I'm still looking for employment after a loooooooong time. I've exhausted all of my options: Name the job/resume/career/whatever dot com, and I've been there. I've gone through all of my contacts, personal and professional. I've scoured the internet and the want ads every day for way too long. I have also attended many upon many career fairs, some of which I had to sneak into because they were held by the various universities in Houston, of which I am not a graduate (I went to school in west Texas). I have also been to temp agencies, none of which could help me. I fear that I am just getting lost in the shuffle. I am a college graduate dammit; this is getting ridiculous and I am getting desperate. What I need advice on is this: I saw an ad in the paper for Bernard-Haldane Associates and I called them up. After going into see them, here is some information: 1. They are an executive placement firm geared towards companies, meaning that they deal primarily with placing people who have been in the workforce for several years and are looking to advance their already existing careers. They are not a temp agency, and they usually do not help recent college graduates like myself. 2. What they do is allow member companies access to me through their private database, while also matching me up with existing positions within that database. 3. They train me: I am set up with a personal career advisor for everything from interview coaching, to coaching for salary negotiations. They do pre- and post- interview consultation, video rehearsing (a video-taped mock interview), and presentation and negotiation techniques. All of this is designed to make me better prepared for an interview. 4. Included is professional writing assistance for me for things like pro-active profiles, marketing letters, business proposals, business plans, and anything else I might need in and for an interview. Here's the killer: the cost to me is $4,815. What this does is hire them for a period of three years. During this time, I can quit, get fired, or whatever, and they will find me another job and continue with all of the things mentioned above, free of charge, for that three year period. Something that I have been told for a long time by my university, family, etc. is that what is listed in the want ads is only 10% of whats out there. What this place does is get me in that inner circle, allowing access to the 90% that is not out there. They get my foot in the door because the companies that use them already know that their candidates are competant people who are prepared. The $4,815 is a real killer. If these guys are as good as they claim to be, then I have no problem doing this. I can afford it, but it certainly wouldn't be easy. If anything, the coaching and training would be invaluable. Everytime I go for an interview or something, I always check out the quality of the material things in the office, its location, and how the people there are dressed. If they're BSing me, someone spent a LOT of money to do so. Their office is immaculate. It is located on the 9th floor in an office building on Post Oak, next door to the Q Sports Club. Marble floors, nice big wooden desks, the works. If they could get me to start somewhere for $35K, and the best I could do on my own is $30K, then the price is obviously worth it. Also, this would be a tax write-off as a job search. What do you guys think? I have had absolutely NO luck doing this on my own. Its not that I'm failing to get the job, I can't even get my foot in the door. So........ What do you guys think? Has anyone ever used them or heard about them? I need to act QUICKLY (like by the end of this week) before another year of graduates gets ahead of me. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Thanks guys. ------------------ "I have no regrets except that I wasn't up to keep Randy from getting on that plane." --Ozzy Osbourne on guitarist Randy Rhodes [This message has been edited by Lynus302 (edited May 14, 2001).]
I'd be wary of any service charging me $$ now (and ALOT of money) for services down the road, and at most the potential for better pay in the future. Reminds me of those "we will help you find scholarships" offers (I got burned on one of those). Headhunters generally charge the employers, not the employees, so what you'd be really paying $4,000 for is their training. I'm not saying don't do it, I'm just saying I'd check into it a little first. Find someone who has used the service or others like it, etc. I know you're in a hurry but for that kind of money I would want to be sure its a worthwhile investment. ------------------ Don't you have any friends? Well ... the Superfriends.
Ummm what field are you trying to get into? ------------------ Im too drunk to walk ... Im driving home!
