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You’ve lost your job and you want me to find you another one.  Quick?

You do understand I am an executive career coach.  (Pause, head nodding)

Yes, I do know a lot of people. 

(Smiles)

This is where I get to find out whether their find-a-job request was a figurative state of joss-loss panic, or whether they really want a DFY contract — Done For You —  where I would have to devote a great deal of time to find them a job.

In case you are unfamiliar with how the recruiting process works, let’s break it down.

Career coaches teach people how to navigate the rapidly changing job search/talent acquisition marketplace.  Our fees, considerably less than recruiters, do not cover placement because that work takes a boatload of time. 

Retained recruiters work for clients, not applicants.  That client is usually the employer.  They do not market job seekers and their fees are much higher. For a Fortune 100 company, for example, their professional search fee could be $1 million or more.

Contingency recruiting firms, those that get paid only when they make a placement, play both sides of the fence – they work for clients and market applicants.  Their fees typically range from 20 to 30 percent of an applicant’s first-year salary. So, for a $100,000 base salary, they would earn a fee of $25,000 to $30,000.  That covers the recruiter’s commission, the firm’s overhead, and profit margin. The good news is that usually, the hiring organization pays the tab. 

So, if you lose your job, it is easier, faster, and much cheaper to hire a career coach who will teach you how to manage your career going forward than to pay a recruiter to find you a job.

By the way, our Career transition premium fee is about $2,000 with monthly payments.