Last Tuesday I presented 
at a networking event for local job seekers. There were 3 other career coach-types (technically I’m not a coach, but hey…let’s just call them coaches for this article to make things simple) talking to groups of 2 to 5 people at a time for about 15 minutes.
One was doing resume reviews, the other was talking about working with recruiters, and I was teaching about personal branding.
Every 15 minutes, the people at each table would migrate over to the next coach. It was kind of like speed dating, but for job seekers.
During one of my conversations, I was asked this question:
There are so many career coaches and job search programs out there, how do I know which one to hire? Is it even worth it?
Your Job Search is Like Running a Business
I know you’ve heard this before. But let’s get real with it. When a business hires a consultant, it is viewed as an investment not a cost.
ROI is determined. Need is greater than cost. And a decision is made. (plus consultants are tax deductable)
I find it very alarming that job seekers don’t see their career coaches as a similar investment. Instead most people make the mistake of only looking at the price tag. And that is bad business.
After all, your career coach may be able to shave months off of your job search.
Determining Your Investment
First, think about how much you used to earn. Let’s say that is $4,000 per month.
Therefore, the opportunity cost of not having a job is $4,000 per month minus unemployment benefits (if you have any).
You lose $4,000 every month.
A career coach, or some kind of job search program will cost you between $200 to $1,000 total.
Here’s the problem. There is no way to prove how many months a coach or a program has shaved off of your job search. So here is how I work around it.
Take Her for a Spin
Take your prospective job coach or job seeking program for a test drive. Try one out per week. And if you notice that your emails are getting returned more frequently, that your resume is higher leverage or that overall, your results are starting to pile up faster than before, you can pretty much assume that their advice is working.
For example, people who work with me tell me that they get 50% more call backs when asking for info interviews.
The average time for a job search is between 6-8 months.
50% response rate improvements means you may have a job in 3-4 months instead.
Therefore, 3-4 months of not loosing $4,000 per month equals $12,000 – $16,000 back in your pocket for an investment of between $200- $1,000.
I’m not a business genius, but I can see that this is a no-brainer.
What Questions Should I Ask?
When deciding on a career coach or job seeking program, you only really need to know one thing: How many months can they shave off my search. So ask them:
- What is the average number of months your clients take to get a job?
- How many job interviews do you think you can help me get per week?
- What is your success rate?
Where to Start
If you don’t know what you want to me when you grow up, you really need to see a full on career coach. Someone who can help you with self-assessments and personality matching.
My friend Sean Harry is excellent at that. If you are interested, you can learn about his programs here: Career Management Solutions.
If you happen to like my advice and think that I can shave some months off of your job search, consider taking my “Job Seeker’s Guide to Social Media” video elearning course.
But whatever you do, make sure you test out your investment first. There are a lot of wanna-bes who simply can’t find jobs themselves and so they pretend to help others get jobs.
Remember, never think of a consultant, coach or training program as a cost. Think of it as an investment. Calculate the benefits of that investment intelligently. And you could be back to work sooner that you think.
.
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How funny, I wrote an article with a very similar title (the content is a bit different though!) Check it out: http://www.theundercoverrecruiter.com/content/career-coach-worth-money
Josh, you are the man. Love what and how you do what you do. I too am not a coach. Under Malcolm Gladwell’s defnition I am an outlier as I am sure you are = more than 10,000 hours experience.
Love/hate your on target questions:
* What is the average number of months your clients take to get a job?
* How many job interviews do you think you can help me get per week?
* What is your success rate?
Unnumbered Qs 1 and 2 are constantly asked. No. 3 I can answer easily…100% success rate IF, IF, IF the client is a collaborator meaning she will do the work and stay connected. Sooo in answer to Qs 1 and 2 because there are no parameters as to the profession or how long she has been looking, see answer to No. 3. Total commitment to the work will as you say at the very least cut the time in half and increase the number of meaty, meaningful, quality interviews. All of this said, this is why indeed I don’t sell resumes and cover letters. My potential clients and I work on those marketing documents until THEY are satisfied, then we talk about the future and me getting paid, not before. Could be a week. Could be longer. Fair? Yay or nay?
Stephen,
It’s an interesting model that I have weekly conversations about. I’ve even considered it on my video training course, such that there is a nominal upfront fee, and the rest of it is paid after the course is complete or a job is secured. I love the concept, but I’m not sure how to enforce it. I’m always open to brainstorming.
Josh, Heading out in 48 hours for an off site. Back at my desk Feb 22. Let’s discuss. Connect. Clarify. Collaborate. Cheerlead. Commit. The five Cs credit to my mentor Susan Whitcomb. Let’s do that as a exec coach colleague likes my “on demand” way of training. My other virtual mentor is Seth Godin. Are you by chance one of his Triiibes devotees? You have my direct contact. Consider a brief visit for mutual gain. I promise to reply promptly. In the interim continued success. sQs