’s appropriate to your career.
I was helping a friend of mine who just graduated and was a nurse. She was WAY WAY too picky. It was a first job, it’s unlikely you’ll get a top job, no matter how good you are, and her work at college said she was good. She wound up moving to Boston for a year and a half then came back to find with that job experience, she now could command the offers she originally wanted.
Good luck.
The one I was in generally had people going from years of no luck to getting interviews and jobs within 3 months. It’s how I got my current job, which is the best and most stable one I’ve had since 2007.
Then again, the emphasis was on getting results and that was measured by time from intake to job, and what percentage of people were getting interviews and jobs each month.
While yes, government programs can be inefficient or even pointless government isn’t always wrong.
On the flip side, we actually had some lively discussions on the topic, traditional vs. ethnic, when which is appropriate, upsides/downsides to various approaches, and how to dress for a job interview at, say, Home Depot vs. a corporate office.
Not so much a problem for the OP, but that would be a problem for those whose careers no longer exist due to changing technology. That requires a different approach. But I don’t want to get off on a tangent.
^ This. Very, very much this.
On the other hand, if you’re not even getting interviews (my problem for a couple years) that’s a different problem.