There has been a recent push by recruitment agencies to transition their recruiters into outplacement consultants. I myself am not convinced that recruiters make the best outplacement consultants.
Professional Outplacement Firms, be they large or small engage experienced Career Coaches, Org Psychologists, HR Professionals and the like to deliver first class outplacement support. These people have undergone years of formal training and education in their respective professions. Therefore how realistic is it to expect a recruiter, who has a strong sales focus, to quickly flip and become an outplacement consultant? Can they deliver value to those made redundant? If you were made redundant how comfortable would you be seeing a recruiter for outplacement support?
Please share your views and thoughts about this topic, as there are clearly some valid points for and against this movement.
2 Comments
Often, job seekers know and trust recruiters they’ve worked with over the years. If the recruiter doesn’t have any job’s to place them in,they can provide a valuable service by helping the job seeker become better prepared to market themselves to future employers. Help reworking resumes, practicing interview skills and creating a web-presence are all key to the success of their search. If recruiters can create a value-added offering that will help job seekers create a compelling personal brand, they can become a wonderful, cost-effective resource to their clients. OptimalResume’s tools are used to support these offerings. Examples can be found at http://www.optimalresume.com/outplacement.html.
This is a fascinating subject and one which we have been intimately involved in from both sides. Our software is licensed by Career Coaches, Outplacement Consultants and also Recruiters to assist in the delivery and management of services to candidates at all levels and from a very wide range of positions. InternetOutplacement.com has proved to be very popular and the Coaching version of our flagship VirtualJobCoach.com has become equally successful.
Recruiters who are adopting this model in general are being very focused in their intent to deliver quality services. They know that failure to perform to an adequate level at this time will not bode well for future relationships.
Barry Simpson