Should You Pay to Find A Job Online?
My Own Paid Work Experience
Years ago, I used to work for a staffing agency called Olsten Services. We worked with people qualified to do technical work as well as light industrial (blue collar) and entry-level to professional level corporate work. My job was to find the right person for the right job and put the two together. I was pretty good at it (judging from my promotions and raises), and I kept a lot of folks happily employed. Since Olsten Services employed temporary and full-time positions, there was always something brewing on the job boards.
Even many more years ago, when I first moved to Birmingham, AL, I secured the services of a headhunter to find work in the new city. They found me a job at AmSouth Mortgage company in the loans department, and I was pretty happy with it. I think (trying to remember) I paid about 10% of the job’s proposed salary which was about 2k at that time. At that time (1988), that was a LOT of money to pay for a job, but that’s what I chose to do. I’ll share with you the reasons why in a minute.
Paying for a job…that’s a controversial but personal decision. After all, if you’re looking for work, how can you afford to “pay” someone to find a job? Let me tell you why…
The Choice to Pay For Work
It takes a lot of time, energy and resources to find a job. If you want to find a good job, then it will take even more of those things. Sometimes, people don’t have a lot of time and/or resources to find a job, so they may need the services of a professional job-hunter or headhunter. Does that make the headhunter bad? Absolutely not! They’re providing a service, and you’re paying for that service. What you should look for however, is the quality of that service. This is because over the years I’ve found out that a lot of local and national headhunters, and even these online paid-access job boards use a LOT of the same employment resources that are free. That again doesn’t mean that they’re bad, it just means you’re paying for something that you can get free yourself. Are you ok with that?
Now, remember when I worked for and paid for the job at AmSouth? I didn’t mind doing that at all. Why? Because I was moving to Birmingham from another city, and didn’t have any connections or resources to pull from. I also didn’t have time to look for work because I was a newlywed and needed an income source right away! So, for me, at that time, in that situation, it worked fabulously. Would I do it again? Perhaps, if the situation necessitated it.
Use Good Judgement
If you feel inclined to pay a headhunter or a job access board, go for it. You won’t be judged. Just make sure it’s what YOU’RE looking for, need and can get some type of benefit from. Make sure the quality is there and that you’re not simply getting a regurgitated list or leads that exist somewhere else, or all over the place.
Ask around in your own networking circle for referrals, leads, tips on who’s hiring, who’s taking applications, etc. You’d be surprised on what people are willing to share if you need employment information.
Good luck on your job hunt!
I Don’t Want None!!
I hate salespeople.
Well, more specifically, I hate being “sold to” and the people who have to do their job of selling to you. And I realllly loathe those sellers-of-things who do an intense job of trying to convince me of various reasons why I “need” or “must” have a particular thing. Disgusted.
Now, don’t think I’m being all double-standard here, because I am a blogger and I do sell things of sorts, like advertisements or affiliate products. And if I didn’t sell these things, then I couldn’t make a living. So I completely understand and respect those who ned to sell things or services for a living. What annoys me is the incessant asking and checking on you that these people do to no end! I mean, really, if I need some more cleanser, trust me, I have your number and I know how to get in touch with you.
Take for instance last week. I happened to innocently mention to a friend how I thought I’d be pretty successful at selling Mary Kay if I were to put my mind to it. It was just a fleeting thought, but one that my friend honed in on immediately. Note: Never, EVER have an audible fleeting thought about selling any product or service that is geared towards home shows because the minute you do, you will be bombarded from that point on. I know this all too well.
I don’t mind helping out other people with their businesses, especially friends. But I do tire of being pitched to and sold to, especially when I don’t want nor need what they’re currently pushing. It annoys me. It aggravates me. And it really makes me want to hide behind a wall when I see you coming. So, the best thing I can suggest to people like that is to give it a rest. Wait to be asked. Be seen and not heard and I guarantee that you’ll get more business that way. Or, at least, you’d get more of mine. But don’t call me. I’ll call you.
I promise.
Happy New Year to You in 2012!!
I want to take a moment to wish each and every one of you a very happy and prosperous New Year’s beginning to you and your families. Whatever goals, plans or directives you have set for yourself in the New Year, my hopes are that you reach them all with energy, vim, vigor and satisfaction that you will start this new journey with.
Here’s to you and your happiness for the next 365 days!!
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