My degree is in Public Relations and Advertising, which is as dead as dead can be right now in Houston. I have not limited myself to only that field, however. I'm not picky, either: my only two requests are: 1. I do NOT want to be in sales and 2. I want something that requires a college degree. ------------------ "I have no regrets except that I wasn't up to keep Randy from getting on that plane." --Ozzy Osbourne on guitarist Randy Rhodes
Sam Cassell: They are not head hunters. I don't really know how to explain exactly what they are, but they exist for companies, not individuals. A headhunter is a recruiter within an existing company. They find people to fill spots in companies, rather than finding a spot for a person. Their client (me) pays a fee for the companies to come to them (Bernard Haldane) and place me. Either the company finds me through them, or they find the spot within a company for me to fill. Thats the best I know how to explain it. Head hunters and recruiters work within a company to fill vacant positions. Job placement agencies find (for the most part) temp and temp-to hire candidates, higher level recruiting and college degrees are usually not as important. Job placement is more or less what this place does, but on a higher level. In their offices, they had plaques from the BBB, and a listing of their offices from around the world. Also, they were founded in 1947. For all appearances, they have a good, established reputation. ------------------ "I have no regrets except that I wasn't up to keep Randy from getting on that plane." --Ozzy Osbourne on guitarist Randy Rhodes [This message has been edited by Lynus302 (edited May 14, 2001).]
Lynus: I have quite a few friends in the job market right now (those new college graduates you talked about) and the services they took out just required a percentage of their first couple of years (or so) at the jobs that they found. I'd stay away from anyone who charges you up front. Check out some of the guys that take a % instead. ------------------ I would believe only in a God who could dance. - Friedrich Nietzsche Boston College - NCAA Hockey National Champions 2001
My advice is to get into high tech. I graduated with the exact same degree as you from UT-Austin in 1983, and the situation was the same. It was during the oil collapse and no ad agency in town was hiring. I got my first job with an investment firm doing database work for them, and I've worked with computers ever since. I've never worked in the field I got my degree in (advertising), but I've also never been out of work for longer than two months. in nearly 20 years in the workforce. If you find a niche in the computer industry and you're good at it, you will be gainfully employed for a long time. Computers aren't going to disappear anytime soon. ------------------ "Blues is a Healer" --John Lee Hooker
Originally posted by Rocketman Tex: I'd love to get into computers. That is the problem and why I'm trying to get advice about this. I can't even get my foot in the door. I also have not only sent off to apply for PR/Adv - related positions. People see my resume and assume I want into my field of study. The result is that I get nowhere. ------------------ "I have no regrets except that I wasn't up to keep Randy from getting on that plane." --Ozzy Osbourne on guitarist Randy Rhodes
I haven't seen your resume, but you may need to make it more general than it sounds like it is. I would shoot for a consulting/temp tech support type of firm. They are usually the ones who will either pay for training or train you themselves. If you look in the Sunday Chronicle, you will see quite a few entry-level tech support jobs, some of them with "No Experience Necessary" tag lines. Once you get training and experience under your belt (and maybe some certifications along the way) your salary will rise accordingly. ------------------ "Blues is a Healer" --John Lee Hooker
Just remember the economy is bad right now so you are not alone. Students with MBA's have dropped 20% in terms of finding a job. And the salaries have dropped like 10%. Nobody is looking to hire. Normally, it takes about three months to find a good job. In bad times much longer. Just keep working at it and something will pop up. Don't be afraid to start low. Also, you should consider grad school as another option....Try the non profit world. You'd be surprised at how much you can make. They are usally desperate for skills. ------------------ humble, but hungry.
http://members.tripod.com/haldanewatch/ ------------------ "Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored."- (Aldous Huxley)
Another way to say Public Relations and Advertising is Marketing Communications (MarCom for short). Every single for-profit business has MarCom, and it is very common for entry-level. These are to voice of big companies who manage convention booths, ad compaigns, etc. It is the internal staff who manages the external PR and Advertising. It is also very commonly laid-off, too. But... ....what I'm saying is it is common for new grads to use too narrow of a search for jobs. Have you asked PR and Ad professionals what types of corporate positions deal with outsourced PR and Ad firms? Ask them where PR and Ad recruits come from aside from other agencies and where PR/Ad people go to in the corporate world when they leave agencies. Aside from MarCom and Advertising, you can look at Investor Relations (IR), too. That is typically part of MarCom, but there are as many outscourcing companies in that field as there are Ad firms. If you enjoy writing, you can also look into Copy-Editing and Technical Writing for Marketing firms and Marketing Departments as a first career.
