Reply to: Outplacement counselling and support

[AtW]

Correctomundo, I'm a contractor, aka the cowboy is in town, it's fill yer boots time / rate whore / coding monkey / the IT geek in the bar ordering the fillet steak

[Mich the Tester]

maybe it's the lack of sleep, but isn't this a permie offering? and doesn't it equate to the following?:



I can do that, sounds like a great plan b, how much did it cost the company to send you to this?

My thoughts exactly.

[Sysman]

When I was given a massive payoff to quit my (permie) management job, I was also given outplacement services. I saw my counsellor once - just to see what they had to offer - then created a limited company and started contracting.

Ditto. My counsellor was a recently resigned director of the same company who had decided to go into pimping.

He wanting to tempt me into the "high life, staying in posh hotels" just at a point where I was sick of living out of a suitcase. and wanted to spend time on moving a rung up the housing ladder.

My thought was that if I was going to carry on living out of a suitcase I'd do it for proper dosh, so I went contracting instead.

[speling bee]

Just make sure you don't flush on your way out.

[d000hg]

Is this a bit like life coaching?

[NotAllThere]

When I was given a massive payoff to quit my (permie) management job, I was also given outplacement services. I saw my counsellor once - just to see what they had to offer - then created a limited company and started contracting. I remember I went to a couple of networking events which were ok.

Most of the other clients were redundant middle managers who'd only ever worked in one place in their lives.

[vetran]

So its a choice between going to an ex employer funded training session in a new town with free reasonable lunch, travel (bus/train if you have any sense so you can meet up with friends afterwards) and the chance of learning something, or going into work and fixing some managers problem the same guy who voted to have you given your cards?

Nothing wrong with going and doing some CV tweaking and interview practice. You may learn something. The placement process may mean you get some interviews and the agents are being given a bonus on finding you a job instead of just anyone.

with a little bit of luck you will be done by lunchtime and you can pop round the shops / museum / sights.

you have the security of mid December contract, grasp the opportunity to develop yourself and spank their expense account. Go on you deserve it spend like an MP.

[chef]

You are evidently not a senior management type!

Correctomundo, I'm a contractor, aka the cowboy is in town, it's fill yer boots time / rate whore / coding monkey / the IT geek in the bar ordering the fillet steak

I'm good at what I do, keep on top of my specialist technology, I'm professional in the work environment and like to socialise with the contractors when working away. I have a slight addiction to ordering junk/geek toys (depending if you're looking for gf chefs or my definition) from Amazon, I try to take 3 months off per year but sometimes those darn extensions just keep coming and I've never failed an interview although interviews are rare and my reputation with 2 or 3 agents usually lands me work.

Senior management of permiedom with the need for outplacement services I am not.

[AtW]

wtf is outplacement counselling???

You are evidently not a senior management type!

[SueEllen]

I can do that,

You can only do it if you are an "outplaced" HR professional.

sounds like a great plan b, how much did it cost the company to send you to this?

I wonder how much competition there is?

[barrydidit]

maybe it's the lack of sleep, but isn't this a permie offering? and doesn't it equate to the following?:

in a nutshell.

[chef]

maybe it's the lack of sleep, but isn't this a permie offering? and doesn't it equate to the following?:

Resume development - cv tweaking
Psychometric Assessment - they tell you if you're mad
Numerical & Verbal reasoning assessment - but that you can speak the queens
Interview techniques - strong handshake, look them in the eyes, speak slower than you think you should
Video practice sessions - errrr?? for looking good on skype??
Company & role targeting & contact - you get an agent of sorts
Weekly vacancy search - who sends you some links to jobsearch
Fully managed research capability - who adds a google search result text to the above job search
“Insider” tips on the recruitment process - they tell you that your role is highly prized but there's not many around right now
Full ongoing support until you find the perfect role - they call you reguarly to see if you've found work to gain contacts for their other fish errr clients

The programme includes 45 hours of one-to-one development, training and counselling sessions with one of our partners who have backgrounds from organisations such as Nestle, Premier Foods, Sara Lee, Mars, Quaker and Princes. They will have a full understanding of both your industry and your requirements, and they will be supported by a team who will develop, provide and mail all marketing material, coupled with a full research and cv development capability.

- they have previous failed agents who have phone numbers from the above clients

We target that all sessions will be held within a 40-minute drive from your home-base. - they are everywhere

I can do that, sounds like a great plan b, how much did it cost the company to send you to this?

[barrydidit]

WCS.

Please explain to us who have not been "fortunate" to go through this.

It's what companies sometimes do to their redundant employees to help them back into the employment market, possibly 30 years after they last had to apply for a job. You'll be referred to a 3rd party organisation who will work on your cv, show you how to use linked in to find work, advise on setting up businesses, provide office space if needed etc etc.

It was these that I saw, there may be others? Penna

As far as LBG were concerned, the higher up the tree you were, the more credits you got. It's that kind of an employer. I suspect it was really just a bone thrown to the unions to keep a lid on their impotent hot air/give them something to take their remaining members (both of them) to show how good they are.

[SueEllen]

Here be the blurb.......

Outplacement Services

We work on an individual basis with senior executives who are looking to make their next major career move.

We offer a fully tailored package to suit each individual which includes:

Resume development
Psychometric Assessment
Numerical & Verbal reasoning assessment
Interview techniques
Video practice sessions
Company & role targeting & contact
Weekly vacancy search
Fully managed research capability
“Insider” tips on the recruitment process
Full ongoing support until you find the perfect role
The programme includes 45 hours of one-to-one development, training and counselling sessions with one of our partners who have backgrounds from organisations such as Nestle, Premier Foods, Sara Lee, Mars, Quaker and Princes. They will have a full understanding of both your industry and your requirements, and they will be supported by a team who will develop, provide and mail all marketing material, coupled with a full research and cv development capability.

We target that all sessions will be held within a 40-minute drive from your home-base.

I see - when you are fed up of being a HR "professional" for a food company you run training courses where you tell people who have been "outplaced" how to get another job.

It's only really useful for people who haven't had another job for 3 or more years.

[Gruffalo]

WCS.

Please explain to us who have not been "fortunate" to go through this.

Here be the blurb.......

Outplacement Services

We work on an individual basis with senior executives who are looking to make their next major career move.

We offer a fully tailored package to suit each individual which includes:

Resume development
Psychometric Assessment
Numerical & Verbal reasoning assessment
Interview techniques
Video practice sessions
Company & role targeting & contact
Weekly vacancy search
Fully managed research capability
“Insider” tips on the recruitment process
Full ongoing support until you find the perfect role
The programme includes 45 hours of one-to-one development, training and counselling sessions with one of our partners who have backgrounds from organisations such as Nestle, Premier Foods, Sara Lee, Mars, Quaker and Princes. They will have a full understanding of both your industry and your requirements, and they will be supported by a team who will develop, provide and mail all marketing material, coupled with a full research and cv development capability.

We target that all sessions will be held within a 40-minute drive from your home-base.