Q: Are you recruiters?
A: I hate to give a lawyerly answer, but yes and no. We do direct recruiting for law firms and companies through our Corporate Services Group. Many of our recruiting assignments come to us from our “graduates,” people whom we have helped secure new positions. They will often come to us to find attorneys and executives for their organizations.
We are also part of a network of affiliated recruiters. We work closely with other recruiting organizations that we know and trust. We are often a source of talent for these outside firms and we can help them identify good candidates.
However, please be aware that recruiters are looking for very specific types of individuals who possess specialized skills. Typically, they are seeking young lawyers from top schools or more senior professionals with portable business. Recruiters seldom, if ever, have opportunities for those who are seeking career changes. This is where our Career Services Group can be of assistance.
Q: Do you charge a fee for your services?
A: When we are serving as a recruiter, we do not charge an individual candidate a fee. However, if we are working with an individual client on identification of career options, resume development, resume distribution or coaching, we do charge a fee for our services. Typically, we provide professional career advisory and job search services on an hourly fee basis. We have a sliding fee scale. Our fees run from $215 to $295 per hour, depending upon the complexity of the case, the level of the candidate and their income. We also provide package discounts. Many program packages carry an average hourly rate of a bit over $200, when discounts are factored in.
Q: What does a typical program cost?
A: There really are no “typical” programs. Some people need just an hour or two of career advice. Other people need comprehensive career assessment testing to identify viable options. Still other people only need a resume upgrade or distribution services.
We are very “menu driven” and will seek to match an individual’s needs and budget with the appropriate services. On our Self-Help page, we have some services that are only a few hundred dollars, while other cases can be as much as $7,500. We have an excellent, low-cost facilitated self help program for just under $1000, but most of our consulting programs are in the $1595 to $5500 range.
While we are a high-end practice, many of our clients are earning in the $95,000 – $195,000 range and find that our fees are affordable.
Q: Do you guarantee interviews or jobs?
A: No. Any organization that says it can guarantee someone an interview or a job is lying and is preying on the fears of its clients. We guarantee that we will use all of our knowledge, experience and resources to help you secure interviews, win at the interviews, and secure a job offer.
Q: Will you work with anyone?
A: No. We are not right for everyone, and not everyone is right for us. It takes more than a checkbook and a pulse to be a client here. We have very strict standards about the candidates we will accept into our program. If we feel the candidate does not have the “right stuff” to be successful in a job search or re-careering, we will not accept the case.
Most attorneys know a bad case when it walks in the door. So do we. While we cannot guarantee success, we stack the deck in our favor by only working with people whom we feel can be successful in our process.
Q: Why should I spend money on your services?
A: We are experts in job search and career change. You are not. Through our knowledge and resources, we may be able to shorten your job search by weeks or months. We can help you compete more effectively in the marketplace by creating compelling marketing materials and dynamic, innovative campaigns.
Do the math. Let’s say you are an out-of-work executive who had been earning $125,000. Every week that you are out of work you are losing $2,400 of income. Say you retain us for a mid-level program priced at $3,600. If, through our efforts, we are able to shorten your job search by a mere 1.5 weeks, you have broken even economically and you are back to work. If we can shorten your search by two months, you are ahead of the game by $15,600!
We are also highly skilled in salary negotiations. It is not unusual for us to develop negotiation strategies that result in the client receiving $10,000, $15,000, $20,000 or more than the company’s original offer, an amount many times the fee we were paid.