To address your question: if you really, really want to get your first job in your field at an agency, stick it out...don't take another job....keep looking and researching and going to job fairs, etc....another way of looking at this is maybe try Internships, and use the $4K on living expenses in the interim. Go sign up for one HCC class, then you can apply as a student, as they often require that for insurance reasons. On the other hand, if you are willing to accept other fields, try the plethora of consulting firms in the city. They hire straight out of college, and train you. They pay like crap though, but you won't be wasting years on your resume. Arthur Anderson, Ernst&Young, Xerox Connect,,,many others will pay between $27-30K, I believe. [This message has been edited by heypartner (edited May 14, 2001).]
BobFinn*-- Thanks for that link. Having read all that, I'm having serious second thoughts about using them. ****. I'm So tired of this! I was so hoping this would finally be something I could use. F*ck. ------------------ "I have no regrets except that I wasn't up to keep Randy from getting on that plane." --Ozzy Osbourne on guitarist Randy Rhodes
You must be a speed reader. ------------------ "Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored."- (Aldous Huxley)
Man, Lynus, I feel for you. I know what it's like. Hell, I don't even have a degree so I still know it must be worse for you. I got into IT/Development/QA by starting out 5 years ago working 10-15 hour days for about $20k. I stayed at that job for a year and picked up on all kinds of stuff and have more than quadrupled my salary since then. If you enjoy the computer field, and can handle the entry-level stuff, it's a great place to branch out into all kinds of stuff. And if you don't mind the computer field, I'd agree with what HeyPee said. Get your foot in the door with the Ernst & Young's and the like. Ernst & Young was hiring just about anything that breathed a year or two ago (and it showed). The big consulting company names look great on the resume even though most big accounting/consulting firms don't have the glamour they used to have. I just left a company because they filed Chapter 11. Of the people they were laying off, the marketing/sales folks were the first to go. Have you tried the various job search engines? There are dozens out there. Hell, just search for "entry level" or "train" or somesuch. IT groups around the nation are getting crunched due to the tech correction in the market and interest rates bouncing, but there are still people hiring out there. Keep looking! Use the Internet and search engines! ------------------ NBA Draft Lottery is May 20th. Start praying now.
Man, am I depressed. This has been carrying on forever. Now my mom told me a friend's daughter with the same dagree as me had to go to Dallas to find work. Jesus I don't want to live in Dallas, or anywhere else for that matter. I haven't lived in Houston for 9 years, and now I'm finally home, and I want to stay home, in Houston. ------------------ "I have no regrets except that I wasn't up to keep Randy from getting on that plane." --Ozzy Osbourne on guitarist Randy Rhodes
HeyPartner and others: Thanks for the advice. I'll look into those consulting firms tomorrow. I hear the Army is hiring........ ------------------ "I have no regrets except that I wasn't up to keep Randy from getting on that plane." --Ozzy Osbourne on guitarist Randy Rhodes
Lynus, thanks for posting this topic. Ironically, I saw BH in the paper too, and saw them a few months ago -- they said to come back when I graduate. I /just/ graduated with a BBA in MIS. I've been looking for a job on and off for a few months, and have had zero luck. Here's what I did over the spring break though -- it worked wonderfully in getting my nose in with some places -> I just walked in and asked for a job. I would go to a big office building and go from door to door looking for a job. And they'd usually either turn me down, say that there's no one there at the time, or have me talk with someone. I talked with a LOT of people, and got TONS of numbers. It was great -- the only problem was that I was SO busy with school that I couldn't follow up on the meetings. I'm in the same situation now -- I'm looking for a job when the economy is in the toilet. But I've only been out for 2 days. I'll let you know if I find anything. BTW, there is a job fair on Wednesday. ------------------ "Up and down, inside out, outside in, some you lose some you win" -- DMB -> "Sweet Up and Down"
Vengeance: When and where is the job fair on Wednesday? ------------------ "I have no regrets except that I wasn't up to keep Randy from getting on that plane." --Ozzy Osbourne on guitarist Randy Rhodes
